How to Screen Mirror an iPhone or iPad to a Samsung TV (AirPlay, HDMI and Fixes)

The quick answer

• Samsung TV from 2018 or later? It probably has AirPlay. Turn it on in Settings > All Settings > Connection (General on some models) > Apple AirPlay Settings. Then, on the iPhone or iPad, open Control Center, tap Screen Mirroring and choose the TV.
• Older Samsung, or no AirPlay menu? Use a USB-C to HDMI adapter and an HDMI cable. Every Samsung TV with an HDMI port takes it, and it needs no Wi-Fi.
• Netflix goes black? That's copy protection, and mirroring never carries it. Use the Netflix app on the Samsung TV, or connect with a cable.
• SmartThings won't mirror an iPhone. On an iPhone it's a remote for the TV. Samsung says the app's screen mirroring only works from Samsung phones; iPhones and iPads use AirPlay.

Every way to get an iPhone or iPad onto a Samsung TV

The cable rows need an iPad with USB-C, or an iPhone with video over USB-C (iPhone 15 or later, except iPhone 16e, iPhone 17e and iPhone Air); Lightning models need Apple's Lightning Digital AV Adapter. ScreenCommand is supported over a cable and over AirPlay to an Apple TV; we haven't verified it with the AirPlay built into Samsung TVs, so the table doesn't claim it.

Does your Samsung TV have AirPlay?

Samsung added AirPlay to its smart TVs in 2018. Its TV pages say every Samsung smart TV released since then has it; its US support article says select models from 2018 to 2025. Either way, the TV itself is the quickest check:

• Find the menu. Open Settings > All Settings and look under Connection, or under General on some models, for Apple AirPlay Settings. Samsung says that if the option is there, the TV is compatible, and if it's missing, the TV doesn't support AirPlay.
• Know the year. Samsung's UK list starts with the 2018 Frame, QLED 4K, 4K UHD and Smart Full HD N5300 TVs and adds QLED, Frame, Serif and Crystal UHD models in the years after. A Samsung TV from before 2018 doesn't have it.
• Not only TVs. Samsung lists AirPlay 2 on some of its Smart Monitors too, such as the 2021 M5 and M7, with the same Apple AirPlay Settings menu.
• Or just try it. With the TV on and both on the same Wi-Fi, open Screen Mirroring on the iPhone or iPad. If the TV isn't listed, work through the fixes below before giving up on it.

Another brand of TV? How to connect an iPad to a smart TV covers LG, Sony, TCL, Roku TVs and more.

Turn on AirPlay on the Samsung TV

AirPlay can be switched off on the TV, and then the iPhone won't see it. Samsung's menu names shift a little from year to year, but the path has the same shape:

1. On the TV, open Settings, then All Settings.
2. Choose Connection. On some older models, the AirPlay menu is under General instead.
3. Choose Apple AirPlay Settings.
4. Turn AirPlay on.

The same Apple AirPlay Settings menu holds the other options worth knowing:

• Require Code: ask for a code the first time an Apple device connects, or every time, or set your own code.
• Reset Paired Devices: makes the TV forget every Apple device it has paired with.
• Subtitles and Captioning: turns captions on or off and sets their font, size and color.
• About AirPlay: shows which version of AirPlay the TV runs.

Screen mirror an iPhone or iPad to the Samsung TV

These are Apple's Screen Mirroring steps, the same on iPhone and iPad:

1. Turn the TV on, and connect it and the iPhone or iPad to the same Wi-Fi network. Not a phone's hotspot: Samsung notes that most mobile hotspots don't let the devices on them talk to each other.
2. Open Control Center: swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen. On an iPhone with a Home button, such as iPhone SE, swipe up from the bottom edge.
3. Tap Screen Mirroring and choose your Samsung TV.
4. If an AirPlay code appears on the TV, type it on the iPhone or iPad. The screen now shows on the TV.

To stop, open Control Center, tap Screen Mirroring, then tap Stop Mirroring.

An iPhone held upright mirrors as a narrow strip in the middle of the TV. Turn it sideways in apps that rotate, like Photos and video apps, to use more of the screen.

Mirroring travels over Wi-Fi with a little delay. That's fine for photos, video and slides; for games or anything you steer, a cable feels quicker.

Mirroring the screen vs AirPlay from inside an app

Screen Mirroring sends a copy of everything: your Home Screen, notifications, whatever you type. The TV shows exactly what the iPhone or iPad shows, in its shape.

The AirPlay button inside an app sends just the video, photo or song. Tap AirPlay in a video player, or in Photos tap Share, then AirPlay, and choose the TV. Only that item goes to the TV, not the rest of your screen.

Apple notes that some video apps don't support AirPlay. Netflix is one of them: its help center says AirPlay from an iPhone or iPad isn't supported with Netflix.

Music apps work the same way: tap AirPlay in the player and choose the TV to play through its speakers.

What the SmartThings app does on an iPhone

Samsung's SmartThings app is on the App Store, and plenty of guides send iPhone owners to it. Here's what Samsung's own pages say it does with an iPhone:

• A remote for the TV. Add the TV in SmartThings and the app shows an on-screen remote with volume, channels, Home, Back, the Guide and arrow keys. Samsung says it needs a Samsung account and an internet connection.
• Your iCloud Photos on the TV. On Samsung TVs from 2022 onward, SmartThings can connect your iCloud Photos or Google Photos account to the TV.
• Not screen mirroring. The app has a Mirror screen (Smart View) option, but Samsung says screen mirroring in SmartThings is only available from a Samsung phone. For iPhones and iPads, Samsung's answer is AirPlay.

So you don't need SmartThings to mirror. It's handy as a spare remote, not as a way to get the iPhone's screen onto the TV.

No AirPlay? Use an HDMI cable (any Samsung TV)

A cable works on every Samsung TV with an HDMI port, including ones from before 2018, and needs no Wi-Fi, no code and no setting on the TV. It's also the connection that lets Netflix and other protected video through.

1. Plug a USB-C to HDMI adapter into the iPhone or iPad, or use a single cable with USB-C on one end and HDMI on the other.
2. Run an HDMI cable from the adapter to a free HDMI port on the TV.
3. Switch the TV to that input: press Source on the remote, or on a Samsung Smart Remote press Home, go to Menu, choose Connected Devices and pick the HDMI port.
4. The screen appears on the TV. If the adapter has a charging port, plug in the charger to keep the battery up.

• iPads: every iPad with USB-C sends video. Through an HDMI 2.0 adapter, the iPad (A16), iPad mini (A17 Pro), every M-series iPad Air and every USB-C iPad Pro send up to 4K at 60Hz; the iPad (10th generation), iPad mini (6th generation) and iPad Air (4th generation) top out at 4K at 30Hz.
• iPhones: iPhone 15 and later send video over USB-C, except the iPhone 16e, iPhone 17e and iPhone Air, which send none. Use AirPlay with those.
• Lightning iPhones and iPads need Apple's Lightning Digital AV Adapter and an HDMI cable, at up to 1080p.

Which adapter to buy, and why some show nothing: the USB-C to HDMI adapter guide. Just the iPhone side: how to connect an iPhone to a TV.

Netflix goes black when you mirror? Why, and what works

Streaming services protect their video with DRM, and AirPlay Screen Mirroring never carries protected video: the picture goes black while menus, subtitles and often the sound keep going. Nothing is wrong with the Samsung TV. Netflix goes further: its help center says AirPlay from an iPhone or iPad isn't supported at all.

What works instead, cheapest first:

• The app on the Samsung TV. Samsung smart TVs have their own apps for the big streaming services. Sign in on the TV and leave the iPhone out of it: free, and the best picture.
• The service's own AirPlay button. Where a streaming app has one, it sends the stream itself rather than your screen. Not on Netflix, which doesn't support AirPlay.
• A USB-C to HDMI cable. Over a cable, the Netflix app plays on the TV. Plug the adapter straight into the TV: a splitter or capture card in between can break the HDCP copy-protection handshake.
• A browser on the TV, over the same cable. ScreenCommand plays Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Paramount+ and Peacock on the TV over a USB-C cable, not over AirPlay.

The full story, service by service: the Netflix black screen, explained.

Samsung TV AirPlay not working? Try these

• The TV isn't in the Screen Mirroring list. Check that the TV is on, that AirPlay is on in Apple AirPlay Settings, and that the TV and the iPhone or iPad are on the same Wi-Fi network, not a guest network or a phone's hotspot. Restart both. Samsung also suggests turning off any VPN or firewall that might block AirPlay.
• Update the TV and the iPhone. On the TV: Settings > All Settings > Support > Software Update > Update Now. On the iPhone or iPad: Settings > General > Software Update. Samsung lists both as fixes for AirPlay trouble.
• No Apple AirPlay Settings anywhere. Then the TV doesn't support AirPlay, Samsung says. Use a cable, or plug an Apple TV into one of its HDMI ports.
• It asks for a code every time. In Apple AirPlay Settings, open Require Code and choose to require it only the first time. If a code keeps failing, use Reset Paired Devices in the same menu, then connect again and enter the new code.
• Black bars on both sides. That's the iPad's or iPhone's shape, not a fault, and stretching it with the TV's picture size settings distorts it. To fill the TV, play video through an app's own AirPlay button, connect an M-series iPad by cable and extend, or use an app that draws its own picture, like ScreenCommand.
• The edges are cut off. The TV is zooming in. Open Settings > All Settings > Picture > Expert Settings > Picture Size Settings and try Fit to Screen, which Samsung says shows the full image with nothing cut off. Whether it's offered depends on the picture size you've chosen.
• “No signal” over a cable. Switch to the exact HDMI input you plugged into, reseat both ends and try another port. Check that the adapter is made for video, and that the iPhone isn't an iPhone 16e, iPhone 17e or iPhone Air, which send no video over USB-C.
• Video jumps to the TV on its own. On the iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > AirPlay & Continuity > Automatically AirPlay and choose Ask or Never.

Where ScreenCommand fits

Mirroring shows the iPhone or iPad on the Samsung TV. ScreenCommand shows the web instead: a desktop browser that fills the TV at its own resolution, edge to edge, with your iPad or iPhone as the trackpad and keyboard.

• Any Samsung TV with HDMI, over a cable. Old or new, AirPlay or not. A cable is the recommended connection, with the lowest cursor lag.
• Or through an Apple TV plugged into the Samsung TV, over AirPlay, with a little more cursor lag. Here's how to get a web browser on Apple TV.
• Streaming over a cable. Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Paramount+ and Peacock play in ScreenCommand over a USB-C cable, not over AirPlay. YouTube and other web video play over either.
• Websites, not apps. ScreenCommand shows web pages. For an iPhone game or app on the TV, use Screen Mirroring.
• $4.99 one-time. No subscription, no account to create, zero data collection.

If all you want is Netflix or YouTube on the Samsung TV, its own apps do that for free. ScreenCommand is for the rest of the web on the big screen, with a real cursor.

It needs an iPad with USB-C on iPadOS 17 or later, or an iPhone on iOS 17 or later. Over a cable, an iPhone needs USB-C video out: iPhone 15 or later, except iPhone 16e, iPhone 17e and iPhone Air.

Frequently asked questions

More product questions (pricing, gestures, privacy) are covered in the main FAQ.

Keep reading

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• Connect an iPhone to a TV
• Which USB-C HDMI adapter to buy
• Netflix black screen, explained
• vs Screen Mirroring