In your smartphone, do you have photos and videos from your last vacation that you would like to see on a larger screen, perhaps that of the TV itself? Or would you like to share your mobile screen to stream a movie or series at a much higher quality? To do this, simply connect the phone to the TV : below we explain how to do it.
INDEX
- How to connect the phone to the TV without cable
- Google Cast
- Miracast
- AirPlay
- Fire Tv Stick
- DLNA
- How to connect the phone to the TV with cable
- USB-C cable
- MHL cable
- SlimPort cable
- Conclusions and advice
How to connect the phone to the TV without cable
The best, and even simplest, solution to connect the smartphone screen to the home TV is to use the wireless connection . The most popular technologies are Google Cast, Miracast, AirPlay and DLNA, all four running on Smart TVs.
Let’s go into more detail now, explaining how to connect the phone to the TV with each of them.
Important : For each option listed below it is essential that your smartphone and TV are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Connect phone to TV with Google Cast
Google Cast is the protocol developed by Google that allows audio / video content to be transmitted from one device to another wirelessly. Several latest generation Smart TVs already integrate this technology, at the basis of the operation of the Google Chromecast key .
With Google Cast, unlike the Miracast which we’ll talk about shortly, your phone no longer needs to simultaneously stream the same content you want to see on your TV screen . Once the Google Cast-enabled app ( full list here ) launches on your mobile device, and starts playing on your TV, you can continue to use your phone as you please. If you want, for example, you can keep the screen locked all the time, without affecting the viewing of the audio / video contents on the TV.
Here’s how to connect your phone to your TV with Google Cast:
- Launch the Google Cast-enabled app on your smartphone.
- Tap the Google Cast icon in the top right (a screen with the Wi-Fi symbol).
- Select the Smart TV in your home.
- Tap on “ Play” to start playback.
To learn more : What is Chromecast, how it works, set it up and use it
Connect phone to TV with Miracast
Miracast is still widely used to share mobile phone screen to TV. However, compared to Google Cast, it is a more limited technology. On the one hand it can only be used via Android devices , on the other hand it makes the TV dependent on the smartphone for the entire duration of the audio / video content playback.
Let’s see now how to connect the phone to the TV with Miracast:
- Tap “Screen Mirroring” from the smartphone notification panel.
- Select the TV you want to cast the screen to.
- Press on “Allow” to enable the connection.
- Wait for the video to start playing on the TV.
On the same topic : Best TV Boxes with Android and Windows (always updated list)
Connect phone to TV with AirPlay
AirPlay is the solution designed by Apple to mirror your iPhone, iPad or iPad Touch screen to Smart TVs compatible with AirPlay (1st and 2nd generation) or Apple TV ( check the requirements here ). As you can guess, it only works with mobile devices made by Apple.
Here are the steps to connect iPhone to TV:
- Open Control Center and tap ” Duplicate Screen” (the dual screen icon).
- Select the TV you want to share your phone screen with.
- Enter the AirPlay numeric code that appears on the TV on the iPhone to enable sharing.
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Here are some TVs that support AirPlay technology:
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Samsung UE55RU7400U Smart TV 4K Ultra HD 55 “Wi-Fi DVB-T2CS2, RU7400 2019 Series, 3840 x 2160 Pi …
- HDR 10+: Samsung UHD TVs offer a high quality viewing experience thanks to the HDR system …
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Fire TV Stick
An excellent solution to connect the smartphone to the TV, with the additional integrated Amazon ecosystem is the Fire TV Stick, consisting of a dongle that must be connected to the HDMI socket of the TV, with which to stream content from the phone to the TV. .
The only limitation is the availability of this feature only on Android devices and not iOS. These are the steps to follow:
- We connect smartphone and Fire TV Stick to the same WiFi network
- On the Fire TV remote, click on the Home button
- At this point we select the Duplication item (this item is present, only if there is no too old Android version on your smartphone)
With this dongle we will also have the possibility of direct streaming of different contents, from the portals of Prime Video and Youtube, as well as many other functions. We find Fire Tv Stick in 3 versions: Lite, 4K and Cube.
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Connect phone to TV with DLNA
DLNA , acronym for Digital Living Network Alliance , is a technology that allows you to transmit multimedia content wirelessly. Compared to the others described above, in addition to being the oldest, it is also the one with the most limitations.
One above all, it does not support mirroring . For this reason, it is essential to download an app that allows you to take advantage of DLNA technology. Among the many we point out BubbleUPnP , downloadable for free from the Google Play Store.
Here is the procedure to connect the phone to the TV with DLNA:
- Download the BubbleUPnp app
- Allow BubbleUPnp to manage multimedia contents stored in the phone memory
- Select the content you want to cast on the TV screen
- Click on the screen sharing icon to enable the connection between the mobile device and the TV via DLNA
Find out more : Guide to install and view IPTV lists on Smart TV
How to connect the phone to the TV with cable
The alternative to wireless connection is to use the cable. The most common option involves the presence of an HDMI socket in the TV, but before buying the cable it is essential to know the connector supported by the mobile phone . Below you will find the main choices available to you.
USB-C cable
In modern smartphones, the USB-C port has now become the standard solution to replace the micro-USB one. The transmission of the audio / video signal reaches very high speeds, up to 20 Gbit / s, an epochal change compared to the 480 Mbit / s guaranteed in the past by the micro-USB port.
The connection is very simple: it is sufficient to first connect the part of the cable with USB-C to the charging socket of the phone, then the other HDMI part to one of the homonymous ports that the TV is equipped with. Once this is done, the duplication of the mobile phone screen will be immediate.
Recommended reading : Differences between HDMI, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt and USB-C
MHL cable
The smartphone with micro-USB charging port can be connected to the TV using the MHL technology. Introduced for the first time in 2009, it allows to transmit the audiovisual signal from the smartphone to the TV using a micro-USB cable to HDMI.
You can check the compatibility of smartphones and TVs by consulting the list of supported devices on the official website mlhtech.org .
After making sure both devices are compatible, buy a passive MHL cable and plug the micro-USB end into the phone jack first, then take the other end and plug it into one of the HDMI ports on your TV.
Read also : Best TVs to buy (always updated list)
SlimPort cable
If neither of the two solutions proposed above (USB-C and MHL) are supported by your smartphone, one last option remains: the connection in SlimPort . It is a technology that can work on a greater number of televisions, including support for DVI, DisplayPort and VGA ports, in addition to the classic HDMI port.
Before proceeding with the purchase of a SlimPort adapter, however , check the compatibility of the technology on the part of your mobile phone and TV at this address (by clicking on the link you will be redirected to the official website of slimportconnect.com).
To connect , first plug one end of the micro-USB cable into your smartphone’s charging port, then take an HDMI cable and plug one end into the SlimPort adapter port and the other into your TV’s HDMI port.
Conclusions and advice
Our guide on how to connect mobile to TV ends here. Both types of methods described above, with and without cable, have their pros and cons.
With cable
Pro
- Ideal even if the router is located away from the TV and smartphone, as the connection is direct between the TV and smartphone
Versus
- Limited convenience, as you have to stay at a conditional distance from the length of the cable
- Better quality with full-hd / high-definition content, due to a more stable and faster connection
Without cable
Pro
- Possibility to connect the smartphone to the remote TV to different devices, changing the TV that will have to play the videos and images with a simple click.
Versus
- Lower quality of the reproduced video and problems both in case the router is far from smartphone and TV, and in case the WiFi technologies present on the router, TV and smartphone, are not of the latest generation
We hope we’ve helped you better understand how screen casting from mobile to TV works, as well as knowing the steps you need to take to enable the link.
