How to Turn Off AirPlay on Different Apple Devices
Last Updated on February 6, 2025 by John PaulAirPlay is a feature on Apple devices that allows screen casting as you may know. While such a feature is typically called mirroring, it’s named AirPlay for Apple devices such as iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple TVs, and more. However, some first-time users have a hard time using the feature, let alone switching it off. If you’re one of them, this is the article for you.
Below, we’ve organized different official ways to turn off AirPlay depending on the Apple device you’re using. As you may know, the steps and locations of some settings can vary from one Apple device to another. So, check them out below and follow the method for your device.
In this article
FYI: Reasons to Turn Off AirPlay
Besides forgetting how to turn AirPlay off, there are other reasons why you should know how to turn it off such as:
- Prevent or Stop unwanted mirroring – The last thing you want to happen is to mirror content on the wrong devices. You may accidentally mirror it to your sibling’s TV or whatnot.
- Avoiding embarrassing content from being cast – You don’t want to mistakenly cast inappropriate content on a large screen with other people around you. That would be so embarrassing on your part if they knew it was you who accidentally did it.
- Save data – As you may know, AirPlay can use your home network's bandwidth to stream and cast content between compatible devices and displays. It may cause your home network to get slower, affecting the other devices connected to it.
Turn Off AirPlay via iPhone/iPad’s Control Center
Switching off AirPlay on iPhone and iPad is the same because they have the same interface. You can end an AirPlay session from the Control Center. This will immediately terminate the session between the iPhone/iPad and the external display being used.
1. Slide down from the upper right corner of the screen to summon the Control Center.
2. Look for the Screen Mirroring icon (the one with overlapping rectangles). Then, tap on it and select Stop Mirroring. That’s it.
Note:
You may also terminate AirPlay in case you’ve started it from an app. Just go to that app and switch it off there the way you turned it on.
Turn Off AirPlay from Automatically Connecting
There might also be instances where your iPhone or iPad’s AirPlay automatically connects to your TV or any other compatible device nearby whenever you turn it on. This can be embarrassing as you may accidentally stream content you don’t want others to know about. In that case, you may also need to turn off AirPlay from automatically connecting. Here’s how:
1. Launch Settings and proceed to General.
2. There, hit AirPlay & Handoff and tap Automatically AirPlay. Set it to Never and leave Settings.
After that, streaming via AirPlay has to be done manually.
Part 2: How to Switch Off AirPlay on Mac
If you are using your Macbook or Mac computer to AirPlay, there are also two ways you can turn it off like the ones with the iPhone. The first one is to end the session directly or disable your Mac’s feature to receive any mirroring or AirPlay requests. The latter can help you prevent others from connecting to your Mac using AirPlay.
Turn Off AirPlay via Mac’s Control Center
Like iPhones/iPads, Macs also have a Control Center wherein you can access quick settings like AirPlay. From there, you can deactivate AirPlay.
1. On the menu bar, you hit the Control Center icon. It’s located on the upper right side of the screen.
2. There, you will have the Screen Mirroring option. Click on it and you should see the devices available for mirroring. Hit the one used to mirror your Mac and it should immediately be disconnected.
Switch Off AirPlay Receiver
Besides screen casting to other devices, Mac can also receive AirPlay requests. Yes! You can use a Mac to AirPlay your iPhone or iPad’s screen. You may turn off your Mac’s AirPlay receiver when you don’t need it to avoid unwanted mirroring.
1. Hit the Apple icon on the menu bar and choose System Preferences/Settings. There, look for the Sharing option and click on it.
2. Find the AirPlay Receiver option in the left sidebar menu. Then, uncheck it. You may tick it again when you need to use your Mac for screen mirroring.
3. But in case you don’t want to disable it, you may modify the “Allow AirPlay for” option to let the Current user to have exclusive AirPlay use on devices with the same Apple ID or “Anyone on the same network” option and activate Require Password.
Switch off AirPlay on Apple TV
1. Go to your Apple TV Settings and hit AirPlay.
2. There, select the AirPlay option and switch it to “Off” to disconnect and disable AirPlay connections.
Turn Off AirPlay on the Samsung Smart TV
1. On your Samsung Smart TV remote, press the Home button, go down, and choose Menu. Then, hit Settings > All Settings.
2. There, look for Connections and hit Apple AirPlay Settings. There, set AirPlay to “off”.
Deactivate AirPlay on RokuTV or other AirPlay Compatible TVs
1. Launch Settings on your TV and proceed to Apple AirPlay or Apple AirPlay Homekit.
2. Select either of the mentioned options. Then, choose AirPlay and turn it off.
Note:
The process can vary slightly on other devices but more or less, it’s the same.
Part 4: How to Disable AirPlay on Apple Watch
Even though they are small, Apple Watches also supports AirPlay. Yes! You can screencast your Apple Watch to your iPhone or iPad. If you check the Settings, you will see that there’s an option to mirror the Apple Watch display. If you forgot how to turn it off, here’s how to do it given that you’re currently mirroring the watch to your iPhone/iPad.
1. On your iPhone/iPad, open Settings and proceed to Accessibility.
2. There, go down and tap Apple Watch Mirroring. Then, toggle it on to see a smaller menu with your watch’s name.
3. Hit the X button on the upper-right corner to stop the AirPlay session. Then, you may toggle off Apple Watch Mirroring if you want the feature to be completely deactivated.
Final Thoughts
Those are the official ways to turn off AirPlay on different Apple and AirPlay-compatible devices. If there are little changes with some of the names and locations of the Settings, it might be due to Apple’s recent software updates, but the switching-off process should still be the same, especially for Apple devices.
However, it can be a bit different on Smart TVs, as they come in different brands and configurations. As long as you can find AirPlay or Homekit in the Settings, you should be able to turn off AirPlay from there.