--- title: "AirExtend support: install, pairing, modes, fixes" description: "Answers for AirExtend by 278labs: installing the Mac app and audio driver, pairing a phone, Communicator and Broadcast modes, Auto-sync, privacy and fixes." url: https://airextend.278labs.co.uk/support/ language: en --- AirExtend · by [278labs](https://278labs.co.uk/) # AirExtend Support Answers to common questions. Can’t find yours? Send us a message. [Send Feedback](mailto:sapar@278labs.co.uk?subject=AirExtend%20Feedback) ## Getting started ### What is AirExtend? AirExtend streams your Mac’s sound to phones, tablets, TVs and browsers on your Wi-Fi, and brings a phone’s microphone back to the Mac. It has a Mac menu-bar app and an iPhone and iPad app that is coming to the App Store. Any browser works in the meantime. ### Is it free? Yes, for now. If paid licences are added later, the home page will say so. ### Which devices are supported? The Mac app needs a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later. A single app can be captured on macOS 14.2 or later. The iPhone and iPad app needs iOS or iPadOS 17 or later. Any current browser on a phone, tablet, TV or computer can play the sound, including Android and Windows. ### How do I install it? Download AirExtend-1.0.1.dmg, open it and drag AirExtend to Applications. Open it, click Install… under Audio driver in the menu-bar panel and enter your administrator password once. Allow Microphone, Screen Recording and Local Network when macOS asks. Then pair a phone. ### macOS asks whether I want to open AirExtend. Is that normal? Yes. AirExtend is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple. macOS shows its usual confirmation for an app downloaded from the internet: choose Open. ### Why does it ask for an administrator password? AirExtend adds two virtual audio devices to the Mac, AirExtend and AirExtend Mic. macOS only allows that for an administrator, and it restarts the audio service, so the Mac’s sound pauses for a second or two. This happens once. ### How do I pair a phone? Open the menu-bar panel and scan the QR code with the phone’s camera, or open the address under it in a browser and type the six-digit code. The code changes every ten minutes. A phone only has to be paired once. ## Modes ### What is Communicator? Each device gets its own live stream: lossless sound with about 20 ms of delay, and the phone’s microphone comes back to the Mac as AirExtend Mic. The devices are not in step with each other. Use it for calls, games and a phone as a headset. ### What is Broadcast? Every phone, tablet and TV plays the same moment after one shared delay, from 0.3 to 60 seconds. Use it when several devices play in one room. Each device can have its own delay correction, and Auto-sync measures it with the Mac’s microphone. ### What is Music mode? Lossless sound with a bigger buffer, about a quarter of a second, for steady playback. It keeps playing with the phone locked. ### How do I switch modes? In the menu-bar panel on the Mac. Every phone follows the Mac’s mode. ### How does Auto-sync work? Every device plays a short click in turn, and the Mac’s microphone listens for it and works out how late each device sounds. Keep the devices where they will play and keep the room reasonably quiet. A device that cannot be heard is reported as not heard rather than guessed. ### Can I use smart glasses or Bluetooth headphones? Yes, through the phone. Bluetooth adds its own delay, often 120 to 250 ms, which AirExtend cannot remove. In Broadcast mode, enter that delay for the device so that it lines up with the others. An iPhone cannot act as a Bluetooth speaker for a Mac or a TV, because iOS does not allow it. ## Sound and the screen ### Can I share only one app? Yes. Under Sources in the Mac app, switch off Whole Mac and pick the apps. Every connected device then hears, and for video sees, those apps. If an app quits and starts again, open the list and pick it again. ### Can I send the Mac’s screen to the phone? Yes. Allow Screen Recording for AirExtend in System Settings, then restart AirExtend. The iPhone app shows it full screen or in Picture in Picture. Video quality is under Video quality in the Mac app. ### Is there an equalizer? Yes, a 10-band equalizer on the phone, plus sound and microphone gain on the Mac. ### What is the difference between Standard and WebRTC? Standard is lossless PCM and has the lowest delay. For a weak Wi-Fi network choose Low data (AAC, 128 kb/s) or WebRTC on the listener’s page. WebRTC uses Opus, survives lost packets, adapts to the link and keeps playing in the background in iPhone Safari, with a little more delay and the equalizer off. Both keep playing in the background in the iPhone app. ## Privacy and safety ### Does any audio leave my network? No. The stream goes directly from your Mac to your devices on the local network. Nothing is sent to 278labs or to a cloud service. ### Who can connect? Only a device that was paired with the QR code or the six-digit code, which changes every ten minutes, with rate-limited guesses. You can turn on Open access in the Mac app so that anyone on the network can connect, but then anyone there can listen, see the screen and use the phone microphone. ### Why does the Mac need the microphone permission? macOS puts the AirExtend audio device behind the microphone permission even though it is virtual. AirExtend also uses the Mac’s microphone for a few seconds during Auto-sync. Nothing is recorded or sent anywhere. ## Problems ### The page is blank or the phone cannot connect. Check that the phone and the Mac are on the same Wi-Fi network and that the Mac’s firewall allows AirExtend. Android, Windows and TVs cannot open.local names, so type the Mac’s IP address and port instead. A VPN with a kill switch on the Mac can block incoming connections. ### The sound is choppy. Raise the jitter buffer on the phone, or move to a better Wi-Fi network. USB tethering removes most of the jitter. Try the WebRTC transport on a weak network, or Music mode when delay does not matter. ### There is no sound. Make sure the Microphone permission is allowed for AirExtend, that the audio driver is installed, and that the source is the Whole Mac or an app that is playing sound. After changing a permission, restart AirExtend. ### How do I remove the audio driver? Quit AirExtend, delete /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL/AirExtendDriver.driver, then restart the audio service by restarting the Mac. Then choose a normal output in System Settings, Sound.