ConfigureWindowsFirewallAirParrot

Configure Windows Firewall for AirParrot

AirParrot is a fantastic, affordable tool that allows PC’s to share their screens with Apple TV. Although there are a number of personal uses for this, it wasn’t until I started working at a client site that have deployed Apple TV and AirParrot as their display screen solution of choice that I realised it’s corporate potential. It wasn’t until the team I’m managing started getting mixed results on being able to install the software and make it work properly that I realised there was probably a comms problem. The Laptops could see the Apple TV in each meeting room, and even though the security PIN was displayed on the screen and prompted on the Laptop – correctly entering the PIN resulted in a failed connection.

As with most things comms based, the usual culprit for this issue is the local firewall – in our case the default Windows 8 Firewall.  By creating the following rules, I was able to successfully connect to the display screens.

Windows Firewall Rule Summary for AirParrot

Direction: Inbound
Program: %ProgramFiles%\AirParrot\AirParrot.exe
Protocol: TCP
Ports: 5354, 6001

Direction: Inbound
Program: %ProgramFiles%\AirParrot\AirParrot.exe
Protocol: UDP
Ports: 7010, 51965, 6000, 6002

Create the TCP Firewall Rule for AirParrot

The following instructions cover the creation of these rules in Windows 8 Firewall. From Network and Sharing Center, click Windows Firewall then Advanced Settings Right click on Inbound Rules and click New Rule

airparrottcp1
Using Windows Firewall New Inbound Rule Wizard to select Port as the rule type
airparrottcp2
Using Windows Firewall New Inbound Rule Wizard to set the ports to 5354 and 6001
airparrottcp3
Using Windows Firewall New Inbound Rule Wizard to Allow the connection
airparrottcp4
Using Windows Firewall New Inbound Rule Wizard to apply the rule to Domain, Private and Public
airparrottcp5
Using Windows Firewall New Inbound Rule Wizard to name the rule AirParrot TCP

Create the UDP Firewall Rule for AirParrot

The next step is to create the matching UDP rule:

airparrotudp1
Using Windows Firewall New Inbound Rule Wizard to select Port as the rule type
airparrotudp2
Using Windows Firewall New Inbound Rule Wizard to set the ports to 7010, 51965, 6000 and 6002
airparrotudp3
Using Windows Firewall New Inbound Rule Wizard to Allow the connection
airparrotudp4
Using Windows Firewall New Inbound Rule Wizard to apply the rule to Domain, Private and Public
airparrotudp5
Using Windows Firewall New Inbound Rule Wizard to name the rule AirParrot UDP

Restrict the Firewall Rules to the AirParrot Program

To secure the rules so they only apply to the AirParrot program, please do the following: From the list of rules, Right click AirParrot TCP and click Properties Click on the Programs and Services tab and browse for the AirParrot executable: So the settings look like this (depending of course where you installed AirParrot):

airparrotprogramonly1
Windows Firewall TCP Properties

Ensure that this is done for both the TCP and UDP rules.

airparrotprogramonly2
Windows Firewall UDP Properties

You should now be able to connect to your Apple TV using your Laptop. You can download a 7 day trial or purchase AirParrot from the AirParrot Official Site.

I hope you find this guide useful and as always, I welcome your feedback in the comments below.

2 thoughts on “Configure Windows Firewall for AirParrot”

  1. Thank you very much. I had problems finding Apple TV’s using a surface with windows 10. Since I created your firewall rules AirParrot is able to find them!

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