Have you ever used your smartphone to watch a video, attend a yoga class or even participate in a Zoom meeting? If so, you probably wondered how great it would be if you could see the same screen in an enlarged view on your television. Good news: you can.
What is Screen Mirroring?
Screen mirroring is when you can watch what is on your smartphone screen on your television screen. You can do this with either an Android phone or an iPhone.
Whatever is on your mobile device will show up on the television screen, including alerts, notifications, and other messages. It helps to turn on your Do Not Disturb on the smartphone if you’re getting too many distractions.
You will be able to watch I Love Lucy streaming on Hulu + Live TV, or read your social media feed posts on the TV. Instead of squinting to view something on your smartphone, you can easily see it on your smart TV.
Similarly, taking classes or learning something like yoga is much easier when you can watch it on the TV instead of holding your phone. Mirroring games from your smartphone to the TV makes playing those games more enjoyable. And videos come to life on the big screen.
How to Mirror Your Android Phone to the TV Wirelessly
The requirements
Your Android smartphone or tablet must be running Android 5.0 or later. Since Android 5.0 was released in 2014, your Android phone or mobile device is likely running version 5.0 or above.
If you don't know what version your Android device is, open the Settings app, and go to About Phone and look for the Android Version.
You should also be on a Wi-Fi connection.
For TVs with Chromecast built-in (many smart TVs)
If you have a TV with built-in Chromecast support, you will see if the app you want to view on the TV supports mirror casting. If so, tap the mirroring icon, and you will see the phone on the TV.
For other TVs (many non-smart TVs)
If your TV does not have built-in Chromecast support, you can still mirror your phone using a streaming device such as Chromecast or Roku. Your TV would just need an HDMI connector port for plugging the streaming device.
Mirror using streaming device
If you use Chromecast, Roku or another streaming device, follow these instructions to cast your phone wirelessly to the TV:
Step 1: Get your TV ready. On your TV remote, click on the input or source button to switch the TV to the input that your Chromecast or Roku is plugged into. You should see Chromecast, Roku or another streaming device on the screen. At first, it will show the streaming devices' wallpaper and the time.
Step 2: On your phone, swipe down once, and if necessary, swipe down again and tap on Smart View. Smart View will show you any and all devices you can use to mirror your phone to the TV.
Step 3: Tap on the streaming device you want to use, and you should see the phone mirrored on your TV screen.
In some cases, you might then see an option to change the aspect ratio. We wouldn’t recommend that since it could cause some apps to malfunction.
You can rotate your phone to show a landscape view on the TV. You can now play a game, watch a video or whatever you like on your smartphone and see it on the television.
Mirroring with a Cable or Adapter
Not all Android phones have the casting feature. If you don’t have a phone that is Chromecast-compatible, you can use an HDMI cable and adapter to connect your smartphone to the TV.
Note that to use this method, your smartphone has to support the MHL protocol. Usually, only more expensive phones support MHL.
An alternative option is to use a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter. If your phone has a USB-C port, you can simply plug the adapter into the phone, and then plug the HDMI cable into the adapter to connect to the TV.
If your smartphone has the older micro USB type port, you need to use a micro-USB-to-HDMI adapter to connect the phone and the TV.
How to Mirror an iPhone to a TV
It is much easier to mirror from an iPhone to an Apple TV, Mac or a smart TV.
Step 1: Connect the iPhone to the same Wi-Fi network that your Apple TV, Mac or an Airplay 2 Compatible smart TV is connected to.
Step 2: Open the control center on the iPhone. There are two ways to do this:
For iPhone X and later, swipe down from the upper right of the phone’s screen.
For an iPhone 8 or earlier, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
Step 3: Find the Screen Mirroring icon and tap on it.
Step 4: Select the device you will connect to that is shown on the list. It could be Apple TV, Mac or smart TV.
Step 5: Enter the password if it appears on the iPhone. The iPhone screen will now be mirrored to the TV screen.
Step 6: Open the Control Center and tap on Screen Mirroring. To stop the screen mirroring, tap on Stop Mirroring.
Connecting an iPhone to a Non-Smart TV
If you don’t have an Apple TV, you can connect the iPhone to a non-smart TV. Your TV has to have an HDMI port in it. There are two ways to connect the iPhone to the TV:
Using a lightning-to-VGA adapter
Using an HDMI adapter
You can also use a Chromecast dongle device that connects to your HDMI port on the TV. Just download the Chromecast app to your iPhone and you are set.
Summary
The instructions for mirroring a smartphone to a smart TV vary with different phones and TVs. With Android phones, it is easier if you have a Chromecast-compatible smart TV. But if you don't, you can still mirror using streaming devices like Chromecast, Roku or others.
You can also search for video guides on screen mirroring to see exactly how it's done.
Mirroring an iPhone to a smart TV is easy, especially if you have an Apple TV. If you do not have an Apple TV, you can still mirror your iPhone using specific cables and adapters.