With modern TVs supporting a growing range of on-demand apps and live streaming, mirroring content from a phone or tablet is rarely the best solution to access that content on the bigger screen.
But when you’re away from home and not logged into your own apps, you’re using an old TV with no support for the latest apps, or the content you want to view is owned by you or inside a phone-centric app like TikTok, other solutions would be preferable.
You can connect your Android phone or tablet to a TV wirelessly or with a cable. We’ll outline your options below.
Connect Android to TV using HDMI
If you don’t want to mess around with settings, the simplest solution to connecting your Android phone or tablet to a TV is to use an HDMI cable – provided your device supports HDMI streaming. You plug one end into the port on the back of your TV, and another end into the charging port on your phone, then change the source on the TV to display the HDMI input.
You will notice that a standard HDMI cable will not fit your phone. If your phone or tablet has a USB-C port, it’s very easy to move around, and you can buy an HDMI cable that has a USB-C connection on one end. We love this
UNI cable From Amazon.
If your phone or tablet has an older Micro-USB connection, you similarly need a Micro-USB to HDMI cable, but it should be one that includes MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) technology such as This lead is StarTech. Note that not all Android phones and tablets support MHL, so try to see if your model does before you put any money in.
SlimPort is another term you may hear mentioned. It is a similar technology but slightly different from MHL, and can be output to HDMI, VGA, DVI or DisplayPort, while MHL is limited to HDMI. In our experience, many people use these terms interchangeably, but in essence they are simply talking about an adapter or cable that can convert the feed from USB to HDMI.
Some tablets may also have Micro-HDMI or Mini-HDMI connections, which simplifies things. With these, you can use a Micro-HDMI or Mini-HDMI to HDMI cable, but you should check your device’s specs to make sure you’re buying the correct one (these connections are different sizes). Below are examples of
Micro-HDMI port And the
Mini HDMI port Cables available on Amazon.
If you don’t have spare HDMI ports on the back of your TV, you may also need to purchase one
HDMI switch To add more, free up a port to plug your phone or tablet into.
Connect Android to TV wirelessly
Since not all phones and tablets support HDMI connections, and the cables strewn in the living room can be a mess, a wireless solution may be the best.
Cast content from your phone or tablet to your TV It’s actually really simple, but what confuses things is the sheer number of terms used along with it, from Miracast and wireless display to screen mirroring, SmartShare, and everything in between. There is also AirPlay, but this is only used for Apple devices.
Our advice is don’t worry too much about these terms: you just look for an option in your phone or tablet’s settings that says cast or screen mirroring, which can be found under Connected Devices or Display Settings, depending on your device.
Casting usually lets you stream content from a specific app to your TV—ideal for watching video on the big screen—without sharing anything else from your phone. Screen mirroring posts everything from your phone screen, so only use it if you’re comfortable with everyone in the room seeing your notifications.
Most smart TVs will support Android screen mirroring. If you don’t have a smart TV, relatively inexpensive wireless projectors such as Chromecast And the Rocco It can facilitate wireless connection between your phone or tablet and your TV, and it has many useful uses as well. Make sure that the screen mirroring option is enabled in the settings of the device you are using.
Now go back to your phone or tablet, and make sure it’s connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your TV. Find Cast option and select TV (or Chromecast/Roku/other wireless HDMI device) to start screen mirroring. You may be asked to enter a code displayed on the TV to confirm that you are connected to the correct device.
You’ll need to place your phone or tablet in landscape mode, make sure the content you want to view is open in full screen, and check that the volume isn’t turned down or muted. You may also want to consider setting Do Not Disturb options to prevent incoming notifications from interrupting playback, especially if they are likely to be private.
If the app in which you’re watching content has a cast icon at the top of it, or if your phone or tablet has a cast option in the quick access settings in Android’s drop-down notification bar, this process is even simpler: tap Cast and select TV or Smart device to start screen mirroring.
Note that some apps, such as those from Sky, will not allow you to cast their content to a larger screen. There is no way to get around this without paying for a package that allows you to watch this content on your TV instead of your mobile phone.
See also:
How to connect a laptop to a tv
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