On Apple TV 4K, open Settings > AirPlay and Apple Home, then select AirPlay to allow or stop devices from streaming to that Apple TV. You can leave AirPlay on while limiting who may connect through Allow Access on the same screen. This guide controls the Apple TV as an AirPlay receiver; stopping a stream on an iPhone or Mac is a separate action on the sending device.
The menu names follow Apple's current Apple TV 4K guide. Older Apple TV hardware and tvOS versions may use AirPlay or AirPlay and HomeKit instead. If a label differs, look for AirPlay in Settings rather than changing unrelated network or account settings.
Turn the Apple TV receiver on or off
- Wake your Apple TV and press the remote's Home or Back button until you can open Settings. Make sure you are controlling the intended Apple TV if several are nearby.
- Select AirPlay and Apple Home. The screen contains the receiver switch and connection choices.
- Select AirPlay to change its state. Leave it On when you want an iPhone, iPad, or Mac to stream to this TV; set it Off when you do not want the Apple TV to accept AirPlay streams.
- Return to the previous screen and inspect the displayed state. If you turn AirPlay on to test it, open the sending device's AirPlay or Screen Mirroring picker and look for the Apple TV.
Turning off AirPlay on the Apple TV does not turn off the Apple TV's ordinary streaming apps. Netflix, Apple TV, and other installed apps still run through their own accounts and network connections. It also does not disable AirPlay on every device in your home; it stops this specific Apple TV from receiving.
Restrict access without turning AirPlay off
If you want family members to stream but not every visitor, leave AirPlay on and open Settings > AirPlay and Apple Home > Allow Access. Apple lists Everyone, Anyone on the Same Network, and Only People Sharing This Home as receiver access choices. The first is broadest; the last uses people added to your Apple Home. A Require Password option adds a password to the connection process.
Choose a setting based on where the Apple TV sits. In a private living room, same-network access may be convenient. In a shared or public space, a narrower choice and a password can prevent accidental connections. After changing access, try a connection from an authorized device and, if practical, from a device that should be excluded. The Apple TV setting and the sender's network and account still have to align.
Stop a stream that is already playing
If your iPhone is actively mirroring to the TV, open Control Center on the iPhone, tap Screen Mirroring, and stop mirroring there. For a video or audio app, use its AirPlay picker to choose the iPhone again. This ends that sender's current session. Turning off the Apple TV receiver is useful when you want to prevent new connections, but changing the sender is often faster when you only want to stop one stream.
Do not confuse Screen Mirroring with playing an Apple TV app locally. If the content is coming from an app installed on Apple TV, exit or pause that app with the Apple TV remote. If it is arriving from another device, its AirPlay controls are the place to stop it.
If the Apple TV does not appear as an AirPlay destination
Check that AirPlay is on in the Apple TV settings and that Allow Access permits the sender. If you chose Anyone on the Same Network, make sure both devices use the intended Wi-Fi network. A guest network may isolate devices. If you chose Only People Sharing This Home, check Apple Home membership rather than repeatedly toggling AirPlay. A password prompt means the receiver requires its configured password.
If the Apple TV is disconnected from Wi-Fi, fix that first; see how to connect Apple TV to Wi-Fi. Restarting the sender and Apple TV can help after the settings and network checks, but a restart will not solve an access choice that deliberately blocks the device.
Other settings on this screen
AirPlay Display Underscan addresses a cropped picture. Apple says to turn it on if the AirPlay display is cut off and turn it off if black bars appear. This changes the image fit, not who may connect. Conference Room Display is for showing a connection screen in a meeting space. Peer-to-Peer Wireless is a separate energy-related setting on supported models. Leave these alone unless they address your specific problem.
Handle an unexpected password prompt
The first AirPlay connection to an Apple TV can show an onscreen code that you enter on the sending device. That is expected and helps connect to the intended receiver. A repeatedly displayed password prompt when nobody in the room is trying to stream is a reason to review Allow Access, especially on a shared network. Restrict the audience or require a password rather than leaving the receiver broadly available. Apple has a separate AirPlay password help page for this situation.
If the code appears while *you* are connecting, read it from the TV and enter it on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Do not enter an unrelated Apple Account password. If you see several similarly named Apple TVs in the sender's picker, give this one a unique name under the Apple TV's AirPlay and Apple Home settings so you can select the right screen. In a home with multiple rooms, a clear name such as “Living Room TV” is easier to identify than a generic model name.
Decide whether to turn AirPlay off
Turn the receiver Off when you do not want any AirPlay streams to this Apple TV. Keep it On with narrower access when household members should still be able to use it. Stop a single stream from its sending device when the receiver itself should remain available. These choices solve three different situations. After a change, verify the practical result with the device and network that matter; a setting name alone does not confirm a successful connection or block.
Apple's AirPlay and Apple Home settings guide documents the switch, access choices, and picture-fit option. For a concrete example of sending an image, see how to use AirPlay to view an iPhone picture on Apple TV. For audio, see how to play Apple Music on Apple TV.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read hundreds of millions of times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.