How to mirror your iPad's screen onto a Roku, to watch videos and view pictures on a TV screen

• You can easily mirror an iPad to your Roku to stream photos, videos, and music on your TV.
• Before you can mirror your iPad, you need to enable screen mirroring on the Roku in its settings menu.
• Install the Roku app on your iPad, and then use the "Media" tab in the app to mirror content from the iPad to the Roku's screen.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

One of the lesser-known advantages of a Roku media player is its ability to connect with mobile devices like an iPhone or iPad, and "mirror" content onto the big TV screen. 

This lets you show photos and videos that are stored on your iPad to a group of people in the comfort of your living room, or around a conference room table. 

Unfortunately, you can't mirror the iPad's entire display onto the Roku, like you can with the Apple TV. Instead, you can only mirror photos, videos, and music that are stored on your tablet — this means you can't mirror games, or apps like YouTube. Check out our article, "How to connect an iPad to your TV in two different ways," for other mirroring methods.

In order to do this, you'll need to install the Roku app on your iPad, so if you haven't already, find and install Roku in the App Store. 

Note that this app isn't optimized for iPad, so it won't run full-screen on an iPad unless you tap a button to enlarge the display. This won't affect the way photos or videos look on your TV.

How to prepare your Roku to mirror an iPad

1. Using the Roku remote control, select "Settings" in the sidebar on the left side of your Roku screen.

2. Select "System," and then select "Screen Mirroring."

3. In the Screen mirroring mode section, select either "Prompt" or "Always allow." If you choose prompt, the Roku will ask permission each time you try to mirror the iPad. 

How to mirror your iPad using the Roku app

1. Make sure that your iPad is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Roku.

2. Start the Roku app on your iPad. 

3. Tap the "Media" tab at the bottom of the screen.

4. If you haven't already, the app will ask you to connect to your Roku device.

5. Choose the type of content you want to send to your Roku. You can choose Photos, Videos, or Music that are stored on your iPad. 

When you choose a photo or video, it'll appear on your TV via the Roku. Tap the Play button to turn all the images in that folder into a slideshow. You can control the slideshow using the buttons below the photo, or swipe with your finger. 

If you want to change the slideshow speed or add transitions between photos, tap the gear icon to the right of the player controls.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

• How to connect your iPhone to a TV in two different ways

• How to update your Roku device manually in 5 simple steps

• How to set up any model of Roku player and remote

• How to watch local channels on your Roku device

• How to connect your Roku device to a TV and set it up for streaming

Dave Johnson

Freelance Writer

Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.

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