My friends wanted to watch a sporting event live on their phones while I was on vacation, but the TV in our Airbnb didn’t have the app we needed to play it. Fortunately, the TV was connected to an Apple TV box, so all it took to play it on the TV was to use AirPlay on an iPhone and reflect it on the larger screen.
Although we were lucky enough to have the Apple TV box, it is no longer technically required. Nowadays, a lot of TVs come with built-in support for AirPlay, Chromecast, or Miracast, which enables wireless phone connections. You probably can connect your phone to your TV, so that’s not the most difficult aspect. Rather, you will need to find out which wireless casting connection your phone is compatible with and confirm that the TV you want to connect to is compatible as well.
Depending on whether you’re using an Android or iPhone, we’ll break out how this works. Depending on your device, we’ll also indicate when you’ll be connecting via AirPlay, Chromecast, or Miracast.
The iPhone is compatible with Chromecast and AirPlay.
There are two methods for wirelessly connecting Apple’s iPhone devices to a television. At the system level, an iPhone may cast media from music and video applications to any other AirPlay-capable device. Originally limited to the Apple TV, AirPlay is now compatible with a wide range of TVs from Samsung, LG, TCL, and Vizio in addition to Roku’s streaming devices. It’s likely that your device has AirPlay capability somewhere in its settings if it supports the Apple TV app.
There are two methods to access AirPlay. You should touch the AirPlay symbol, which is a TV with a triangle, if you’re running a compatible app, such as Paramount Plus. By touching the symbol that looks like two rectangles and then selecting the device you want to cast to, you can easily access AirPlay from the Control Center on your phone. You may also use the latter option to mirror the screen of your phone to your TV in order to see applications like as Instagram or TikTok that do not support AirPlay.
AirPlay menu for screen mirroring
The iPhone’s Screen Mirroring menu.
Mike Sorrentino/CNET screenshot
Although the iPhone also supports Chromecast, Google’s Chromecast devices and TVs running the Google TV operating system are the largest exception to this Apple TV regulation regarding AirPlay. You will touch the Chromecast symbol, which is a rectangle with three wavy lines, much as when you use AirPlay from a media app. The device you want to cast to will then be tapped. The primary difference between Chromecast and iPhone AirPlay is that Chromecast does not allow you to mirror your iPhone’s screen.
Paramount Plus with the circled Chromecast symbol
This snapshot of the Paramount Plus app shows the circled Chromecast symbol.
Mike Sorrentino/CNET screenshot
For convenience, certain programs, such as YouTube, may combine these casting choices. You may choose between utilizing AirPlay, Chromecast, or a code to connect straight to the YouTube app on your TV when you touch Google’s Chromecast button.
Additionally, if you wish to utilize an HDMI cable to connect your iPhone to your TV, you may use a Lightning-to-HDMI converter for iPhones 14 and older or a USB-C to HDMI adapter if you have an iPhone 15 or later. Screen mirroring will be possible with that adapter without the need for AirPlay.
Chromecast is always supported by Android, and sometimes Miracast is as well.
Samsung’s Smart View screen mirroring is also supported.
Aguilar Nelson/CNET
Although Android phones don’t support AirPlay, they may have two wireless casting alternatives that work with almost every TV.
First, Chromecast is compatible with all Android phones. You can connect your phone by hitting the Cast symbol from an app if your TV has Chromecast integrated in or if you have a Google TV streamer connected. To cast to your TV even more rapidly, you can also create a Screen Cast shortcut in the quick settings drop-down box. For this, CNET’s Nelson Aguilar has created a guide that you can see here.
A software interface called Motorola Edge 5G UW Ready For enables you to connect your phone to a TV or monitor.
CNET/Patrick Holland
Additionally, both Samsung and Motorola provide Android phones that enable Miracast for screen mirroring, albeit not all of them do. These capabilities, which go by the names Smart View and Ready For, respectively, enable you to connect your phone to TVs or other screens that have a function called Screen Mirroring. The distinctive feature of Miracast is that it is compatible with a large number of Windows PCs, which was useful for playing Jackbox games on my most recent trip.
Another thing to keep in mind with Samsung’s Smart View and Motorola’s Ready For is that, if you have a USB-C to HDMI connection on hand, you may use it to connect your phone to a computer monitor or television. If you want to use your phone for more data-intensive tasks, like connecting to a larger screen to use it more like a computer, this may be very useful.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV on a phone that is linked to a TV via the app.
Additional advice on how to link your phone to a TV wirelessly
You may not have a perfect match while traveling, even though many TVs and streaming gadgets support one or more of these ways. For example, you may have an Android phone, but the TV in your hotel room either doesn’t support HDMI or only supports AirPlay. However, as many TVs now have many connection choices, you may probably find a technique that works for regular watching at home.
Additionally, you should be aware that, similar to video streaming, the effectiveness of a wireless connection to your TV may also be impacted by your network. In order to improve the connection, you should position your phone as near to a router as you can. You may also wish to switch casting off and on again to reset the connection if the quality of your video deteriorates while you’re streaming.