Whether you’re streaming a movie, taking part in a video call or playing a favorite game, mirroring your smartphone’s display to your television set is incredibly handy. Not only does casting your phone’s screen to your television make for a more comfortable viewing experience, but it also makes it possible to view photos or watch videos with friends or family members on a larger screen.
Start with an Android phone running Android 5.0 or later. That version of Android was released in 2014, so odds are your phone is running a newer version of Android. You can check by opening the Settings app and going to About phone and looking for Android version.
If you have the latest version, the most reliable and consistent way to mirror your Android phone’s screen is to use the Google Home app. You likely already have it installed. If not, you can download it from the Play store.
With the Home app installed, here’s what you need to do:
- Open the app and select the Chromecast device you want to use.
- Select the Cast my Screen button at the bottom of your screen.
- Accept the prompt that reminds you that whatever is on your phone will be visible on the TV. You may see a second prompt that warns you if your device isn’t optimized.
To stop casting your screen, tap on the button labeled Stop mirroring in the Home app.
iPhone users can use a similar process to cast their phone to an Apple TV or AirPlay 2-compatible smart TV.
- Connect your device to the same Wi-Fi network as your smart TV.
- Find the video that you want to stream.
- Tap the “mirror” icon in the upper-left corner of your screen.
- Choose the TV you wish to cast to.
Keep in mind that when you’re mirroring your screen, anything and everything that shows up on your phone or tablet’s display will also show up on the TV, so any alerts and notifications, along with their contents, will be broadcast for all to see.
But the added convenience of viewing your device’s contents on a larger platform offers a terrific way to make your smartphone even more user-friendly anytime you need it to be.
I use my roku device.
You should state that you would need a chrome cast device plugged into an hdmi port, and selecting input, especially if you have cable connection
Disappointing! An interesting idea and good instructions about setting up your Android device — then suddenly the need for a “Chromecast device” pops up with absolutely no information about what that is, where to find it, or how to know if you even have one, etc. Without the comments from Cheryl and Bill there would be no way to know where to look.
Hi Paul, thanks for your feedback on this. We appreciate you taking the time to post your concerns regarding this. I have passed this along to be looked into for going forward. Thanks!
Do I need to have a separate line for a iPad?
Hi Stacy, adding an iPad would require putting it on a separate line. Please keep in mind that we can’t guarantee compatibility, but we’ll do what we can to get it working with our service.
I would like to do this without using Wi-Fi – I have followed your directions but it will not connect to the TV using my data instead it wants to use Wi-Fi I do not have Wi-Fi?
Hi there, thanks for your question. If you’re wanting to connect your TV to the internet using your phone without WiFi you would need to enable the hotspot feature for your phone. Give us a call at 800-686-4460 or chat with one of our agents here to follow up.