How to Watch YouTube on a TV From Your iPad or iPhone
There are four ways to get YouTube from an iPad or iPhone onto a TV. The YouTube app's own Cast button is free, and for just watching it's the best of them. Screen Mirroring and a cable are free too, but show a copy of your screen. ScreenCommand puts desktop YouTube in a full-screen browser on the TV, with your iPad or iPhone as the trackpad, for when you want to browse YouTube on the big screen and not only play a video. Here's what each one shows and what you need.
The four options at a glance
Checked against YouTube Help and Apple Support · October 2026| Feature | Cast from the YouTube app | Screen Mirroring | USB-C or HDMI cable | ScreenCommand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free | Free, plus a cable or adapter | $4.99 once |
| What the TV shows | The TV's own YouTube app, playing your video | A copy of your screen | A copy of your screen | Desktop YouTube in a full-screen browser |
| Video fills a widescreen TV | ✓The TV plays it itself | ✗Keeps your device's shape | ⚠️Mirrors, so expect black bars | ✓At the TV's own resolution |
| Use your iPad or iPhone while it plays | ✓Playback carries on | ✗The TV shows your screen | ✗The TV shows your screen | ✗It's the trackpad and remote |
| Browse YouTube on the TV with a cursor | ✗Your phone or the TV remote | ✗You tap the device | ✗You tap the device | ✓Your device is the trackpad |
| Other websites on the TV | ✗YouTube only | ✓As a copy of your screen | ✓As a copy of your screen | ✓Desktop sites, in tabs |
| What you need | A TV or streaming device with the YouTube app, on the same Wi-Fi or linked with a TV code | An Apple TV or AirPlay 2 smart TV on the same Wi-Fi | An iPad, or an iPhone with video out, and a cable or adapter | A USB-C iPad or an iPhone, and a cable or an Apple TV |
YouTube, iPadOS and iOS behavior checked against YouTube Help and Apple Support in October 2026, and may change. Neither documents what the YouTube app shows over a cable: the reports we found describe a mirror (see option 3).
Option 1: cast from the YouTube app (free, best for just watching)
If the TV has the YouTube app, or is plugged into a streaming device that does, like an Apple TV, the YouTube app on your iPad or iPhone can hand the video over. The TV plays it full screen in its own YouTube app, and your iPad or iPhone stays free: YouTube says you can browse other videos or add them to the TV's queue without interrupting playback.
- Connect your iPad or iPhone to the same Wi-Fi network as the TV or streaming device.
- Open the YouTube app on the TV or streaming device, and on your iPad or iPhone.
- Go to the video you want to watch and tap Cast in the video player.
- Choose your TV. The video plays there, and the TV's remote or your device controls it.
TV not in the list? On iOS and iPadOS 14 and later, YouTube needs permission to find devices on your local network, and casting won't work without it. In Settings, find the YouTube app and turn on Local Network.
Not on the same Wi-Fi? Link the two with a TV code instead. In the YouTube app on the TV, go to Settings and choose Add a device to show a code. Then, in the YouTube app on your iPad or iPhone, tap Cast, tap Add a device, and enter that code.
Casting works from the YouTube app, not from youtube.com in Safari: YouTube says you can't cast from its website in a mobile browser.
Option 2: Screen Mirroring with AirPlay (free, a copy of your screen)
With an Apple TV or an AirPlay 2 smart TV, Screen Mirroring shows whatever is on your iPad or iPhone, YouTube included. It's free and works with any app, but it is a copy of your screen in your screen's shape: an iPad's squarer picture leaves black bars on both sides of a widescreen TV, a 16:9 video sits inside that smaller frame, and anything else you open on the device shows on the TV too.
- Connect your iPad or iPhone to the same Wi-Fi network as the TV, then open Control Center by swiping down from the top-right corner of the screen.
- Tap Screen Mirroring and choose your Apple TV or smart TV. If a code appears on the TV, type it on your device.
- Open YouTube and play the video full screen.
- To stop, open Control Center, tap Screen Mirroring, then tap Stop Mirroring.
Where mirroring is the right choice, and where it isn't: ScreenCommand vs Screen Mirroring.
Option 3: a USB-C or HDMI cable (free, mirrors too)
No smart TV, or a computer monitor with no YouTube app to cast to? A cable works with anything that has an HDMI or USB-C video input. Every USB-C iPad has video out: use a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter, or a single USB-C cable if the display takes video over USB-C. A Lightning iPad needs Apple's Lightning Digital AV Adapter. On iPhone, a cable needs USB-C video out: iPhone 15 or later, except iPhone 16e, iPhone 17e and iPhone Air.
What the TV shows is still a mirror. Apple says a connected display shows a copy of your screen, except in apps with their own second-screen picture, like some video apps. Neither Apple nor YouTube lists the YouTube app as one of those, and the reports we found describe it mirroring over a cable. So expect the same picture as AirPlay mirroring: your screen's shape, with black bars on a widescreen TV.
Which cable or adapter to buy, and what to do about No Signal: how to connect an iPad to a monitor or TV.
Option 4: desktop YouTube on the TV, with ScreenCommand
ScreenCommand is an iPad and iPhone app that puts a desktop-class browser on the TV, full screen at the TV's own resolution, while your iPad or iPhone becomes the trackpad and keyboard. Open youtube.com and you get the desktop site on the big screen: search, channels, playlists and comments, picked with a cursor from the couch rather than a TV remote.
- Desktop YouTube, full screen: the same youtube.com you'd use on a computer, filling the TV with no black bars.
- Controls on your iPad or iPhone: play, pause, seek, volume and fullscreen, and pick the video quality, up to 4K.
- Cinema Mode: your iPad or iPhone dims its own screen during fullscreen video, so it doesn't glow next to the TV.
- Stays signed in: sign in to YouTube once and you're still signed in next time, with your subscriptions and playlists.
- The rest of the web, too: up to 4 windows with 12 tabs each, one on the TV or two side by side.
Set it up
- Install ScreenCommand on a USB-C iPad with iPadOS 17 or later, or an iPhone with iOS 17 or later, and open it.
- Connect to the TV with a USB-C or HDMI cable for the lowest cursor lag, or use Screen Mirroring to an Apple TV. The browser appears on the TV.
- Go to youtube.com. Glide a finger on your iPad or iPhone to move the cursor, tap to click, and tap the search box to type.
- Start a video, then go fullscreen and pick the quality from the media controls on your iPad or iPhone.
Just want to watch? Cast instead
If all you want is a video playing on the TV, the YouTube app's Cast button does that for free and leaves your phone free too. ScreenCommand is for browsing YouTube on the TV itself, with a cursor, and the rest of the web along with it. It's $4.99 once, and it needs a monitor or TV: it has no browsing mode on the device alone.
Apple TV has no web browser of its own. Here's how to put one on it with your iPad or iPhone.
Which one should you use?
- To just watch a video: cast from the YouTube app. It's free, the TV plays the video full screen, and your phone stays free.
- To show the room exactly what's on your screen, YouTube or any other app: Screen Mirroring or a cable, both free.
- On a screen with no YouTube app, like a computer monitor: a cable, which mirrors your screen, or ScreenCommand for desktop YouTube that fills it.
- To browse YouTube on the big screen, with a cursor, your account and other sites in tabs: ScreenCommand.
Frequently asked questions
How do I cast YouTube from my iPhone or iPad to a TV?
Put your iPhone or iPad on the same Wi-Fi network as the TV, open the YouTube app on both, go to a video and tap Cast in the video player, then choose your TV. It works with smart TVs and streaming devices that have the YouTube app, and the Apple TV has one. Casting is free, and you can keep using your phone while the video plays on the TV.
Why doesn't my TV show up when I tap Cast in YouTube?
Check three things. Your iPhone or iPad and the TV need to be on the same Wi-Fi network. The YouTube app should be open on the TV or streaming device. And on iOS and iPadOS 14 and later, YouTube needs Local Network permission to find TVs: in Settings, find the YouTube app and turn on Local Network. If the two can't share a Wi-Fi network, link them with a TV code from Settings, Add a device, in the TV's YouTube app.
Can I watch YouTube on an external monitor from my iPad?
Yes, with a USB-C cable or a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter. A computer monitor has no YouTube app to cast to, so an iPad without an M-series chip shows a mirror of its screen, black bars included. ScreenCommand fills the monitor with desktop YouTube instead, on any USB-C iPad with iPadOS 17 or later, with the iPad as the trackpad and video quality up to 4K.
Why does YouTube have black bars when I mirror my iPad to the TV?
Mirroring copies the iPad screen in the iPad's own squarer shape, so a widescreen TV fills the leftover width with black bars, and a 16:9 video sits inside that smaller frame. Casting from the YouTube app avoids this, because the TV plays the video itself. So does ScreenCommand: its browser draws its own picture at the TV's resolution, so fullscreen YouTube fills the screen.
Does this work from an iPhone too?
Yes. Casting from the YouTube app and Screen Mirroring work from iPhone as well as iPad. A cable needs USB-C video out: iPhone 15 or later, except iPhone 16e, iPhone 17e and iPhone Air. ScreenCommand runs on any iPhone with iOS 17 or later, over a cable on those models or over AirPlay to an Apple TV on any of them.
Do I need ScreenCommand just to watch YouTube on my TV?
No. To play videos on the TV, cast from the YouTube app: it's free and the TV plays the video itself. ScreenCommand is for browsing on the big screen: desktop YouTube and other websites in a full-screen browser, with your iPad or iPhone as the trackpad and keyboard. It's $4.99 one-time, with no subscription.
More product questions (pricing, gestures, privacy) are covered in the main FAQ.