Connect your mobile phone to the television and wirelessly mirror your screen

Every current Android smartphone offers the option of “Screen Mirroring” to connect directly to a smart TV. In doing so, you project the screen content of the mobile phone onto the television – including the sound. If you have an older, non-Smart TV-enabled television, you will need an additional device such as the Amazon Fire TV Stick or Google Chromecast. But even in spite of Smart TV, an additional device is very practical, as it makes the connection between smartphone and TV very easy. By the way, some televisions have already integrated a Chromecast.

Connect your Android phone to the TV – without cables

Miracast:

In order to be able to connect the two devices wirelessly, you must have a smart TV that supports screen mirroring. The name for the function differs depending on the manufacturer: it can also be called Miracast or simply mirroring the screen. The connection between mobile phone and television has been using WiFi Direct technology since Android 4.2. In other words: Both devices are directly connected to each other via WLAN, which means that they do not have to be in the home network. The entire screen content of the cell phone is mirrored on the television.

Now start Screen Mirroring in the settings of your smart TV and smartphone and confirm the connection request on the mobile phone and TV – depending on where it appears. Wireless pairing may take a moment. If everything went well, you will now see the content of your smartphone on your television.

DLNA:

If you have DLNA-certified devices, connect your mobile phone and television to one another via your home network. With “Search media server” you can access the shared smartphone content via television.

Stream Netflix from mobile to TV:

Almost all current televisions support the ability to transfer Netflix series and films from the smartphone to the television. The mobile phone then serves as a remote control. Both devices must be in the same WiFi network. Then start the Netflix app on both the TV and the mobile phone and log in with the same Netflix account. Then tap in the mobile phone app on the “Cast” symbol in the upper or lower right corner and select the desired device for playback. Then select a track and tap Play. You can now control playback using the app on your smartphone or tablet. If you have a Chromecast, it is even easier, as we explain at this point.

Stream YouTube from mobile phone to TV:

You can also start Youtube videos on your phone or tablet and play them on the TV. There is a special streaming symbol for this in the YouTube app. We explain exactly how this works in our article Streaming YouTube from Android to TV.

Cast symbol:

Streaming apps or other apps that display videos have almost all integrated the transmission to the TV. The cast symbol is displayed in the video player or generally in the app. Tap on it and you’ll either see the TV or a device like the Chromecast or Fire TV Stick if you’re using one of them.

Connect Android phone to TV via Chromecast

If you do not have a Smart TV or you want the connection to be particularly easy and stable, then it is best to use the Google Chromecast or the Chromecast Ultra, which supports 4K. Connect the Chromecast to your television via HDMI and then connect it to your home network via WiFi using the Google Home app (Android | iOS) on your smartphone / tablet.

You can then mirror the screen of your smartphone on the television or directly start content from supported apps such as Youtube, Google Photos, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Twitch and Juke via the “Cast” symbol. Your smartphone or tablet then serves as a remote control. For example, while a YouTube video is streamed from your Android device to the TV, you can read the comments on your mobile phone or tablet or search for more videos. You can even create a playback playlist to have multiple videos automatically play in sequence.

If you have a Google Home Smart Speaker like the Google Nest Mini, you can, for example, start Netflix by voice command via the Chromecast. The prerequisite is that you are logged into your mobile phone with your Netflix account.