How To Use An Imac As An External Monitor

The iMac acting as an AirPlay receiver can be any model of iMac Pro, or any iMac released in 2019 or later. [1] X Research source The iMac must also be running macOS Monterey or later. The Mac that’s sending the AirPlay signal can be any Mac or MacBook from 2011 or later. If you want to mirror your screen to the iMac to use it as the primary monitor, you’ll need Mountain Lion or later. If you want to extend the screen to make the iMac a second monitor, you’ll need Mavericks or later. If you’re using an older iMac, you may still be able to use it as a monitor by connecting with Target Display Mode.

Click the Apple menu and select System Preferences. Click Sharing. Check the box next to “AirPlay Receiver” in the left panel. Choose who can connect to this iMac with AirPlay. “Current user” is the best option, as it ensures other people won’t be prompted to mirror their own displays to the iMac.

Click the Apple menu and select System Preferences. Click Dock & Menu Bar. Check the box next to “Show in Menu Bar” if not selected. Select always from the drop-down menu.

If you plan to use the iMac as your primary monitor and need to do video-intensive tasks, you can also connect the two Macs with a USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 cable, which supports AirPlay 2. [3] X Research source

While your iMac is acting as an AirPlay receiver, it will only display the screen of the primary Mac. You can end the AirPlay session from the iMac by moving the mouse to bring up the controls and clicking the X at the top-left.

Click the Screen Mirroring icon in the menu bar. Click Display Preferences… Drag a display left or right to reflect the real-life positioning of your screens. The white menu bar at the top of the sample displays indicates the primary display. If you want to set a different display as the primary display, drag the white menu bar to that display.

The iMac acting as a monitor can be a 24 or 27-inch model from 2009 or 2010, or any iMac released between 2011 and mid-2014. [4] X Research source The iMac must be running macOS High Sierra or earlier. The Mac connecting to the iMac must have been released in 2019 or earlier, and running macOS Catalina or earlier.

If you want to use more than one iMac as a monitor, you can do so as long as you can connect all iMacs directly back to the primary Mac with a compatible cable.

If this keyboard combination doesn’t bring up the other Mac’s screen, press Fn + Command + F2 instead. If it still doesn’t work, try logging out of the iMac (not the primary Mac) and pressing the keyboard shortcut from the login screen.