How to Cast from iPhone to Windows PC

Why Casting from iPhone to Windows Is Not One Button

If you have ever tried to mirror your iPhone to a Windows PC, you have probably discovered the awkward truth: there is no built-in “cast to Windows” button on the iPhone. AirPlay, Apple’s screen mirroring system, is designed for Apple TVs and Macs, not for Windows. Windows has its own wireless display system, Miracast, which the iPhone does not support. The two systems simply do not talk to each other directly.

That does not mean it cannot be done. It means you need a bridge: a small receiver app running on your Windows PC that speaks AirPlay, so your iPhone sees the PC as if it were an Apple TV. Once that app is running, mirroring works from the iPhone’s normal Screen Mirroring button, with no extra steps on the phone. This guide shows you how to set it up, how to mirror your screen, how to cast video from specific apps, and how to fix the problems that come up most often.

Before You Start: What You Need

• An iPhone running a recent version of iOS, and a Windows 10 or 11 PC.
• Both devices on the same Wi-Fi network. This is essential: AirPlay discovery works over your local network, and if the phone is on mobile data or a different network, the PC will not appear.
• An AirPlay receiver app on the PC. Windows has no built-in AirPlay receiver, so this is the one piece you need to add. The reliable options are covered in Step 1.
• A reasonably strong Wi-Fi signal. Screen mirroring sends a live video stream across your network. A weak signal means lag, stuttering, or a connection that drops, especially for video.

Step 1: Install an AirPlay Receiver on Your Windows PC

The receiver app is what makes the whole thing work. It runs on your PC, advertises itself on your network as an AirPlay device, and displays whatever your iPhone sends. There are several good options:

• LonelyScreen: simple and focused, with a free trial. Install it, open it, and your PC appears as an AirPlay receiver. The free version shows occasional prompts, and the paid version removes them.
• AirServer: the most polished option, used in classrooms and offices. It supports AirPlay, Miracast, and Google Cast in one app, so it also works with Android devices. It is paid software with a free trial.
• 5KPlayer: a free media player that includes a built-in AirPlay receiver. Open it, enable its AirPlay function in the settings, and your PC appears to your iPhone. The interface is busier than the dedicated receivers, but it costs nothing.
• ApowerMirror: a mirroring app with both a PC program and an iPhone app. It works well, but it needs its own app on the phone as well as the PC program, so it is slightly more setup than the pure AirPlay receivers.

For most people, LonelyScreen or 5KPlayer is the right starting point: LonelyScreen if you want the simplest possible experience, 5KPlayer if you want it free. Download whichever you choose only from its official website, not from a random download portal, since fake versions of popular utilities are a common source of unwanted software.

1. Download and install your chosen receiver on the PC.
2. Open the receiver app. It should show a waiting screen, often with the PC’s name and a message that it is ready to receive.
3. If Windows Firewall asks whether to allow the app on your network, click “Allow”. Without this, your iPhone cannot discover the PC.
4. Leave the receiver app open. It must be running for your iPhone to see the PC.

Step 2: Mirror Your iPhone Screen to the PC

1. On your iPhone, open Control Centre: swipe down from the top-right corner on an iPhone with Face ID, or swipe up from the bottom on an iPhone with a Home button.
2. Tap “Screen Mirroring”. A list of available AirPlay devices appears.
3. Tap your PC’s name in the list. If you named your PC during receiver setup, that name is what you will see.
4. If asked, enter the AirPlay code shown on your PC screen into your iPhone. This one-time pairing step confirms you are connecting to the right computer.
5. Your iPhone screen now appears on your PC, live. Everything you do on the phone shows on the PC screen, including apps, photos, and videos.

To stop mirroring, open Control Centre again, tap Screen Mirroring, then tap “Stop Mirroring”. Your phone screen returns to normal and the PC goes back to its waiting screen.

Step 3: Cast Video from a Single App Instead of Mirroring Everything

Mirroring shows your whole phone screen, including notifications and whatever else you open. Sometimes you only want to send a video to the PC while you keep using your phone for other things. Many video apps support this directly through AirPlay:

1. Open the video in an app that supports AirPlay, such as YouTube, Photos, or a streaming app.
2. Look for the AirPlay icon, which looks like a rectangle with a triangle at the bottom, or the Cast icon, depending on the app.
3. Tap the icon and choose your PC from the list.
4. The video plays on your PC while your iPhone shows playback controls. You can lock your phone or switch to another app without interrupting the video.

This only works in apps that include AirPlay support. If an app has no AirPlay or Cast button, fall back to full screen mirroring from Step 2: the video will still play on the PC, but your whole screen goes with it, so avoid opening anything private while it plays.

Step 4: Get the Best Quality from Your Mirror

Mirroring quality depends on your network more than on any setting. A few adjustments make a visible difference:

• Use 5 GHz Wi-Fi if you can. If your router broadcasts both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks, put both devices on the 5 GHz one. It is faster and less congested, which means smoother video and less lag.
• Stay close to the router. A phone at the far end of the house from the router will mirror with noticeable delay. Moving closer, or moving the PC closer to the router, often fixes stuttering immediately.
• Close bandwidth-heavy apps on the PC. A download, a cloud backup, or a video call running on the PC competes for the same network and can make mirroring choppy.
• Lower the receiver’s quality setting if it stutters. Most receiver apps let you choose a resolution or quality level. Dropping from 1080p to 720p still looks good on a PC monitor and is far more forgiving of a weak network.
• Plug the PC into Ethernet if possible. A wired PC removes half the wireless journey: only the phone-to-router hop stays wireless, and the stream becomes much more stable.

Using Mirroring for Presentations, Photos, and Games

Once mirroring works, it is useful in more situations than people expect. For presentations, you can walk around a room with your phone while your slides show on a PC connected to a projector or a large screen, advancing them from the phone. For photos, mirroring lets a group look at holiday pictures on a big screen instead of crowding around a phone. For games, casual games mirror well, though fast action games will show some lag, so competitive or timing-critical games are better played directly on the device.

One practical tip for presentations: turn on Do Not Disturb on your iPhone before you start mirroring. Otherwise a message preview or a call notification will appear on the big screen in front of everyone. Swipe into Control Centre, tap the moon icon or the Focus button, and enable Do Not Disturb until you finish.

What About Casting Without Any App?

People often ask whether there is a way to do this with nothing installed on the PC at all. Strictly speaking, no: Windows 11 does not include an AirPlay receiver, and Apple does not offer one for Windows. The closest no-install option is to use a web-based approach in a few specific apps: some apps let you open a web page on the PC and pair it with the phone by scanning a code, but this works app by app, not for the whole screen, and it depends on the app supporting it.

Another option is a hardware receiver: a small device that plugs into the PC’s monitor over HDMI and receives AirPlay directly, such as an Apple TV or a third-party AirPlay dongle. This bypasses the PC entirely and shows your phone on the monitor, which suits a TV setup but is overkill if you just want to mirror to a PC you already own. For most people, a receiver app on the PC is the simplest and cheapest answer.

Troubleshooting

My PC does not appear in Screen Mirroring

Check the basics first: the receiver app must be open on the PC, both devices must be on the same Wi-Fi network, and Windows Firewall must have allowed the receiver app. If all of that is true, restart the receiver app, then toggle Wi-Fi off and on again on your iPhone. A router restart also fixes discovery problems more often than it should.

The mirror connects but the video stutters or lags

This is almost always network. Move closer to the router, switch both devices to 5 GHz Wi-Fi, close other network-heavy apps, or lower the receiver’s quality setting. If the PC can be wired to the router with Ethernet, do that: it is the single biggest improvement available.

There is no sound on the PC

Check that the receiver app is not muted and that Windows is sending audio to the right output device. Click the speaker icon in the Windows taskbar and confirm the output is your speakers or headphones, not a disconnected device. Some receiver apps have their own volume control in their window, so check that too. If sound works in mirroring but not in a specific app, the app may be sending audio through a different route: try full screen mirroring instead of in-app casting.

An AirPlay code appears every time I connect

Some receivers ask for a code on every connection for security, and some remember your phone after the first pairing. If your receiver has a setting for requiring a code, you can turn it off on a trusted home network, but leave it on if the PC is in a shared office or classroom where strangers could connect.

The screen is sideways or the wrong size

Your iPhone mirrors in whatever orientation the phone is in. If the PC shows a narrow portrait image in the middle of a wide screen, rotate your phone to landscape: the mirror follows. Some receiver apps also let you force a landscape window, which is useful when you want to keep the phone upright while the PC shows a wide image.

Mirroring worked yesterday but not today

Receiver apps sometimes lose their firewall permission after a Windows update, or the PC’s network changes from private to public, which blocks discovery. Reopen the receiver, check the firewall prompt, and confirm the PC’s network is set to Private in Windows Settings under Network. If all else fails, reinstalling the receiver takes only a few minutes and resets everything cleanly.

A Bridge, Not a Missing Feature

Casting from an iPhone to a Windows PC feels like it should be built in, and it is frustrating that it is not. But the bridge is small: one receiver app on the PC, both devices on the same Wi-Fi, and the Screen Mirroring button you already have on your phone. Once it is set up, mirroring becomes a two-tap action, and your phone’s screen, videos, and photos are available on the biggest screen in the room whenever you need them.