Streaming from Mac to Apple TV without Wi-Fi

iOS 8 introduced the possibility of streaming with AirPlay between the iPhone, iPad and 3rd generation Apple TV, but what about the Mac?

Apple TV is capable of streaming video content over the Internet or even content that is stored locally on a Mac or Windows PC, which are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, but provided it is a local network. What if you don’t have a Wi-Fi network? This is what we’ll try to explain here with an example .

Can I stream Mac to Apple TV without Wi-Fi?

Before we get to a conclusion, let’s look at a real problem. A user who wants to transmit a Karaoke signal from a MacBook Pro to a 52-inch TV with an Apple TV, but doesn’t have a Wi-Fi network to connect them. We’ll try to find a solution to his problem.

Here’s the problem:

The third-generation Apple TV supports AirPlay peer-to-peer, which doesn’t require existing Wi-Fi to operate. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled devices can view and stream content to Apple TV without a Wi-Fi network. You can even play iOS 8 games on your TV. And that’s the problem. It only works with iOS 8, and there’s no support for Macs that can do the same.

Trying to find a solution to transmit without a Wi-Fi network

Because we have a problem, with the inability to transmit from MacBook Pro Wi-Fi to Apple TV, we’re going to try to find a solution.

Let’s go back to the problem we raised a few paragraphs ago and rule out the possibility of using an iOS device. We want to broadcast with the MacBook Pro to the Apple TV, but we don’t have a Wi-Fi network. There is a possibility of creating an Ad-Hoc Wi-Fi network, but Apple TV doesn’t recognize it . The ability to do this, as you could in Snow Leopard, is now a thing of the past.

There is also no way to connect the MacBook Pro via Ethernet, as the distance is too great, as dictated by the problem. The only possible way to connect MacBook Pro to Apple TV would be to use a Wi-Fi access point, with an AirPort Express or any other device that is capable of creating a temporary access point, where the two devices can connect and be on the same Wi-Fi network.

You can also use an Apple router, and considering that Wi-Fi routers can be found fairly cheaply, it’s probably the best way to get your MacBook Pro connected to Apple TV.

The bottom line is that there’s no way to connect MacBook Pro to a third-generation Apple TV without Wi-Fi , and that’s the conclusion we’ve drawn, thanks to iMore. But we’ve tried to give you a couple of solutions in case you’re in this situation. If you know of any other solutions that we haven’t discussed in this article, you can leave them in the comments.

You may be interested: A new Apple TV, with Siri and App Store, at WWDC 2015