How to View iPhone Pictures on a Roku

To view iPhone pictures on a Roku, put both devices on the same Wi-Fi network, open a photo in the Photos app, tap Share, tap AirPlay, and choose your Roku. The picture fills the TV right away, and nothing needs to be installed on the Roku.

These steps cover an iPhone on iOS 27 (iOS 26 and older versions back to iOS 12.3 use the same buttons) and any Roku player or Roku TV on Roku’s AirPlay list. If your Roku can’t do AirPlay, Roku Photo Streams and a USB drive are covered further down.

What You Need

• An iPhone with iOS 12.3 or later. Apple’s AirPlay guide for iPhone describes the Share and AirPlay steps used here.
• A Roku that supports AirPlay. Not every model does, and some need a software update first. The list below comes from Roku’s AirPlay and HomeKit help article.
• One Wi-Fi network for both. The iPhone and the Roku must be on the same network. A guest network or a second router with a different name counts as a different network.

To see your model and software version, press Home on the Roku remote and go to Settings > System > About. You can check for an update from the same System menu.

Roku device	AirPlay support
Roku Select and Plus Series TVs	Any Roku OS version
Roku Express 4K and 4K+, Streaming Stick 4K and 4K+, Streaming Stick+, Premiere and Premiere+, Ultra and Ultra LT, Streambar, Streambar Pro, Smart Soundbar, and many Roku TVs	Roku OS 9.4 or later
Roku Express (3700), Express+ (3710), Roku 4 (4400), and Roku TV models numbered 5xxx and 6xxx	Roku OS 10.0 or later

Roku’s article lists the exact model numbers. If your model isn’t in it, it doesn’t support AirPlay, and you’ll need one of the other methods below.

Turn On AirPlay on the Roku

AirPlay is usually on already, but check it once so your Roku shows up on the iPhone.

1. Press Home on the Roku remote.
2. Open Settings > Apple AirPlay and HomeKit. If that menu is missing, the Roku needs an update or doesn’t support AirPlay.
3. Make sure AirPlay is set to On.

How to Show iPhone Photos on a Roku With AirPlay

1. Connect the iPhone to the same Wi-Fi network as the Roku. On the iPhone, check Settings > Wi-Fi.
2. Turn on the TV and switch it to the Roku’s HDMI input (a Roku TV is ready as soon as it’s on).
3. Open the Photos app and tap the picture or video you want to show. It opens full screen on the iPhone.
4. Tap the Share button (the square with an arrow pointing up).
5. Tap AirPlay in the share sheet. A list of nearby AirPlay devices appears.

6. Tap the name of your Roku. The first time you connect, a code may appear on the TV; type it on the iPhone.

7. Swipe to the next photo on the iPhone to change the picture on the TV. For a video, use the play and pause controls on the iPhone or the Roku remote.

You’ll know it worked when the same photo shows on the TV and on the iPhone at once.

To stop, tap the AirPlay button again and choose your iPhone, or press Home on the Roku remote. Both end the session and leave your photos untouched.

Play a Slideshow on the TV

Showing pictures one at a time works for a few shots. For a whole vacation, start a slideshow on the iPhone first.

1. In Photos, tap Select and pick the photos, or open an album.
2. Tap the More button (three dots), then tap Start Slideshow.
3. Tap the screen, tap the More button, tap AirPlay, and choose your Roku.

Slideshows play with music. To keep the room quiet, follow these steps to turn off the music during an iPhone picture slideshow.

Mirror Your Whole iPhone Screen

Screen mirroring sends everything on the iPhone to the TV, including photos in apps that have no AirPlay button, like a shared album in a messaging app.

1. Open Control Center. On an iPhone with Face ID, swipe down from the top-right corner. On an iPhone with a Home button, swipe up from the bottom edge.
2. Tap Screen Mirroring (two overlapping rectangles).
3. Choose your Roku, and enter the code from the TV if asked.

Everything you see on the iPhone now appears on the TV, notifications included, so silence them first if others are watching. To stop, open Control Center, tap Screen Mirroring, then tap Stop Mirroring.

Which should you use? The Share > AirPlay method shows only the photo, in full quality, and lets you keep using the iPhone privately. Mirroring is better when the pictures live in an app other than Photos.

Use Roku Photo Streams for a Photo Screensaver

Photo Streams is Roku’s own photo feature. It works on Roku models without AirPlay, keeps showing your pictures after the iPhone leaves the house, and can turn them into the Roku screensaver. You need a free Roku account and the Roku mobile app from the App Store. Roku’s Photo Streams help article lists these steps.

1. Open the Roku app on your iPhone and sign in to your Roku account.
2. Tap Photo Streams, then tap Create Stream.
3. Add photos and give the stream a name. You can also pick photos in the Photos app, tap Share, and choose Roku.
4. Share the stream by email or link if you want family to add photos.
5. On the Roku, open the Photo Streams channel to view the pictures or start a slideshow.

Each stream holds up to 1,000 photos in JPG, PNG, HEIC or WEBP format, so iPhone photos work without conversion. Creating your first stream also sets Photo Streams as the screensaver. To change that later, go to Settings > Theme > Screensavers, or set a clock as the Roku screensaver instead.

You can also manage streams in a web browser at photostreams.roku.com.

To pick a wallpaper, screensaver, or full theme pack from Roku’s own collection instead, change the theme on a Roku.

Other Options and What Doesn’t Work With an iPhone

• Play on Roku. This feature of the Roku mobile app displays personal photos and videos from your phone. Roku’s comparison chart shows which models support it.
• A USB drive. Some Roku models have a USB port and can show pictures with the Roku Media Player app. Roku’s Roku Media Player article lists JPG, PNG and non-animated GIF photos, but not HEIC, which is the iPhone’s default format. When you copy photos to a computer for the drive, leave Settings > Apps > Photos > Transfer to Mac or PC set to Automatic so they arrive as JPEG files. For the drive steps, read about playing files from a USB drive on a Roku.
• Roku’s built-in screen mirroring works with Windows and most Android devices, not iPhone. On an iPhone, use AirPlay instead.
• Casting sends video from apps like YouTube or Netflix and doesn’t show your photo library. Use it to watch YouTube on a Roku.

Why Your Roku Doesn’t Show Up in AirPlay

• The model isn’t supported or needs an update. Compare Settings > System > About with the table above, and install any update from the System menu.
• AirPlay is off. Turn it on at Settings > Apple AirPlay and HomeKit.
• The devices are on different networks. On the Roku, check Settings > Network > About and compare the network name with Settings > Wi-Fi on the iPhone. If your router has separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz names, join the same one on both. If the Roku is on the wrong network, here’s how to connect a Roku to a different Wi-Fi network.
• The Roku TV is off. A Roku TV in standby can drop off the network. Turning on Fast TV start (called Fast start on a Streambar) keeps it connected, though it uses noticeably more power.
• The picture is on the wrong input. With a Roku player, switch the TV to the HDMI input the Roku is plugged into.
• It still won’t connect. Restart the Roku from Settings > System > System restart (on some models it’s under Power), or unplug it for a few seconds, restart the iPhone, and try again.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Roku Guides

• How to use your iPhone as a Roku remote
• How to AirPlay an iPhone picture to an Apple TV