How to use airplay on vizio smartcast

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I mostly use my Vizio TV in the bedroom to watch Netflix or Amazon Prime, but occasionally I mirror stuff that I was watching to the TV for a seamless experience.

This works pretty well with YouTube because it has a built-in cast feature.

AirPlay is the go-to for other apps, and the experience has been pretty good up until this point.

When I tried to use AirPlay with a video I had on my phone to cast to my Vizio TV, it wouldn’t work.

No matter what I tried, whenever I send the video to AirPlay, the phone gets stuck in an infinite loading loop, and the cast never starts.

I had no idea what this error meant, so I decided to research online to salvage my only time off during the day.

I went to Apple’s and Vizio’s support websites to look for fixes for the issue and checked out a few forum posts where other people had been having the same problem.

With all the information that I was able to gather, I managed to prepare the guide that you’re reading right now to get AirPlay fixed on your Vizio TV in seconds.

To fix AirPlay on a Vizio TV that’s not working, make sure the TV and device are on the same network. Your TV and device should also support AirPlay natively.

Read on to find out how restarting your phone and TV can help fix AirPlay issues and what devices are compatible with AirPlay.

TV And Device Must Be On The Same Network

One of the prerequisites that AirPlay needs is that both devices need to be on the same Wi-Fi network for the feature to work.

Being connected to the same Wi-Fi means that your Apple device and the device you want to mirror can communicate at the fastest possible speed without needing a wired connection.

So make sure your phone and TV are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

Try casting the content you were trying to get on the TV again with AirPlay after connecting to the same Wi-Fi.

Your Devices Must Be Compatible

Apple has laid out a few minimum system requirements that you need to fulfill to get AirPlay working with your devices.

Both TVs and Apple devices need to be checked for compatibility because both play an essential part when using AirPlay.

For Apple devices:

• Any iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch that runs iOS 12.4

In the case of your Vizio TV, smart TV post-2016 with SmartCast features is AirPlay compatible.

Make sure your devices meet these requirements and try using AirPlay again.

Turn On AirPlay In The TV

Before you start using AirPlay, the feature needs to be turned on on the Vizio TV.

If the feature isn’t turned on before, it will not work as intended.

Turn the feature on by going to the TV’s settings.

To do this:

1. Press the V or Home button on the TV remote.
2. Select Extras.
3. Find AirPlay in the Extras section and make sure it’s turned on.

After enabling AirPlay on the TV, you can try casting content to the TV again with AirPlay.

Update Your Devices

AirPlay gets worked on all the time and receives frequent updates that fix tons of bugs and issues with the feature.

Apple pushes software updates to their devices frequently, and so does Vizio.

Installing these updates can fix any issues with the TV or your phone that might have stopped AirPlay from working well.

To update your Apple device:

1. Connect your phone to your charger.
2. Connect it to your Wi-Fi network.
3. Navigate to Settings > General.
4. Select Software Update.
5. Select the update you want and tap Install Now.

To update your Vizio TV:

1. Press the V key on the TV remote.
2. Choose System.
3. Select Check for updates.
4. Let the TV finish its check, and if it finds an update, it will start downloading it automatically.
5. The TV will then restart and begin installing the update.
6. The TV will restart again after the install.

Try using AirPlay again after updating your devices and see if it works.

Reboot Your TV

Restarting is a pretty easy but helpful trick to fix most problems with any hardware.

Vizio TVs are no exception, and trying a restart can help with AirPlay issues.

To restart your Vizio TV:

1. Turn the TV off.
2. Unplug the TV from the wall socket.
3. Wait for at least a minute before you plug the TV back in.
4. Turn the TV back on.

After the TV turns on, try using AirPlay to cast and see if it works again.

Restart Your Phone

If the issue doesn’t seem to be with the TV, restarting your phone is worth trying out because it only takes a few minutes of your time.

To restart your iPhone X, 11, 12

1. Press and hold the Volume + button and the side button.
2. Turn the phone off by dragging the slider to the other side.
3. Turn the phone back on by pressing and holding the button on the right.

iPhone SE (2nd gen.), 8, 7, or 6

1. Press and hold the side button.
2. Turn the phone off by dragging the slider to the other side.
3. Turn the phone back on by pressing and holding the button on the right.

iPhone SE (1st gen.), 5 and earlier

1. Press and hold the top button.
2. Turn the phone off by dragging the slider to the other side.
3. Turn the phone back on by pressing and holding the button on the top.

After restarting the phone, try using AirPlay again to cast content to your Vizio TV and see if the issue has been fixed.

Final Thoughts

With peer-to-peer connections, AirPlay doesn’t need Wi-Fi to work; it instead uses your phone as a temporary hotspot for the connection is also quite possible.

But you can only do this with content that’s already on your phone and is not possible to do with content from streaming services.

With the amount of AirPlay-compatible TVs and other equipment in the market right now, it’s safe to say that an upgrade is a pretty good option if your TV is old.

Newer TVs add more features like a higher refresh rate screen, higher resolutions, and improved audio.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cast my iPhone to my Vizio TV?

Most Vizio TVs support AirPlay 2, which means you can cast the content on your iPhone to your Vizio TV with the press of a button.

What Vizio TVs have AirPlay?

All Vizio smart TVs post 2016 have SmartCast support AirPlay and AirPlay 2 out of the box.

How do I know if my Vizio TV has screen mirroring?

If your Vizio TV has SmartCast, the TV also supports screen mirroring.

SmartCast is Vizio’s set of mirroring features that include Miracast and AirPlay.

Is AirPlay an app?

AirPlay is not a dedicated app but a baked-in feature on most iOS and Mac devices that lets you mirror a display or any other device.

You won’t need to install anything to make use of this feature.

How do I get my Vizio TV to use AirPlay?

Does Vizio SmartCast have AirPlay?

Why won't AirPlay work on my Vizio Smart TV?