How To Share Screen On iPhone: A Step-by-Step Guide

Screen sharing is an incredibly useful tool, coming in handy during presentations, watching content on a larger screen, showing off photos from your recent vacation, or helping a loved one troubleshoot their device. Thus, screen sharing is a powerful tool for communication and collaboration. Fortunately, both Android and iOS devices offer support for screen sharing.

While the process on the former is as simple as tapping a toggle in the control centre, the latter has a few caveats. So, if you've ever wanted to share your iPhone screen but could not figure out how to do so, our step-by-step guide will come to your assistance.

How Screen Sharing on iPhone Works

Screen sharing on iPhone works differently from Android. It is facilitated by AirPlay, Apple's proprietary technology that allows you to stream music, photos, videos, and also mirror your iPhone screen onto a compatible device, wirelessly. For certain actions, such as screen sharing while on FaceTime, protocols like SharePlay are also utilised.

This outputs a video feed of your iPhone's screen on the external device, allowing the recipient to see exactly what you see, including all of the actions, in real time.

What is Required to Screen Share on iPhone

1. An iPhone running the latest version of the iOS operating system
2. A compatible device for outputting the content. This can either be an Apple TV, an AirPlay-compatible smart TV, or a Mac running the latest macOS version.
3. A Wi-Fi network for the devices to discover and interact with each other

How to Share Your Screen on iPhone (Using AirPlay)

1. Ensure that your iPhone and Apple TV/ AirPlay-compatible device are on the same Wi-Fi network
2. On iPhone, swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen (on Face ID models), or from the bottom (on Touch ID models) to bring up the Control Centre
3. Select the Screen Mirroring toggle, which should appear as two overlapping rectangles. In case the icon is not showing, you can add the screen mirroring toggle by pressing and holding on the Control Centre and selecting the Add a Control option.
4. Select your Apple TV or AirPlay device from the list
5. Now, enter the four-digit AirPlay code shown on the Apple TV or the AirPlay-compatible device when prompted.
6. Your iPhone screen should now begin mirroring on the device. Repeat Steps 1–3 and select Stop Mirroring to stop screen sharing.

How to Share Your Screen on iPhone (Using SharePlay)

1. Start the audio or video call with the person you want to share the screen with on FaceTime.
2. Once the call is connected, tap the screen to reveal the call controls and access the share menu
3. Look for the Share Content option and tap on it. It should look like a rectangle with a person icon.
4. A menu will appear, confirming whether you wish to share your iPhone screen. Select Share My Screen.
5. After a three-second countdown timer, your iPhone screen will be visible to the recipient.
6. To stop screen sharing, return to FaceTime and select the Stop Sharing option.