Airplay Mirror with ethernet-connected Apple TV ?

Question

Airplay Mirror with ethernet-connected Apple TV ?

Does Airplay Mirroring not work if the Apple TV is hardwired (with ethernet cable) instead of wifi-connected ? I am using a Macbook Air which IS on the wifi. Airplay Mirroring was working fine for me, until I changed some stuff. In particular, I decided to hardwire all the stuff that's not portable (such as ATV and Roku), to reduce wifi congestion. Now I still see the Airplay button at the top in my Macbook Air's menu bar, but the pulldown just shows "Airplay:Off" (greyed out) and "Open Displays Preferences". Home Sharing still works fine.

AppleTV 2

Posted on Dec 11, 2015 10:16 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 11, 2015 10:19 AM in response to RustyQShackleford

Does Airplay Mirroring not work if the Apple TV is hardwired (with ethernet cable) instead of wifi-connected ?

Yes it works fine, I have both wired and wireless Apple TV's and AirPlay isn't a problem on any of them.

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Answer 2

Dec 11, 2015 10:37 AM in response to Winston Churchill

Hmm, ok, thanks for clearing that up. Couldn't figure out why it'd be a problem, since it's on the same network.

Any suggestions for what might be wrong ? Clearly both devices are connected to my network, the Macbook Air since I'm connected to the internet here, and the ATV2, since I stream Netflix etc and Home Share fine. I have Airplay turned "on" on the ATV2. I don't see any setting under display prefs that would be applicable. Thanks for any suggestions !

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Answer 3

Dec 12, 2015 11:37 AM in response to RustyQShackleford

Try the following steps, check whether things are working after each step where appropriate, before trying the next.

Check AirPlay is turned on on the Apple TV (turn it off and on if it already is)
Check that both devices are on the same network (Settings > Wifi, on the mobile device and Settings > General > Network, on the Apple TV).
Restart the Apple TV (Settings > General > Restart).
Restart the Apple TV by removing ALL the cables for 30 seconds.
Restart your router. (Also try removing it’s power cord for at least 30 seconds)
Restart your mobile device.

If you are still having problems, the following article(s) may help you.

Troubleshooting AirPlay

You may also find some help on this page, where I’ve collected some of the more unusual solutions to network issues.

When making adjustments to your network for better optimisation, you may find some of the points mentioned on this page helpful.

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Answer 4

Dec 12, 2015 11:37 AM in response to Winston Churchill

Thanks for the suggestions. Nothing worked; except ... at step #2, Mac AIr shows connected to my wireless network; ATV2 just shows "Ethernet" (because it's hardwired to router via ethernet cable, as per my original question). Not sure how to verify that is "same network" as the wifi.

FWIW, I have ethernet cable coming from router (in office) to Netgear switch in living room A/V center. Plugged into that switch are ATV2, Roku, and an Airport Express which provides the wireless network.

I tried unplugging ATV2 from ethernet and connecting it to wifi network, and Airplay Mirroring worked fine.

I also tried re-enabling wifi on my router (I disabled it, when I set up the Airport Express), and connecting Mac Air to that wireless network (with ATV2 plugged back into ethernet), and Airplay Mirroring worked fine.

So it's obviously something about my network, but I'm too clueless on this stuff to comprehend exactly what.

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Answer 5

Dec 12, 2015 11:58 AM in response to RustyQShackleford

at step #2, Mac AIr shows connected to my wireless network; ATV2 just shows "Ethernet" (because it's hardwired to router via ethernet cable, as per my original question). Not sure how to verify that is "same network" as the wifi.

The first 3 sets of numbers in their IP addresses should be the same.

The Airport express should be set up in bridging mode.

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Answer 6

Dec 12, 2015 12:23 PM in response to Winston Churchill

No idea how to bridge the AE; don't recall that option in Airport Utility.

Anyhow, I'm going to completely re-config my network soon. Replace ATT-supplied modem + wireless router thing with stand-alone modem and Airport Extreme. Let the Extreme do the wireless network and all the routing (except for the switch in the A/V center).

Thanks for your help.

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Answer 7

Dec 12, 2015 12:43 PM in response to RustyQShackleford

If the first 3 sets of numbers in the IP addresses are the same it is bridging the network.

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Answer 8

Dec 12, 2015 1:13 PM in response to Winston Churchill

The first three octets of the ATV2 IP address are the same as "IP address" on the "base station" (Airport Express). The AE also shows a thing called "LAN IP address" which is completely different (starts with 10 instead of 192).

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Answer 9

Dec 13, 2015 10:36 AM in response to RustyQShackleford

Tthey need to be the same as those in the IP address of your Mac Air.

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Answer 10

Dec 13, 2015 10:38 AM in response to Winston Churchill

Yeah, they weren't the same (the first three octets). And then I switched to using the wireless on the modem-router thing, and they are the same - and Airplay Mirroring works.

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Answer 11

Feb 13, 2017 5:40 AM in response to RustyQShackleford

I Was able to get my gen 4 atv to work with airplay by using the passcode in the airplay menu

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