iOS 27 Stops HDMI Video When iPhone Locks, 27.2 Has No Fix
Since iOS 27, many iPhones stop sending video over HDMI once the screen locks. What changed, which apps are affected and the only workaround so far.
iPhone owners running iOS 27 say video sent to a TV or monitor over HDMI now stops as soon as the phone locks. The problem has been around since iOS 27 arrived in September, and the newer iOS 27.2 update has not changed it, according to GSMArena.
The cause appears to be a new permission rule in iOS 27, so app developers may need to update their apps for playback to work again.
What exactly is going wrong?
Before iOS 27, you could plug an iPhone into an external display, turn the phone’s screen off and keep watching. Many users on Reddit now report that the external picture stops once the iPhone is locked. GSMArena reproduced the problem in its office with YouTube and Netflix, and owners say other apps behave the same way.
Not every app is affected. In GSMArena’s tests, VLC kept playing video on an external display with the phone locked.
Why does VLC still work when YouTube and Netflix don’t?
GSMArena found that iOS 27 requires apps to register certain external display video sessions themselves. Earlier versions of iOS granted that permission automatically. An app that has been updated to make the request keeps working with the screen locked, which is a likely reason VLC is unaffected.
Seen that way, the change is closer to a new rule than a bug. Apple changed how permissions work for video on a second screen, and apps that have not adopted the new rule lose playback when the phone locks.
Is there a workaround?
The only one so far is to leave the iPhone unlocked while it is connected. Lowering the screen brightness saves some battery. You also have to avoid touching the display. That gets difficult with AR glasses such as the XREAL Air 2.
What does this mean for iPhone owners?
Anyone who sends video from an iPhone to a TV, monitor or display glasses is affected, and updating to iOS 27.2 does not help. Until the apps you use are updated for the new iOS 27 rule, playback in those apps will keep stopping when the phone locks.
Another iOS 27 problem that drew wide attention is Apple Intelligence taking up about 15GB of storage in some cases, even for people who never use it or live in a country where it is not available. That one has a workaround that appears to hold until Apple deals with it. The HDMI issue does not have a comparable fix.
Will Apple or app makers fix it?
Apple has not announced a fix, and none of the affected apps has said when an update will arrive. If the behavior is intentional, developers of apps like YouTube and Netflix will need to update their apps to register external display sessions under the iOS 27 rules.
Source: GSMArena
