Airplay icon comes and goes in ML

[kirbyrun]

I have an Airplay-capable (mid-2011) iMac running ML. Airplay, though, only works intermittently, with the icon disappearing from the menubar for no apparent reason. When this happens, I check the Displays pref pane, which says "Airplay mirroring: No devices detected."

However my AppleTV (2nd gen) is on and connected to the wifi network. It shows up as an option in iTunes and shows up in Airport Utility. So it's there and it's on and receiving, but Airplay doesn't "see" it for some reason.

Then, randomly, it'll pop back up later.

AppleTV is connected wirelessly. iMac is connected by ethernet to the Airport base station.

Any ideas??? When the icon is in the menubar, everything works perfectly. But it just vanishes for long stretches of time for no reason!

 

[brueck]

This happens to me too. I'm using a macbook pro retina and an apple tv 2nd gen. Sigh. Steve Jobs is dead.

 

[Icy1007]

It's because your Mac loses its connection to the AppleTV somehow.

 

[kirbyrun]

Well, yeah, sure -- I understand what you mean about losing the connection. But at the same time, iTunes still sees and can play to the AppleTV. So, the Mac hasn't TOTALLY lost the connection. It seems more like whatever specifically makes mirroring work loses track of the AppleTV while the Mac is sleeping and then can't recover...even though the rest of the OS can and does.

Oddly, it sometimes reappears after another sleep cycle, though there's no rhyme or reason to it. Is there maybe a Display preference file I can trash or something?

 

[Icy1007]

Well, yeah, sure -- I understand what you mean about losing the connection. But at the same time, iTunes still sees and can play to the AppleTV. So, the Mac hasn't TOTALLY lost the connection. It seems more like whatever specifically makes mirroring work loses track of the AppleTV while the Mac is sleeping and then can't recover...even though the rest of the OS can and does.

Oddly, it sometimes reappears after another sleep cycle, though there's no rhyme or reason to it. Is there maybe a Display preference file I can trash or something?

iTunes could be using a different connectivity method than AirPlay. Like iTunes uses the wireless network and AirPlay connects ad hoc.

 

[BMNB1tch]

I have exactly the same issue word-for-word. I find that I have to enable WiFi on my iMac to guarantee the Airplay Mirroring icon is there

Only happened to me since 10.8.2. Very frustrating.

 

[kirbyrun]

I have exactly the same issue word-for-word. I find that I have to enable WiFi on my iMac to guarantee the Airplay Mirroring icon is there

Only happened to me since 10.8.2. Very frustrating.

I'll have to try going wireless with my iMac and see what happens. I've reported this as a bug to Apple with all three iterations of ML thus far. I hope they're working on it...

ETA: It's a very minor bug, true, but an annoying glitch in what was touted as a significant new feature.