My TV doesn't show up
If your TV isn't in the list after a few seconds, check these in order:
- The TV is on, not in standby, and connected to the internet.
- Same Wi-Fi: your iPhone and TV must be on the same network name. Guest networks keep devices apart on purpose, so use the main one. If your router has separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz names, try the one the TV uses. Where the Wi-Fi signal is weak, your iPhone may quietly switch to cellular data (Wi-Fi Assist): move closer to the router.
- Local Network access is on: iPhone Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network > TVkip. TVkip only appears in that list after its first search for TVs. If you just turned it on, go back to the app and search again.
- VPN off: a VPN can hide your home network. Turn it off in Settings > VPN, or allow "local network" or "LAN" traffic in your VPN app. A VPN or profile installed by your work or school may not let you; ask your IT team. iCloud Private Relay and Limit IP Address Tracking don't affect your TV.
- Mesh or extenders: turn off "AP isolation" or "client isolation" in your router's settings if it has them.
- Still nothing? Open Can't Find Your TV? and type the TV's IP address under Connect by IP Address. You'll find it on the TV under Settings > Network > Network Status (the exact menu varies by brand).
A Google TV or Android TV is missing? Update its Android TV Remote Service (see Connecting a Google TV or Android TV): older versions don't announce the TV to phones.
A Hisense VIDAA TV is missing? Turn on Content Sharing on the TV (see Connecting a Hisense VIDAA TV), or type its IP address under Connect by IP Address.
Networks
- Guest, hotel, dorm and office Wi-Fi usually block device-to-device traffic ("client isolation"), so the app can't reach TVs there. Can't Find Your TV? in the app tells you when nothing at all answered on your network, which is what such networks look like.
- Mesh Wi-Fi (eero, Deco, Orbi, Google Wifi and others): some systems drop the search messages TVs answer. Turn off "AP isolation" or "client isolation", turn on "IGMP snooping" or multicast support if offered, or connect by IP address.
- TV on a cable, iPhone on Wi-Fi works when both are on the same network. If your router puts wired devices on a separate network (another VLAN or subnet), automatic search can't cross it: connect by IP address, and allow traffic between the two networks.
- Personal Hotspot: a TV joined to your iPhone's hotspot can be controlled; a TV on your home Wi-Fi can't while your iPhone shares its hotspot.
- The TV's address changed (after a router restart, for example): the app looks for the TV again by itself. If it can't find it, open Add a TV and pick it from the list; its settings are kept.