Trying to connect your iPad to a TV? Whether you want to watch YouTube on a larger screen, browse the web, or present using Powerpoint or Keynote, our solution will quickly have you up and running. We’ll explain how to set things up and share tips and tricks to get the best results for various scenarios.
Quick Answer: You will need an HDMI adapter to run an HDMI cable from the iPad to a TV. The final setup will look like this iPad > Apple HDMI adapter > HDMI cable > TV.
What equipment do you need to connect an iPad to a TV?
- TV
- Power
- HDMI Cable: https://currentprice.io/6ft_hdmi
- TV remote
- (iPad) Apple Lightning to HDMI: https://currentprice.io/lightning_av
- (iPad Pro) USB-C to HDMI Adapter: https://currentprice.io/multiport
We recommend buying an official Apple HDMI adapter for peace of mind. We have known 3rd party adapters to fail; stress you can do without during a presentation.
How To Connect an iPad to a TV
Total Time: 5 minutes
Connect the TV to a power source
Connect power cable to wall outlet
Plug the HDMI cable into an input on your TV
It doesn’t matter which one you use, but you’ll need to know which one, e.g., “Input 1”.
Connect Adapter to iPad
You’ll either need a Lighting > HDMI adapter or USBC > HDMI adapter, depending on which model of iPad you have.
Connect another end of your HDMI cable into the Apple adapter
Your TV should display your iPad Screen within a few seconds
If this doesn’t work, follow our troubleshooting tips in the next section.
Note: The HDMI connection will play sound from the iPad through the TV. This gives you complete control of the volume using your TV remote.
iPad to TV Connection Troubleshooting Tips
If you’re having problems with the connection, try each of these troubleshooting tips one by one.
- Check that your TV is set to the same input that you plugged your HDMI cable into
- Turn the TV and iPad off, wait a few seconds, and then turn them back on again
- Try another input on the TV
Displaying An Internet Browser on the TV
The iPad and TV have a different sized viewing area, so what will fill the iPad screen will leave black bars at the side of the content on your TV.
For internet browsing, this isn’t a huge problem or distraction. The TV will do its best to mirror the iPad display.
Displaying a YouTube Video on the TV
When you’re watching YouTube videos on your TV, you want them to fill the whole display. Thankfully, the iPad takes care of this and will automatically display full-screen video content on your TV.
Meanwhile, the iPad screen will show comments and other YouTube navigation menus, allowing you to line up the next video behind the scenes.
Displaying Powerpoint & Presenter View
For a professional presentation, you need the slides to take up the whole screen on the TV. But you may wish to have notes display on the iPad to help deliver the presentation.
There are two options in the “slideshow” menu on the top bar that control how the second display (TV) behaves.
- From Current
The TV and iPad will show the same full-screen slide content. - Presenter View
This will show the slide full-screen on the TV and a presenter view with thumbnails of all slides and notes on the iPad.
Displaying Keynote & Presenter View
By default, Keynote will give you presenter notes on the iPad and full-screen slides on the TV. All you have to do is hit the play button in the top right corner.
A button in the top right with a two-screen icon allows you to select various other view options if the default is not what you want.
If a TV isn’t big enough for your presentation, check out our article on how to connect an iPad to a projector.
How To Connect iPad to TV Equipment Prices
- Apple Lightning to HDMI: https://currentprice.io/lightning_av
- USB-C to HDMI Adapter: https://currentprice.io/multiport
- HDMI Cable: https://currentprice.io/6ft_hdmi
