How to AirPlay from Android

Updated July 2026 · by the ThankAI team

Apple never brought AirPlay to Android, so out of the box your phone and a HomePod simply ignore each other. The good news is that modern Android can capture what is playing on your phone and hand it to AirPlay devices directly over your Wi-Fi — no root, no cables, and no account. We build two free apps that do exactly that, and this guide walks through both routes, what you need, and where the limits are. We would rather tell you about the limits now than after you have installed something.

The two routes: audio or the whole screen

It helps to decide up front which of these you actually want, as they are handled by different apps.

Audio only — music, podcasts, radio or any other sound from your phone playing on a HomePod, AirPlay speakers, an Apple TV or a Mac. This is AirAudio Streamer, and it is the route to take for listening: it uses less battery and the sound is the priority.
The whole screen — your display and its sound mirrored to an Apple TV, a Mac or a TV with AirPlay built in. This is AirVids Streamer, and it is the route for photos, apps, browsing and presentations.

Route 1 — stream your audio

Install AirAudio Streamer from Google Play. It needs Android 14 or later.
Make sure your phone is on the same Wi-Fi network as your speakers.
Open the app. Nearby AirPlay devices appear automatically — tap one, or tap several to play to them together.
Press play in your music app. The audio moves to the speakers.

From there you get per-speaker volume, a delay control measured in milliseconds so rooms can be lined up with each other, and a "find my speaker" beep for working out which device is which when several share a name. Stereo pairs are detected automatically and share a linked volume.

Some outputs — certain AirPlay 2 speakers, or routing sound out through a TV — need a small free helper running on a Mac on the same network. The app tells you when that applies; the Mac Relay page covers it in a few minutes.

Route 2 — mirror your screen

AirVids Streamer is currently in open beta testing — anyone can sign up here and download it from Google Play.
Same rule as before: phone and display on the same Wi-Fi.
Open AirVids and pick your display — an Apple TV, a Mac with AirPlay Receiver turned on, or a TV with AirPlay built in (many LG and Samsung models have it).
Start mirroring. Rotate your phone and the picture follows, portrait or landscape.

You can mirror at 1080p or drop to 720p to save battery, both at 30 frames per second. Audio travels with the picture, and there is a per-device A/V sync slider for when the sound runs through a soundbar or HomePod that is a beat behind the screen.

What you need

An Android phone on Android 14 or later.
A normal home Wi-Fi network, with the phone and the AirPlay device on the same network.
An AirPlay device: HomePod or HomePod mini, Apple TV, AirPlay speakers and receivers, a Mac, or an AirPlay-capable TV.

Both apps are free to use. Streaming sessions are time-limited and you can watch an optional rewarded ad to unlock more time — that is what keeps the apps free, and we would rather be upfront about it.

When this won't work

A few limits are built into Android and Apple's platforms, and no app can honestly promise its way around them.

DRM-protected video apps. Netflix and similar apps block screen capture, so mirroring them shows a black rectangle. That is the platform protecting the content, not a bug we can fix.
Apps that block audio capture. A small number of apps opt out of Android's audio capture, and those play silence. Most music and podcast apps work fine.
Fast games over mirroring. Screen mirroring runs roughly 200 ms behind your phone. Video, photos and slides are fine; anything twitch-reactive is frustrating.
Hotel, campus and guest Wi-Fi. Networks with client isolation stop devices from seeing each other, so AirPlay discovery fails. At home this is rarely an issue.
iPads as receivers. iPads do not accept incoming AirPlay mirroring, so they cannot be a target — that one is on Apple.

Common questions

Do I need to root my phone?

No. Both apps use Android's standard capture and projection APIs, install from Google Play, and run on a normal unmodified phone. We wrote up how that works in the guide on AirPlay without root.

Which app do I need for a HomePod?

AirAudio Streamer — the HomePod is a speaker, so it takes the audio route. The Android to HomePod guide walks through it step by step.

Can I play to several speakers at once?

Yes. AirAudio streams to multiple AirPlay devices at the same time, with per-speaker volume and a delay adjustment to keep rooms in sync with each other.

Does it work over Bluetooth or mobile data?

No — AirPlay is a local Wi-Fi protocol, so both devices need to be on the same network. A Bluetooth add-on for reaching non-AirPlay speakers is something we are actively looking at.

Is anything uploaded to a server?

No. The stream travels directly from your phone to the AirPlay device over your own network, and neither app requires an account.