Finally burned by Apple

In 2009 I bought my first Apple computer, a 15" Macbook Pro. Loved it. Since bought an iMac and two Apple TVs. I recently upgraded to Yosemite and suddenly discovered that I can no longer access Airplay. Went online and find that the minimum required MBP hardware for Airplay and Yosemite is a "early 2011 or later". Since my MBP used to do airplay just fine with 10.8 (Mountain lion) I went to Apple support for help.

This is what I got back..."Yosemite is a more complex operating system and requires more of the hardware to work properly. Therefore only Macbooks that meet that hardware requirement can use Airplay to keep it running smoothly."

As an engineer it makes no sense that a feature would work fine with less complex operating system and be taken away in a more complex OS.

This was a major foul Apple...Airplay was one of the main selling points for buying the ATVs. Now I'm screwed. Yet another reason one shouldn't upgrade without a valid reason.

Thanks for letting me vent

I could make a list almost as long as my arm of various things Apple has done over the years with hardware & the OS that I was not pleased with.

But make a list of the positives…make a list of the negatives….and I'm pretty darn sure the positive list will be a lot longer than the negative list.

- Nick

lrd said:

Now I'm screwed. Yet another reason one shouldn't upgrade without a valid reason.

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NO, you are not screwed. Buy and download AirParrot 2 from AirSquirrels. I used AirParrot 1 on my 2010 MBP before I upgraded, and worked really well, and never failed me. They even give you a trial to see if it suits your needs.
I bought a newer MBP and don't need it anymore, but now my son uses it on his MBP without issue. . .

Yes, yes, why should you have to buy something that should work . . The answer is because Apple decided on what Hardware they are supporting, and this fixes that issue.
People like you complain each and every day, and blame Apple, but think, where do they stop supporting certain devices ?? They have to make the hard decision, and unfortunately, you fall outside their scope.
Deal with it, buy AirParrot and move on. If you do, your problem is solved.

Point is the hardware is perfectly adequate to the job but Apple made software that outsmarted itself. I'll take a look at air parrot 2. Thanks

Bummer. I like my Mac running at 10.9.5. and I'll probably stay here until there is something I need or want to do, that I can't do without an upgrade. I'd be bummed to find something like this out after I upgraded. If you didn't know some of these nuances and changes with a release, you wouldn't think to check. Glad TM could provide a possible work around!

And I did not want the Bondi Blue 233MHz iMac from 1997 doing away with the floppy. Time and progress marches on.

actually you can fix this with a terminal command and i quote.

Enable AirDrop Over Ethernet & AirDrop On Unsupported Macs Running OS X | OSXDaily

this same method fixes the airplay option for a lot of users from there mac to other devices.

harryb2448 said:

And I did not want the Bondi Blue 233MHz iMac from 1997 doing away with the floppy. Time and progress marches on.

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Then you completely missed my point . Yes, technology marches on and renders some others obsolete. My first computer was a Kaypro II with twin floppies. Do I wish I could still use it? Of course not...

My point remains that with Yosemite, Apple pushed some or all of Airplay functionality to hardware, meaning older hardware suddenly became no longer Airplay-capable. Why couldn't they let this "... more complex operating system…" (as they themselves described it) determine if the hardware was capable and if not then revert back to the 10.8 method of Airplay that worked just fine?

As I mentioned earlier…when Apple does things that negatively impacts us personally…we aren't very happy about it. Sometimes these things that Apple does makes sense (is logical)…and sometimes not (not logical). I agree with you. From what you're saying (Apple Feedback). I think that Apple should allow us the choice. If using Yosemite + Airplay = Reduced Performance…that's on us.

The problem is…a lot of Apple users are not very "Tech Savvy". They just want to turn on the computer, have it work…and have it work well. So when they do the free upgrade to Yosemite…Apple wants to make sure that EVERYONE's experience is a good one. From folks using 5 year-old computers to brand new models.

And this is where the problem lies. I think that Apple is trying to make too many computer models compatible with the latest OS versions. Those of us that have been computing for a long time know…that in days gone by…when a new OS version was released…that new OS version required more processing power…and overall greater hardware requirements (ram, storage space, more CPU, more GPU, etc.). And this meant that older slower computer models were simply not supported.

Currently…some Apple computer models as far back as 2007 are still compatible with Yosemite. That's 8 year old computer models being compatible with the latest OS version. Typically this is unheard of in Apple history. To have the latest OS version compatible with some computer models as old as 8 years.

This is what I think is behind the Apple Feedback that you received. Apple is trying to maintain as many computer models as possible compatible with the latest OS version (Yosemite). And Apple is disabling OS features like Air Play (on older models running Yosemite)…so they will still have a positive experience with Yosemite (no performance degradation).

And of course the threshold between acceptable performance and unacceptable performance can be different for different people. On your 2009 MacBook Pro (using Air Play + Yosemite)…you may be perfectly happy with the performance. But other folks with the same computer model may not. And this is where Apple made a judgment call.

Remember. Your 2009 MacBook Pro wasn't even at the cut-off line. More powerful 2010 models can't use Yosemite + Air Play either (according to the Apple feedback you received). Luckily TattooedMac did find an alternative. So hopefully that works for you.

- Nick

For the OP and from an engineer's perspective and reasons, maybe this will help answer some questions about Airplay on pre-2011 Macs, and I must admit, I didn't know that earlier 2009 Macs could even use AirPlay Mirroring, that is, regardless of OS version used:
The Real Reason Why Macs Before 2011 Can't Use AirPlay Mirroring In Mountain Lion [Feature] | Cult of Mac

pm-r said:

For the OP and from an engineer's perspective and reasons, maybe this will help answer some questions about Airplay on pre-2011 Macs, and I must admit, I didn't know that earlier 2009 Macs could even use

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Thanks for the link. Certainly sheds more light on things!

- Nick

lrd said:

Then you completely missed my point . Yes, technology marches on and renders some others obsolete. My first computer was a Kaypro II with twin floppies. Do I wish I could still use it? Of course not...

My point remains that with Yosemite, Apple pushed some or all of Airplay functionality to hardware, meaning older hardware suddenly became no longer Airplay-capable. Why couldn't they let this "... more complex operating system…" (as they themselves described it) determine if the hardware was capable and if not then revert back to the 10.8 method of Airplay that worked just fine?

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Backward compatibility demands are what leads Microsoft into so many problems with Windows. The real reason behind the problems with Windows goes back to the "support it until the end of time" approach that they initially took. It wasn't until they abandoned that approach that MS finally started to generate Windows versions that worked well. Apple avoided that trap from the beginning. Your computer is now 6 years old. If you are an engineer, then you know that in the IT world, that's an antique. The fact it can run Yosemite at all is pretty amazing, IMHO. You've gotten six great years out of it so far and if you take care of it, you should get even more. But as it ages, it will increasingly be unable to keep up with advances in software. That's just the way it goes. Consider this, Moore's law says that in the six years you've owned that machine, the power of the processors have improved 8 times. And the software follows the increase in power, leaving you more and more in the dust. It happens.

I got your point. Get over it.

I'm a bit confused here and I guess I'm not understanding something about the OP's post and exactly what AirPlay is supposed too be.

The OP said: I recently upgraded to Yosemite and suddenly discovered that I can no longer access Airplay. ", and depending on what I read, there seems to be some confusion as to what exactly AirPlay actually is and/or what the requirements actually are.

I read this rather generalized piece:
AirPlay - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And then may be what the OP was referring to and the "Requirements for using an AirPlay display":
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT201343

Which leads me to wonder how and why the OP stated: "Since my MBP used to do airplay just fine with 10.8 (Mountain lion) …"

Or is it all a misunderstanding of what AirPlay actually is, which seems easy enough to do.

I think I'll grab a nice glass of dry red wine and clear my brain on this nice sunny, but not too hot afternoon.

I think I'll grab a nice glass of dry red wine and clear my brain on this nice sunny, but not too hot afternoon.

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Naw, just drink the whole bottle and forget everything. No sense wasting all that good blood thinner. ;P

Well, the wine and later dinner were both good, but the Dr. says to really control both intakes and let the blood thinners and blood pressure medications do their thing.

But I'm still wondering if there was some "AirPlay" confusion on the OP's part and wondering if they'll even reply to set me and maybe others with some explanation.

PS: I sure hope you and others from your general US area are keeping safe and healthy. That's some crazy stuff happening that the NEWS is reporting. Take Care.

PS: I sure hope you and others from your general US area are keeping safe and healthy. That's some crazy stuff happening that the NEWS is reporting. Take Care.

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Thanks for the concern. For awhile I thought we were living in Seattle with all the rain we've been getting. Most of the serious flooding is in the low lying areas around Houston which in some places is built on reclaimed land that was once under water. I have to say my lawn is nice and green. Glad I have a lawn service; sure saves my back running the mower on the thick Texas weed - grass.

Glad to hear you are not in any danger of serious inconvenience due to the flooding. While not meaning to make this post political, I'm curious if Texas residents are doing a bit of a "double-take" in the direction of the Governor's mansion after the events of the last few weeks ...

chas_m said:

While not meaning to make this post political, I'm curious if Texas residents are doing a bit of a "double-take" in the direction of the Governor's mansion after the events of the last few weeks ...

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Why exactly would they be doing that? Surely you aren't suggesting the governor controls the weather in Texas?