Why Use Usb To Connect Phones Tablets And TVs
With the ease and prevalence of casting to mirror a phone screen wirelessly, you might be curious why you should use a USB to TV connection for your phone.
If you hook a phone to your TV with a hardwired connection, you benefit from a low-latency signal.
For instance, if you plan to mirror your phone to a television for gaming, you’ll want a USB connection rather than a wireless configuration. This vastly reduces lag. The same goes for watching movies on a TV over a USB cable from the phone.
Plus, for situations where you lack Wi-Fi or have a weak wireless signal, you’ll need a wired connection instead.
To connect your phone or tablet to a TV, you can use one of the following methods:
- Android:
How you connect your phone to the TV depends on your specific device and operating system. Although all methods are similar, the process differs for connecting an iPhone versus an Android device.
Similarly, your connection method varies depending on your needs. Simply viewing photos on a compatible television requires your charging cable and mobile device. But for screen mirroring, you’ll need a USB adapter.
Note that for USB connections between a phone and TV, the model of TV shouldn’t matter, however. The steps below outlining how to connect your phone to a TV apply to Samsung, LG, and many other manufacturers. Better still, the same steps can be used to connect a phone to non-smart TV.
How To Use Screen Mirroring
After Screen Mirroring is activated, everything you see on your Android phone or tablet screen is shared on your TV or video projector screen. However, what you see mirrored on your TV screen is still displayed on the Android device.
If you turn your Android phone horizontally, for most apps, you should see the same view on your TV screen.
In addition to content, in most cases, you will also mirror the onscreen menus and settings options provided on your Android phone or tablet on your TV. This means that you continue to use your phone to navigate through the phone’s menu and apps.
Connect With An Adapter Or Cable
If you don’t have a Chromecast-compatible device, use an HDMI cable and adapter to connect your phone to your TV and mirror what’s on your screen. You have a few different options here, and which one you choose will depend on the type of display you’re connecting to, how long, andmost importantlywhether or not you’ll need to charge your phone while doing it.
The simplest option is a USB-C to HDMI adapter. If your phone has a USB-C port, you can plug this adapter into your phone, and then plug an HDMI cable into the adapter to connect to the TV. Your phone will need to support HDMI Alt Mode, which allows mobile devices to output video. This method will take up your charging port, unless your adapter has a charging port.
If you have an older Micro USB-style port, you will need a micro USB to HDMI adapter. With this method, your phone will need to support a different protocol called MHL. If you have a supported phone, hook it up to the adapter, then attach an HDMI cable and connect it to a TV.
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Stream Videos And Use Apps On The Big Screen
If you own an iPhone or iPad, AirBeamTV is the leading Screen Mirroring app for iOS devices. The app is fully compatible with Samsung TVs. Download AirBeamTV, open your device and start mirroring. Now you can stream videos and use apps like TikTok or Facebook on your iPhone or iPad and view it all on the big screen of your TV.
How To Screen Mirror Built
If youre using a device with Android 4 or higher, your device likely supports mirroring without any help from third-party apps. Remember, each manufacturer has its own mirroring software .
Were using Samsung as an example, but most manufacturers support the feature. Although, you may need to go to Settings and tap on Connected Devices or something similar, here is how to use your devices native screen mirror functions:
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What Is Screen Mirroring
Screen Mirroring is a feature in most smartphones that allows you to wirelessly cast the phones content on another device screen, mostly a TV or an external monitor. It is useful in situations where you want to showcase photos, play games, and watch movies on the big screen.
Smart TVs have the screen mirroring functionality built-in whereas for older TVs, you will need a media stick or a media player for the screen mirroring to work. Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire Stick and Roku are some of the most popular media streaming devices that support screen mirroring.
There are mainly two prerequisites required for casting your smartphone to a Smart TV. First, make sure both your smartphone and TV should be connected to the same WiFi network. Secondly, your smart TV should have chromecast built in or/and you should have a streaming device that supports screen mirroring.
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Two Kinds Of Streaming: Mirroring And Casting
Before we dig into the ways you can stream from a phone or tablet to a TV, let’s quickly go over what that really means.
“Mirroring,” or “screen mirroring,” turns your phone, tablet or computer into a mini TV station, broadcasting everything you see on your device’s display to your TV. This can be super handy for when you want to use your TV as a monitor so that friends or family can see what you’re seeing and follow along – it’s awesome for planning trips or even to show someone how to accomplish a certain task on their own devices.
When there’s a particular movie, TV show, YouTube video, or song that you want to watch on your TV instead of your phone or tablet, this is typically known as “casting.” Casting is like sending a link to a friend, except in this case, the friend is your smart TV or streaming media device. Once you send the link, the media starts to play on your TV and you’ll usually be able to pause, skip forward, skip back, and stop the stream from the device you used to send the link.
For the purposes of this article, we’ll only be discussing how to mirror your devices.
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How To Connect A Phone To A Smart TV
Pairing your smartphone screen with a smart TV can result in the perfect match. Connecting your phone to a smart TV is a great way to look at photos, watch movies, videos, music, photos, games, online TV shows, applications, and more.
You can connect your phone to your smart TV in multiple ways. But the most popular way is wirelessly. The type of phone and TV that you have determines how you connect the two devices.
Here are different methods of connecting your phone and your TV and what you need to know about each. The process can differ slightly depending on whether you have an Android phone or an Apple phone, and whether you have a Smart TV or a standard HDTV.
In this article we are focusing on Android smartphones and Smart TVs. To wirelessly connect your smartphone to your TV, you need to have a Smart TV.
Using A Plug And Play Cable To Connect Your iPhone To Your TV
If you have a TV that allows you to connect a USB to your phone you can get a Plug and Play cable that has an HDMI side, a USB connection and also the Lighting side for your iPhone, instead of having to buy two different cables. But bear in mind that certain HDMI cables will not support paid subscriptions and apps.
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Screen Mirroring To Your Samsung TV
That photograph you took is stunning, but you know what would make it look even more amazing? Projecting it onto a big screen. With Smart View, you can wirelessly connect a compatible Samsung device to a Samsung Smart TV. Beam photos, videos, presentations, and games on a large screen to make them look bigger and better.
Note: Available screens and settings may vary by wireless service provider, software version, and device model. Smart View is not available on every device. Devices must be on the same Wi-Fi network as the TV for screen mirroring.
If Video Automatically Streams To An Airplay Device
Your device might automatically stream video to the Apple TV or AirPlay 2-compatible smart TV that you frequently use. If you open a video app and see in the upper-left corner, then an AirPlay device is already selected.
To use AirPlay with a different device, tap , then tap another device. Or tap again to stop streaming with AirPlay.
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How To Mirror From Roku To Android Using Third
When you want to mirror your entire Android screen, you can rely on third-party apps to help. Unlike the methods listed above that only let you cast certain parts of your screen, some applications allow you to mirror anything you want.
You can search the Google Play Store for Mirroring apps to find the one that best suits your needs. For this article, were using the Screen Mirroring for Roku app. This application works great as long as your Android device is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Roku. But, it does have some ads, and the premium features will cost $4.99/mo.
Heres how to use a third-party app to mirror your Android device to your Roku.
As mentioned above, your Android screen will automatically appear on the TV connected to your Roku.
Mirror iPhone Screen To TV With Chromecast
Chromecast is a streaming device that can help duplicate the screen of your device to a larger screen. One of the beautiful things about Google Chromecast is that it can help you mirror your iPhone screen to the TV even if you don’t have an Apple TV.
Steps to Mirror iPhone Screen to TV with Chromecast
- Step 1: Download and install a screen mirroring app on your iPhone
- Step 2: Follow the on-screen instructions
Open your Apple Store and download a Chromecast screen mirroring app. A Chromecast screen mirroring app will help connect your Chromecast device and mirror the screen of your iPhone on your TV over Wi-Fi.
There is a free trial after a successful download and installation of the screen mirror app. Ensure you follow every instruction on your iPhone screen.
- The app runs only on iOS 12 or newer.
- The entire process is wireless.
- It is an easy setup.
- It supports iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch.
- It supports HD quality screen mirroring with sound.
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Use Hdmi To Mirror iPhone Screen To TV
You must get the right kind of adapter for this method to ensure that your iPhone is properly connected to your TV with a cable. There is a Lightning Digital AV Adapter made by Apple to connect with your TV’s HDMI port.
Steps to Mirror iPhone Screen to TV using HDMI
- Step 1: Connect Your iPhone to the adapter
- Step 2: Connect the adapter to the cable
- Step 3: Switch your TV’s input
Try to connect your iPhone to the adapter via the Lightning port.
Hook the cable into the back of your TV after connecting the adapter to it.
To watch your iPhone screen, switch the input of the TV to the corresponding port with the cable.
The adapter does not need the power to work, however, you need to make sure that your device is well charged if you intend to use it for a long time. Besides, while watching media, you can connect your iPhone to a charging cable with the adapter .
Streaming Devices To Cast Android To TV
Media streaming devices have brought Android into the living room. You plug it into your TV and voila, go stream and watch all kinds of content.
These devices are excellent alternatives for those who dont own a smart TV. While Im listing ways in which you can cast your phone display without Chromecast, there are other streaming devices for you to consider.
1. Roku Streaming Stick-Cast Android to TV
Roku, which is the pioneer when it comes to streaming devices, offers an easy way for you to see your Android screen on a bigger screen. The stick itself has built-in screen mirroring options, so all you have to do is enable it.
- As always, connect both devices to the same wireless network first. Then, plug the Roku streaming stick on your TV.
- On the Home page, navigate to Settings > Systems > Mirroring. From here, go and choose your connection method.
- To enable casting on your Android device, follow the steps indicated in the Native Casting section above.
2. Amazon Fire Stick-Cast Android to TV
Unfortunately, the 3rd generation Fire TV Stick 4K no longer supports native screen mirroring. If youre using any of the previous generations, though, youre still good.
- Again, before anything else, remember to connect your phone and TV to the same Wi-Fi network.
- To start casting, press and hold the Home button on the Fire Stick remote to enable the mirroring option.
- To do the same on your Android device, follow the steps listed in the Native Casting section above.
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What Is The Screen Mirroring Function
The Screen mirroring function is one of the methods to display the screen of a mobile device on the TV to view photos, videos or websites. The function uses Miracast technology to display the screen of a compatible device on the TV without a wireless router.
NOTE: The video quality may be degraded if there is environmental interference present.
How To Connect And Mirror Android To TV
The exact terms used for Screen MIrroring and steps needed to activate may vary from those outlined below depending on phone, TV, or bridge device brand or model.
Go to Settings on your phone, TV or bridge device .
In the following steps, the Android phone is on the left and the TV screen is on the right.
Enable screen mirroring on the phone and TV. In the example shown the term used by the TV is Wi-Fi Direct.
Search for the TV or bridge device. It may also be on a list of devices. In the TV screen mirroring menu select the Android phone or tablet.
Initiate a connect procedure, after your Android phone or tablet and TV or bridge device find and recognize each other.
The Android screen displays on the TV screen after the “connect” procedure is completed.
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Cast Your Screen To Hdtv With Chromecast
To mirror your screen on a TV, showing all apps and screens you use on your phone, you must:
- Use a TV with Chromecast built-in.
- Or, plug a Chromecast into your TVs HDMI port.
To start casting:
To stop:
- On the casting notification, touch > Disconnect
- Or, from quick settings, touch > Disconnect
Cast an app
You can cast an app if you:
- Have a smart TV that supports mobile apps for viewing or playing media from your phone. See your TV user guide for instructions to connect your phone.
- Have Chromecast or a TV with Chromecast built-in. This feature is not available in all countries.
Miracast is not supported.
To cast an app:
While Casting:
- You can still make and receive calls and use your phones other features.
To Stop Casting:
- In the app that’s casting, touch and touch the option to disconnect.
- From the notification, touch
Cast personal media with Wi-Fi Direct
If your TV supports Wi-Fi Direct, set up a connection between your phone and TV so that you can view or play media from your phone.
For information about using Wi-Fi Direct after you’ve connected, see the user guide that came with your TV.
Connect An iPhone Or iPad With An Hdmi Cable
While a wired HDMI adapter isnt as convenient as AirPlay for screen mirroring, its a more straightforward way of connecting, especially if Wi-Fi is flaky or unavailable.
For an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with a Lightning connector, you can use Apples Lightning Digital AV adapter, which costs about $40. Cheaper third-party adapters are also available, but be aware that these will not support streaming video apps that use copy protection, such as Netflix.
Apples official Lightning Digital AV Adapter is pricey, but itll let you mirror an iPhone or iPad on your TV with no hassles.
Jared Newman / IDG
Setup is easy: Just plug the HDMI cable into your TV on one end and the adapter on the other, plug the Lightning cable into your iOS device, and set the TV to the appropriate input. You can also plug a charger into the adapters second Lightning port to keep your iOS devices battery from draining.
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