Overview

The Apple AirPlay Policy manages which AirPlay destinations your Macs, iPhones, and iPads can use, such as Apple TVs and AirPlay-compatible displays and speakers. You can:

Restrict AirPlay to approved destinations with an allow list, such as the Apple TVs in your meeting rooms.
Preload AirPlay passwords, so managed devices can connect to password-protected destinations without users entering the password.

A new policy with no entries doesn't change anything. Users can AirPlay to any available destination.

Important: The allow list works only on supervised iPhones and iPads. On unsupervised iPhones and iPads, the allow list has no effect and users can still see every destination. Macs don't need supervision. Passwords work on both supervised and unsupervised devices.

Supported platforms and requirements

Item	Details
Platforms	macOS, iOS, iPadOS
Minimum OS	macOS 15.0+, iOS 18.0+, iPadOS 18.0+
Device ownership	Company-owned devices
Supervision	Required for the allow list on iPhone and iPad

This policy controls where a device can send AirPlay content. To stop other devices from AirPlaying to a Mac, turn off Allow AirPlay Receiver in the Apple Application and Service Control Policy.

Settings reference

Allowed Destinations

When the list has entries, the device shows only those AirPlay destinations. Leave it empty to allow all destinations.

Field	What to enter	Used on
Device ID	The destination's device ID, in the format `xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx`. Case doesn't matter.	macOS 11.3–14 and iOS/iPadOS 14.5–17. Apple deprecated it in macOS 15 and iOS/iPadOS 18, and Apple TVs running tvOS 18 don't support it.
Device name	The destination's AirPlay name, such as `Boardroom Apple TV`. Case doesn't matter.	macOS 15 and later, iOS/iPadOS 18 and later

Enter a Device ID, a Device name, or both. If your fleet includes devices on both older and newer OS versions, enter both so each entry matches everywhere. For Apple TVs on tvOS 18, use Device name, since they don't support device IDs.

Requirement	Details
Minimum OS	macOS 11.3, iOS/iPadOS 14.5
Supervision	Required on iPhone and iPad
Default	Empty (all destinations allowed)

Passwords

Each entry stores the AirPlay password for one destination, so managed devices connect without asking the user for it.

Field	What to enter	Used on
Device ID (Mac only, macOS 14 and earlier)	The destination's device ID.	macOS 14 and earlier. Deprecated in macOS 15; not used on iPhone or iPad.
Device name	The destination's AirPlay name.	iPhone and iPad; macOS 15 and later
Password	The destination's AirPlay password. Required for each entry.	All

Enter a Device name for each entry. Add the Device ID too if you manage Macs running macOS 14 or earlier.

Requirement	Details
Minimum OS	macOS 10.10, iOS/iPadOS 7.0
Supervision	Not required
Default	Empty

Add each destination only once. If the same destination appears more than once, in this policy or across several AirPlay policies on one device, Apple says the result is undefined. The same applies to the allow list. Keep all your AirPlay destinations in a single policy per device.

Find a destination's device name and device ID

Device name

The device name is the name shown in the AirPlay list. Enter it exactly as it appears, including spaces. Case doesn't matter.

From any Apple device on the same network: open Control Center, then Screen Mirroring. Each destination is listed by name.
On an Apple TV: go to Settings > General > About, and look at Name. On some tvOS versions, it's under Settings > General > Name.
On other AirPlay TVs and speakers: check the manufacturer's settings for the AirPlay or device name.

To keep the policy working, give each destination a clear name you won't change, such as Boardroom Apple TV. If someone renames a destination, newer devices stop matching it until you update the policy.

Device ID

You only need the device ID for Macs running macOS 14 or earlier, or iPhones and iPads running iOS/iPadOS 17 or earlier. Newer devices match by name. Apple TVs on tvOS 18 don't support device IDs.

The device ID uses the format xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx.

On an Apple TV: go to Settings > General > About. The Wi-Fi Address or Ethernet Address is usually the device ID. Use the address for the network the Apple TV actually connects on.

From a Mac on the same network: use Terminal to read the ID the destination advertises. This works for any AirPlay destination, including third-party TVs and speakers.

List the AirPlay destinations on the network:
```
dns-sd -B _airplay._tcp
```
Note the name in the Instance Name column, then press Control-C.
Look up the destination's details, replacing Boardroom Apple TV with its name:
```
dns-sd -L "Boardroom Apple TV" _airplay._tcp local
```
In the output, find deviceid=. The value after it is the device ID, such as deviceid=A4:83:E7:12:34:56. Press Control-C to stop.

Apple doesn't officially document the information a destination advertises. This method works today but could change in a future release, so test the ID before you roll out the policy.

Check your entry: after you assign the policy to a test device, open Screen Mirroring and confirm that the destination appears.

Before you start

List your approved destinations with their AirPlay names and device IDs.
Check supervision for iPhones and iPads that need the allow list.
Get the AirPlay passwords for any password-protected destinations.
Check OS versions. Devices before macOS 11.3 or iOS 14.5 ignore the allow list.

Create the policy

In Swif, go to Device Management > Policies, then select Create new policy > Configure a Policy.
Select Apple AirPlay Policy.
Enter a clear name, such as AirPlay – Meeting Rooms.
Under Allowed Destinations, add each approved destination with its Device name, Device ID, or both.
Under Passwords, add each password-protected destination with its Device name and Password. Add the Device ID for Macs running macOS 14 or earlier.
Save the policy.
Assign it to a device group.
Test from a supervised iPhone or iPad and a Mac before a wider rollout.

Example configurations

Example 1: Office meeting rooms

Company Macs and supervised iPads can AirPlay only to the meeting room Apple TVs, and they connect without entering passwords.

Allowed Destinations

Device ID	Device name
`a4:83:e7:12:34:56`	`Boardroom Apple TV`
`a4:83:e7:65:43:21`	`Huddle Room 2`

Passwords

Device ID	Device name	Password
`a4:83:e7:12:34:56`	`Boardroom Apple TV`	`Board-2026!`
`a4:83:e7:65:43:21`	`Huddle Room 2`	`Huddle-2026!`

Example 2: Classroom iPads

Supervised student iPads can AirPlay only to the classroom display.

Allowed Destinations

Device ID	Device name
`f0:b4:79:aa:bb:cc`	`Room 104 Display`

Example 3: Passwords only

Unsupervised company iPhones keep access to every destination, but connect automatically to the password-protected lobby display. iPhones match by name, so no device ID is needed.

Passwords

Device ID	Device name	Password
—	`Lobby Display`	`Lobby-2026!`

Verify the policy

iPhone or iPad

Go to Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, open the Swif profile, and confirm that it includes AirPlay settings.
Open Control Center > Screen Mirroring. With an allow list on a supervised device, only the listed destinations should appear.
Connect to a destination with a stored password. It shouldn't ask for the password.

Mac

Open System Settings > General > Device Management and open the Swif profile. Confirm that it includes AirPlay settings.
Open Control Center > Screen Mirroring and check that only the listed destinations appear.

In Swif, open the device and confirm that the policy shows as applied.

Troubleshooting

An iPhone or iPad still shows every destination

Check that the device is supervised.
Check that it runs iOS/iPadOS 14.5 or later.

An approved destination doesn't appear

On iOS/iPadOS 18 or macOS 15 and later, check that Device name exactly matches the destination's AirPlay name.
On older versions, check the Device ID.
Confirm that the destination is on the same network and turned on.

An Apple TV on tvOS 18 doesn't match on older Macs or iPhones

tvOS 18 destinations don't support device ID matching. Update the Mac to macOS 15 or later, or the iPhone or iPad to iOS/iPadOS 18 or later, so the device matches by name.

A destination still asks for a password

Check that the name (and, on macOS before 15, the device ID) matches the destination.
Check that the password is current.

AirPlay behaves unpredictably on a device

The same destination may be listed more than once, in one policy or across several AirPlay policies. Keep each destination in only one entry in one policy.

Other devices can still AirPlay to a Mac

This policy doesn't control receiving. Turn off Allow AirPlay Receiver in the Apple Application and Service Control Policy.

Related resources

Swif

Apple