dannyf528

Q: Apple TV Screen Goes Black when Mirroring MacBook Pro

For some reason, when I mirror my MacBook Pro display on my Apple TV upstairs, it works fine. However, the Apple TV downstairs screen goes black when I try to mirror the display onto my TV. I tried to restore the Apple TV to factory settings and restarted it multiple times, however every time I try to mirror the display the TV screen goes black. I have a 2011 MacBook pro, an LG 70" TV, and I believe a 2nd or 3rd gen Apple TV.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2011), iOS 8.3

Posted on May 31, 2015 10:43 AM

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Q: Apple TV Screen Goes Black when Mirroring MacBook Pro

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  • by pedro d,

    pedro d pedro d Jun 2, 2015 11:05 AM in response to dannyf528
    Community Specialists
    Jun 2, 2015 11:05 AM in response to dannyf528

    Hello there, dannyf528.

     

    It sounds like AirPlay Mirroring isn't functioning as expected when connecting to your downstairs television with your MacBook Pro. The following link from the online Mac Help Guide offers a few checklist items to review to get started on troubleshooting:

     

    Use AirPlay to see your desktop on an HDTV - Mac Help

    Before you begin, see the Apple Support article About AirPlay Mirroring in OS X to find out if your Apple TV and Mac can be used for AirPlay Mirroring.

    1. Make sure your Mac and your Apple TV are on the same network.

    2. Click the AirPlay status icon in the menu bar of your Mac, then choose your Apple TV.

      Note: If you don’t see the AirPlay status icon in the menu bar, check that your Apple TV is set up correctly. OS X automatically detects an Apple TV when it’s on the same network, and displays the AirPlay status icon in the menu bar.

    3. From the AirPlay status icon menu, choose This Mac or your Apple TV depending on how you want to match the desktop size of your Mac.

     

    Additionally the following articles provide a few more in-depth troubleshooting recommendations as well:

     

    Apple TV: Basic troubleshooting - Apple Support

    and

    iTunes: Troubleshooting AirPlay and AirPlay Mirroring - Apple Support

     

    Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.

     

    Kind Regards,

    Pedro.

  • by Alvargar,

    Alvargar Alvargar Jun 2, 2015 2:00 PM in response to pedro d
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 2, 2015 2:00 PM in response to pedro d

    Pedro:

    I have the same problem, but it's new. Up to last week I could mirror my MacBook Pro and suddenly it's connects but the TV screen goes black.

    It's still mirroring the iPhone.

  • by Pieter Nystrom,

    Pieter Nystrom Pieter Nystrom Aug 30, 2015 5:31 PM in response to dannyf528
    Level 2 (160 points)
    Aug 30, 2015 5:31 PM in response to dannyf528

    I have the same problem. Mirroring worked a week or two ago, but now I get the black screen. I can mirror audio and I can mirror video played through iTunes, but I cannot mirror the desktop or any applications. I've tried on two different networks with two different Apple TVs (Gen2). I can mirror my iPad to both as usual, but not my MacBook.

  • by Habsman,

    Habsman Habsman Dec 28, 2015 8:13 PM in response to Alvargar
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 28, 2015 8:13 PM in response to Alvargar

    Same problem here.

     

    I am mirroring from my 2012 iMac to my 2nd Gen Apple TV. It worked fine until a few days ago, now when I choose mirror on the imac, the TV screen goes black and audio is mirrored, but not the video/picture.  Mirroring from my iphone still works fine, both audio and video.

  • by Habsman,

    Habsman Habsman Dec 28, 2015 8:52 PM in response to Habsman
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 28, 2015 8:52 PM in response to Habsman

    Solution!  I was on Apple Chat Support and went through a few regular things (software up to date, etc.), but finally got it working by going through the following steps.

    1) Turn off Home Sharing on both Apple TV and iTunes. 

    2) Restart Apple TV and computer

    3) Turn Home Sharing back on on each device and voila= mirroring works again!

     

    Hope this helps.