Ever wanted to stream that funny cat video straight to your Samsung TV? Or maybe you fancy showing your holiday snaps to the rest of the family without crowding round your tiny phone? Well, with Apple AirPlay (also known as Screen Mirroring, depending on what version of iOS you’re using), you can easily do all that.

It lets you wirelessly mirror or stream your favourite content from any of your Apple gadgets directly to your telly. Letting you see (and listen to) loads of different media, but on a much bigger screen.

How to switch on AirPlay

Before you get going, just make sure that your Samsung TV actually supports AirPlay. Most models from the last few years are compatible with it, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Unless you’re rocking a CRT TV from the early 2000s or something!

Here’s how to switch on AirPlay:

1. Switch on your Samsung TV and check that it’s connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Apple device.

2. Grab your TV remote and head to the ‘Settings’ menu.

3. Look for the ‘AirPlay Settings’ or ‘Apple AirPlay’ option.

4. Toggle the AirPlay feature to ‘On’ or ‘Enabled’.

Once AirPlay has been activated, you’re ready to start streaming from your iPhone, iPad, or MacBook. Right, here’s how to AirPlay to a Samsung TV…

AirPlay from iPhone to Samsung TV

To AirPlay content from your iPhone to your TV, here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. Connect your iPhone to the same Wi-Fi network as your telly.

2. Open the app, or the content you want to stream on your iPhone.

3. Look for the AirPlay icon. It’s usually found in the ‘Control Centre’ or your playback controls.

4. Tap the AirPlay icon and pick your Samsung TV from the list of available devices.

5. Your iPhone screen should now be mirrored on your TV. So, you can get streaming straight away.

AirPlay from iPad to Samsung TV

Using AirPlay from your iPad is pretty similar to your iPhone:

1. Make sure your iPad is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Samsung TV.

2. Fire up the app or the content you’d like to stream from your iPad.

3. Find the AirPlay icon and press it.

4. Select your telly from the dropdown list of devices.

5. And that’s it! Your iPad screen should now be showing up on your telly.

AirPlay from a MacBook to Samsung TV

AirPlaying from your MacBook to your Samsung telly is just as easy:

1. Like with the others, see whether your MacBook is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the telly. If it isn’t, get it hooked up first.

2. Open whatever you want to stream on your MacBook.

3. Click on the AirPlay icon (you can find it in the menu bar, or your playback controls).

4. Choose your Samsung TV from the devices list.

5. If you’ve done it right, your MacBook screen will be displayed on the TV.

Tips to keep your tech connected

Here are a few handy tips to keep your AirPlay experience nice and smooth:

• Update your Apple gadgets and Samsung TV with the latest software versions. This’ll stop you from running into any compatibility issues.

• Is it laggy? Buffering becoming a right nightmare? See whether your Wi-Fi network is stable. If you don’t have a strong signal strength, your streaming sessions are going to be interrupted.

• Have a look if there are any special firmware updates for your telly. They might help to improve your AirPlay performance.

• If you have any AirPlay related problems, try restarting all of your devices and the Wi-Fi router to reset the connections. It’s the oldest trick in the book, but sometimes switching stuff on and off again is all you need to do!

• Try out some different apps and content to really explore the full potential of AirPlay on your TV. After all, it’s some pretty nifty tech.

So, hopefully now you know everything about how to use AirPlay on a Samsung TV. Need some more handy TV hacks? Here’s how to connect headphones to your TV when you need to keep the noise down. And if that dusty screen’s getting in the way of the action, we’ll show you how to clean a TV screen in a few easy steps.