How to Mirror Your Mac Screen to iPhone
Updated October 2026 · 4 min read
Short answer
Use Beam: Beacon on your Mac, Beam on your iPhone or iPad. Pair them once with a 6-digit code, and from then on your Mac's screen and sound are a tap away anywhere on your home Wi-Fi. No cables, no account. With Beam Unlimited it also works away from home.
Why AirPlay can't do this
AirPlay only goes one way. Your iPhone can send to a Mac, an Apple TV or a TV, but it can never receive. Apple has no built-in way to put a Mac screen on an iPhone, which is why Beam exists. There's more on this in can you AirPlay from Mac to iPhone.
Beam is two apps. Beacon lives in your Mac's menu bar and sends the screen. Beam runs on your iPhone or iPad and plays it. At home the stream goes straight from one to the other over your Wi-Fi, with no Beam server in between. Away from home, Beam Unlimited connects the same two apps over your own Tailscale network (see the away-from-home guide).
What you need
- A Mac with macOS 14 Sonoma or later
- An iPhone or iPad with iOS 16 or later
- Both on the same Wi-Fi network
- Beacon on the Mac (free download)
- Beam on the iPhone or iPad (free on the App Store)
Step by step
Install Beacon on your Mac
Download Beacon, open the DMG, drag Beacon to Applications and open it. Its icon appears in your menu bar.
Beacon walks you through two permissions. Screen Recording lets it capture the screen, and is required. Media Key Control (macOS calls it Accessibility) lets your phone press keys, click and type on the Mac. You can skip that one if you only want to watch, and turn it on later.
Install Beam on your iPhone or iPad
Get Beam from the App Store. It's free. Allow it to use the local network when it asks, so it can find your Mac.
Pair them
In Beam, tap Pair Your Mac. Beam looks for Macs running Beacon on your Wi-Fi. Tap yours.
A window pops up on the Mac with a 6-digit code. Type it into Beam. That's the only time you'll pair. Beacon only streams to devices you've paired, and you can remove one any time from Beacon's menu.
Start streaming
Tap Start Beam. Your Mac's screen fills the phone in a couple of seconds, with the Mac's sound. Next time, just open Beam and tap Start.
Tap the stream once to bring up the controls. From there you can switch to one window, change the quality, mute the sound, turn on click mode or open the keyboard. Swipe home and the stream keeps playing in Picture in Picture.
Things people use it for
- Finishing a film or a livestream in bed or in the kitchen
- Watching a long job: a render, an export, a download, a build
- Answering the Mac from the couch: click through a dialog, scroll a page, type a quick reply
- Playing Mac games with a controller paired to your phone (see the controller guide)
- A teleprompter: Beam can flip the picture for reflective glass
Frequently asked questions
Does this work on different Wi-Fi networks?
Yes, with Beam Unlimited. On the same Wi-Fi, Beam finds your Mac by itself and that's free. On a different network it can't see the Mac, so Beam uses your own Tailscale network instead. Beacon hands Beam its Tailscale address whenever you stream at home, so there's usually nothing to set up. See the away-from-home guide.
Does it work over mobile data?
Yes, with Beam Unlimited and Tailscale on both devices. Use a lower quality than at home. Beam keeps a separate Quality When Away setting for that.
Can I change the quality?
Yes. Tap the quality label at the top of the stream, or set a default in Beam's Settings. The presets go from 360p to 4K and Native, and up to 120 fps on ProMotion screens. The quality guide helps you pick.
Does it stream sound?
Yes. Whatever your Mac is playing comes out of your phone's speaker or headphones. You can turn it off with the speaker button, and then the Mac stops sending sound altogether.
Can I control the Mac?
Yes. Click mode lets you tap to click, hold to right-click or drag, and slide two fingers to scroll. The keyboard button types into the Mac. Beam doesn't move files or the clipboard between devices.
Is it really free?
Your first stream starts a 3-day unlimited trial. After that, the free tier gives you 30 minutes in every 24 hours, with every feature. Beam Unlimited, a one-time purchase, removes the limit.
