I have a new Mac Mini and am trying to set it up to stream movies to my Apple TV. Apple TV is a only a few months old. When I go into settings to set up sharing media, I put in my Apple ID and password. It still shows media sharing as off. Apple TV says no computers found, turn on home sharing. What am I doing wrong?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Issue setting up media sharing on Mac
- Thread starter comovartia
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
it's been far too long for m to remember how, but this is the help screen, are you following those steps?
Set up media sharing on Mac
Turn on media sharing to allow other devices on your network to browse and play downloaded music, movies, and TV shows from your Mac.You can change the name of your Media library, set up Home Sharing, and share your media with other users on the same network.
Media sharing is turned on when you select either Home Sharing or the option to share media with guests. To turn off media sharing, deselect the Media Sharing checkbox in the service list on the left.
Change the name of your media library
- On your Mac, choose Apple menu
> System Settings, click General
in the sidebar, then click Sharing on the right. (You may need to scroll down.)
Open Sharing settings for me - Click the Info button next to Media Sharing.
- In the Library Name field, select the current name of the library, then enter a new name.
- Click Done.
Turn on Home Sharing
With Home Sharing, you can access your media library on all your devices where you’re signed in with the same Apple ID.Note: If you already have five Mac computers authorized to play content purchased from the iTunes Store or the Apple TV app, you can’t turn on Home Sharing for another Mac. See Authorize a Mac to play iTunes Store purchases.
- On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click General
in the sidebar, then click Sharing on the right. (You may need to scroll down.)
Open Sharing settings for me - Click the Info button next to Media Sharing.
- Select the Home Sharing checkbox.
- Enter your Apple ID and password, then click Turn On Home Sharing.
- Select any of the following options:
- Devices update play counts: Select this checkbox if you want to update play counts (the number of times an item has been played) when the items are played on other computers in your Home Sharing network, or on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
- Share photos with Apple TV: Select this checkbox if you want to view your photos on Apple TV.
- If you select the “Share photos with Apple TV” option, click Choose, then select which photos you want to share:
- Select a Photos library or a folder: Click the “Share Photos from” pop-up menu, then choose Photos or a folder that contains the photos you want to share.
- Share all photos in the library or folder: Select “All photos and albums” or “All folders.”
- Share only certain photo albums or folders: Select “Selected albums” or “Selected folders,” then select the items you want to share from the list below. If you share selected albums, click Albums to select photo albums or People to select photos of specific individuals.
- Share videos: Select “Include videos.”
- Click OK when you’re finished selecting photo sharing options.
Turn off Home Sharing
- On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click General
in the sidebar, then click Sharing on the right. (You may need to scroll down.)
Open Sharing settings for me - Click the Info button next to Media Sharing.
- Deselect the Home Sharing checkbox.
Share your media library
You can share your media library with other computers on the same network. For others to access your media library, your Mac must be turned on.- On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click General
in the sidebar, then click Sharing on the right. (You may need to scroll down.)
Open Sharing settings for me - Click the Info button next to Media Sharing.
- Select the “Share media with guests” checkbox.
Deselect the checkbox if you no longer wish to share your media with other people. - Click Options, then do any of the following:
- Select Require Password, then enter a password to protect your media library.
- Select “All songs, movies, and TV shows” to share everything in your library.
- Select “Selected playlists,” to share only the items you choose.
I'm setting my mum up with a new Mac mini and currently she is having issues turning media sharing "on" to share home movies to the Apple TV. I went into my MacBook Air sharing, which was "on" at the time and turned it off, and now I can't turn it back on. I'm doing everything correct but after putting in my Apple ID and password, it would go to the below. No content shared.
Anyone else want to turn theirs off and on again.
Sonoma 14.6.1
Anyone else want to turn theirs off and on again.
Sonoma 14.6.1
I believe I'm having this same issue. I'm still seeking a solution. Have you had any luck?
I followed all the steps above. After turning on home sharing, it would show that it was off. Now it shows that it is on. I went into the Apple TV settings and directed it to the folder that has my media. Apple TV still says No Libraries Available. I am at a loss here
On the Home Sharing settings screen.
1) Make sure Media Sharing is turned off on the Sharing page, and make sure Home Sharing is un-checked on the settings screen.
2) Check the "Share media with guests", and leave the default options. Then close the Media Sharing dialog.
3) Make sure the Media Sharing is on
4) Close System Settings and reopen all the way to Media Sharing dialog, (there are refresh issues with it and this forces it)
5) Check off "Home Sharing" and then enter the user email and password when prompted.
Home sharing should now be on and working. Something weird is going on and requiring the guests option to be on.
Sorry, I thought it was working, but now after restart it's selected and shows media sharing on, but its not available to AppleTVs.
Last edited:
Ok, so I tried several things and finally got it to work. (I tried logging out of icloud, trying a new local user, manually calling it from terminal - none worked).
Then I finally got it to work, and I think the final issue it was having was I didn't Authorized my account to play iTunes DRM'd movies (which some are downloads under DRM). This is more than just logging in, you have to go to the TV app, then under Account menu bar item, select Authorizations, and then Authorized this computer....
After that it allowed me to finally turn on Home Sharing and when it prompted for my info, after I gave the correct username and password, it took about 5 seconds and then it alerted me that it had started. It also took my AppleTV clients about 60 seconds when first connecting to get the list of my media (but I have a lot of videos and it may be faster for you).
Hope this helps someone else.... good luck everyone.
Then I finally got it to work, and I think the final issue it was having was I didn't Authorized my account to play iTunes DRM'd movies (which some are downloads under DRM). This is more than just logging in, you have to go to the TV app, then under Account menu bar item, select Authorizations, and then Authorized this computer....
After that it allowed me to finally turn on Home Sharing and when it prompted for my info, after I gave the correct username and password, it took about 5 seconds and then it alerted me that it had started. It also took my AppleTV clients about 60 seconds when first connecting to get the list of my media (but I have a lot of videos and it may be faster for you).
Hope this helps someone else.... good luck everyone.
Thank you!!! This had been driving me crazy for hours and it was as simple as Authorizing this computer...geez