You've probably been there. You are sitting on your couch, MacBook Pro balanced on your lap, and you just want to throw that gorgeous 4K wildlife documentary or your chaotic Keynote presentation onto the big screen. You click the little icon, wait for the magic to happen, and... nothing. Or worse, it lags so hard it looks like a stop-motion film from the nineties.
Airplay on MacBook Pro is one of those features we all take for granted until it decides to be finicky. It’s basically Apple’s proprietary "magic" for moving bits of data—video, audio, or your entire desktop—across the airwaves to a TV, a speaker, or even another Mac.
Honestly, the tech has come a long way since the early days of "AirTunes." With the release of macOS Tahoe 26 and the new "Liquid Glass" interface, the way we interact with these controls has shifted slightly, making things look a bit more translucent and, frankly, a lot cooler. But the underlying plumbing is still the same. If you’re struggling to get it to work, or you just want to know how to squeeze every bit of performance out of it, let's get into the weeds.
The Basics: Getting Your Mac to Talk to Your TV
Most people think AirPlay is just one thing. It's actually a two-way street. You can send stuff from your MacBook Pro to a TV, but since macOS Monterey, you can also send stuff to your Mac.
If you want to mirror your screen to an Apple TV or a Roku/Samsung/LG TV that supports AirPlay 2, the process is usually a two-click affair. Look at the top right of your menu bar. You’ll see the Control Center icon—it looks like two tiny toggle switches. Click that, then click Screen Mirroring.
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A list of devices will pop up. If your TV is on the same Wi-Fi network, it shows up there. Click it. Boom. Your Mac screen is now on the TV.
Sometimes a four-digit code pops up on the television. Don't panic. That’s just Apple’s way of making sure your neighbor doesn't accidentally stream their weird niche hobbies to your living room. Type the code into your Mac, and you’re in.
Why Is It So Laggy?
Lags happen. It sucks.
Usually, it's not your MacBook Pro’s fault. These machines—especially the M1, M2, and M3 models—have dedicated hardware engines for video encoding. The bottleneck is almost always your Wi-Fi router. AirPlay 2 uses a lot of bandwidth because it’s trying to send high-quality video frames in near real-time.
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If you’re on a 2.4GHz network, you're going to have a bad time. That frequency is crowded with everything from your microwave to your neighbor's ancient cordless phone. Switch your Mac and your TV to the 5GHz or 6GHz (Wi-Fi 6E/7) band if you can. It’s like moving from a dirt road to a multi-lane highway.
Using Your MacBook Pro as the Destination
This is the part most people forget exists. Say you’re playing a song on your iPhone, but you want to use the beefy high-fidelity speakers built into your MacBook Pro. You can actually AirPlay to the Mac.
To make this work, you have to toggle a setting that is buried a bit deep.
- Open System Settings.
- Go to General.
- Click AirDrop & Handoff.
- Make sure AirPlay Receiver is turned on.
You can set this to "Current User" if you only want your own devices to connect, or "Anyone on the Same Network" if you want your friends to be able to DJ at your house. It’s a lifesaver when you’re in a hotel and the TV speakers are garbage, but your laptop sounds great.
The "Extended Display" Secret
When you mirror your screen, everything looks... square. That's because your MacBook Pro screen has a different aspect ratio than your widescreen TV.
Instead of mirroring, try Use as Separate Display.
When you do this, your TV becomes a second monitor. You can have Safari open on the laptop and a full-screen movie playing on the TV. To do this, go back to the Screen Mirroring menu in the Control Center after you've connected. You'll see an option to "Optimize For" or "Use As." Choose the TV as the optimization target. It makes the text way easier to read.
Troubleshooting Like a Pro
If the icon isn't showing up at all, check your Firewall. It’s the classic "did you plug it in" of the Mac world.
- Go to System Settings > Network > Firewall.
- Click Options.
- Make sure "Block all incoming connections" is unchecked.
- Ensure "Automatically allow built-in software to receive incoming connections" is checked.
If that doesn't work, the "nuclear option" is usually restarting your router. I know, it's a cliché. But AirPlay relies on something called "mDNS" (multicast DNS) to find other devices. Routers sometimes get "tired" and stop passing those discovery packets around. A quick power cycle usually clears the pipes.
New in 2026: The Tahoe Update
With macOS Tahoe (version 26), Apple introduced the Liquid Glass design. This hasn't fundamentally changed AirPlay, but it has changed the "Phone Mirroring" feature. You can now use Spotlight to search for apps sitting on your iPhone and launch them directly onto your Mac screen.
Wait, isn't that just AirPlay?
Sort of. It’s Continuity. But it uses the same wireless protocols. If you find that your iPhone Mirroring is failing, it's likely the same Wi-Fi interference issues that plague standard AirPlay.
Pro Tips for the Best Experience
Don't just use the default settings. If you’re doing a presentation, turn on Do Not Disturb. There is nothing more embarrassing than a "Mom" text popping up in 60-inch glory while you're showing quarterly earnings.
Also, if you're streaming audio to a HomePod or a Sonos, you can control the volume of individual speakers directly from the Sound menu in the menu bar. You don't have to go into the Music app. Just click the Sound icon (the one that looks like a speaker) and you'll see a list of all active AirPlay outputs with their own sliders.
Summary of Actionable Steps
- Check the Band: Always use 5GHz Wi-Fi for both the MacBook and the receiver to avoid stuttering.
- Toggle the Receiver: Enable "AirPlay Receiver" in System Settings > General > AirDrop & Handoff to use your Mac as a speaker or second screen for your iPhone.
- Extend, Don't Mirror: Choose "Use as Separate Display" in the Screen Mirroring menu to get a true dual-monitor setup on your TV.
- Firewall Check: If devices aren't seeing each other, verify that your Mac's firewall isn't blocking incoming connections in the Network settings.
- Clean the Menu Bar: In macOS Tahoe, use the customizable Control Center to pin the Screen Mirroring icon directly to your menu bar for faster access.