Connect with us

iPad

How to Set Up iTunes Home Sharing: Stream to the iPhone and iPad

Published

on

For many users their iTunes library is probably larger than the amount of storage they have on their device. Between large movie files and vast amounts of music, the ability to have all of that content on your iPhone or iPad is handy.

Luckily Apple has the Home Sharing feature to allow just that. The way that Home Sharing works is that content in your iTunes library from your computer is streamed to any iPhone or iPad that has the same Apple ID and is on the same network. This is great for those who have a lot of movies stored in their iTunes library who don’t want to use up storage space on their device.

This setup guide will be for Mac owners who are using iTunes 11. Any iPhone or iPad will work with Home Sharing as long as it is on or above iOS 4.3.

To setup iTunes Home Sharing it must be first setup on your computer. Also be sure that all of your devices are connected to the same WiFi network so that Home Sharing will work properly.

 How to Setup iTunes Home Sharing (Mac)

Open iTunes.

Select iTunes (Mac)

Once iTunes is open go to File, Home Sharing. If Home Sharing is turned ON, turn Home Sharing OFF.

Turn Off Home Sharing (Mac)

Once Home Sharing has been turned off it can now be set up properly. Select File, Home Sharing but this time turn Home Sharing ON. 

Turn On Home Sharing (Mac)

On the next screen, you will need to enter the credentials for Home Sharing. Use the information for the Apple ID that is used on all of your devices.

Home Sharing Window (Mac)

Enter the Apple ID and Password to turn ON Home Sharing then select Turn On Home Sharing.

Enter Apple ID and Password (Mac)

When this step is done, the screen should appear like below. Select Done to exit the Home Sharing window.

Home Sharing Complete (Mac)

After this step is complete, Home Sharing has been completely setup on the Mac. Next up is to configure Home Sharing to work on the iPhone and iPad.

How to Setup Home Sharing (iPhone)

Tap Settings.

Tap Settings

Scroll Down and select Music.

Tap Music (iPhone)

At the bottom of the screen is a Home Sharing box check to see if there is an Apple ID that is currently signed in. If there is an Apple ID signed in tap on it.

Tap Apple ID (iPhone)

On the next pop-up window choose Sign Out.

Sign Out (iPhone)

Once that Apple ID has been signed out, enter the same Apple ID and Password that you used on the Mac.

Enter Apple ID and Password (iPhone)

Once the Apple ID and Password have been entered, select Done.

Select Done (iPhone)

As long as the next screen appears with the Apple ID signed in at the bottom, Home Sharing has been properly setup on the iPhone.

Home Sharing Enabled (iPhone)

How to Setup Home Sharing (iPad)

Tap Settings.

Tap iPad Settings

Select Music.

Tap Music (iPad)

At the bottom of the screen is a Home Sharing box. Check to see if there is an Apple ID that is currently signed in. If there is an Apple ID signed in tap on it.

Tap Apple ID (iPad)

Next, choose Sign Out.

Sign Out (iPad)

Once that Apple ID has been signed out, enter the same Apple ID and Password that you used on the Mac.

Enter Apple ID and Password (iPad)

Once the Apple ID and Password have been entered in, select Done.

Select Done (iPad)

If the Apple ID appears signed in at the bottom of the screen like below, Home Sharing has been properly setup for the iPad.

Home Sharing Enabled (iPad)

How to Use Home Sharing (iPhone)

Once Home Sharing has been enabled it is most useful in the Music and Video apps. To access shared music, open Music on your iPhone.

With the Music app open, tap More.

Tap More (iPhone)

On the next screen, select Shared.

Tap Shared (iPhone)

Select the iTunes Library that you are sharing from your computer.

Select Library (iPhone)

Depending on the size of your iTunes library you may see the loading icon.

Loading Library (iPhone)

Once the Library loads you will have access to all of the music in your iTunes library while you are on the same WiFi network.

To switch back to the music that you have on your iPhone tap More.

Switch Back (iPhone)

Tap Shared.

Re-Select Shared (iPhone)

Select My iPhone.

Tap My iPhone (iPhone)

A similar process can be used to share music videos, movies and podcasts from your iTunes library. To do this open the Videos app.

Videos (iPhone)

Scroll to the very top of the screen and tap Shared.

Tap Shared Videos (iPhone)

On the next screen, select the iTunes library that you are sharing from your computer.

Select Video Library (iPhone)

After the library loads, you will have the option to watch any video that is stored on your iTunes library. There are different types of videos from Movies, to Podcasts and Music videos.

Choose Video Content (iPhone)

To switch back to the videos that are on the iPhone scroll to the top and tap Shared.

Back to iPhone Video (iPhone)

Select My iPhone.

Select My iPhone (iPhone)

How to use Home Sharing (iPad)

To access shared media on your iPad you need to use the Music and Video apps. To listen to shared music open the Music app.

Once the music app is open, tap More.

Tap More (iPad)

Tap Shared.

Tap Shared (iPad)

Select the iTunes library that you are sharing from your Mac.

Select Library (iPad)

It may take a moment or so to load your library. Once the library loads you will be able to play any song that is on your Mac’s iTunes library. To switch back to the music on your iPad tap More.

Switch Back (iPad)

Select Shared.

Re-Select Shared (iPad)

Tap My iPad.

Tap My iPad (iPad)

 

To access shared videos first open the Videos app. Once the Videos app is open, tap the Shared tab that is on the top bar.

Tap Shared Videos (iPad)

Select the iTune’s library that you will be streaming the videos from.

Select Library Videos (iPad)

It may take a little while to load the videos depending on how many are stored in your iTunes library. The loading icon looks like the image below.

Loading Videos (iPad)

Once the videos load you have the choice of Movies, Podcasts or Music Videos.

Choose Video Content (iPad)

To return to the videos that are on the iPad tap the Shared icon in the top left.

Back to iPad Video (iPad)

Tap the Movies or Music Videos tab to return to the iPad’s video library.

Tap Movies or Music Videos (iPad)

Once one of these options are selected, you will return back to where you started. Just like below.

iPad Videos Home (iPad)

One of the final things to consider with home sharing is that it may not work on all WiFi networks. This is mostly concerning to college students who use their university’s internet, or for those who work in an office setting. Also the computer that will be doing the home sharing must be turned on and have iTunes open.

Overall home sharing is a great way to stream content to iPhones and iPads without eating up all of their internal storage space.

 

 

 

 

 

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Jenifer High

    02/24/2013 at 8:01 am

    until I saw the bank draft saying $4410, I be certain that my friend was like actually earning money part-time on their laptop.. there neighbour had bean doing this for only 6 months and by now repayed the mortgage on their apartment and bourt a new Citroën DS. read more at, jump15.comCHECK IT OUT

  2. Danny

    03/19/2014 at 11:11 am

    I used to use Homesharing all the time to stream video podcasts to my IOS devices. In IOS 7 they removed Podcast functionality from the Music app and the New Podcast app doesn’t support Home Sharing. It’s such a shame that Apple crippled Home Sharing in IOS7.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.