Smartphone screens are big enough in terms of its size, but there are times when you just can’t help thinking of how small it is. For instance, when you are at home, and you want to watch a movie, view vacation photos with your family, or simply play your favorite mobile games, it would be nice if you can mirror your phone to another bigger screen, say TV.
Well, it’s no surprise that it’s doable, and there’s a couple of ways to do it, especially with Samsung devices. Without further ado, let’s discuss the different ways on how you can broadcast or mirror your Samsung phone to a smart TV.
Option 1: Use the Google Home App
Google Home arguably provides the most reliable way of mirroring your phone’s screen—not just Samsung’s—to a smart TV wirelessly. To start using it, though, your smart TV needs to have a Chromecast built-in to the device. Otherwise, you can initially purchase a Chromecast dongle to add the same functionality. Once you have the tool available, here’s what you need to do:
- If you haven’t already, install the Google Home app from the Play Store. Once installed, open the app.
- The app will now try to detect devices that the phone can connect to with Chromecast. Make sure that both the phone and smart TV are using the same Wi-Fi network. Select your smart TV once it’s listed.
- Tap the Cast my Screen button at the bottom. If any prompt appears requesting permission, allow it.
Done! Now you can broadcast the phone content into the smart TV. To stop the mirroring, tap on the Stop mirroring button.
From now on, you can also quickly cast the phone screen by using the Quick Settings panel (accessed by dragging your finger from the top of the screen downward) then select the Screen Cast icon.
Option 2: Use Smart View Through the SmartThings App
SmartThings is an app developed by Samsung and is similar to Google Home. Although that is the case, the app can be used by most Android and iOS smartphones, regardless of the brand. However, the thing is you need to have a Samsung Smart TV instead. To set up the connection, follow this step-by-step guide:
- Your Samsung phone may already have the necessary app installed. If it doesn’t, download and install the SmartThings app from the Play Store.
- Open the app. Similar to the previous case, you need to connect the phone and the Samsung Smart TV to the same Wi-Fi connection.
- Tap the Add Device button. The available smart TV device should be listed; select the TV (enter the PIN displayed on the TV screen if necessary).
- Tap Smart View. Afterward, you can use the menu to pick which content you want to view.
One thing to note here is that the SmartThings app may not be compatible with older Samsung Smart TV. Should that apply to you, you may want to try using the Samsung Smart View app or Quick Connect instead, depending on your smartphone model.
You can also access the shortcut for either Smart View or Quick Connect through the Quick Settings panel. Otherwise, use other options listed in this article.
Option 3: Connect Both Devices with an HDMI Adaptor
This option is a kind of ‘last resort’ method if you found that connecting wirelessly is more trouble than its worth. Hooking up TV and phone using cable will likely give you a more consistent and stable result. However, you need to sacrifice a little bit of convenience.
To do this, you’ll need to have the appropriate HDMI adaptor. Check to see if your phone has a USB-C port, and refer to the phone’s specs if needed.
If the phone has a USB-C port, use a USB-C to HDMI adaptor like this one. On the other hand, if you have an older smartphone that doesn’t have a USB-C port, use a Micro USB to HDMI adapter like this one. For Micro USB to HDMI adaptor to work, both your phone and Smart TV need to be MHL-enabled—use this site to find out whether that is the case for both devices.
Connect your TV and smartphone according to the adaptor’s manual. Different adaptors may require different ways of setting them up. Once you are sure that all of the equipment is correctly connected, turn the TV on and change the input to the adaptor’s HDMI port.
Notifications
One last thing to remember is that when you mirror the phone screen, everything that shows up on the phone—including notifications and messages—may show up on the smart TV as well.
You may want to silence some apps’ notifications whenever broadcasting. To do this, go to Settings app —> tap Notifications —> select app’s notifications. You need to locate the app you want to have the silent mode and edit its settings to block all notifications.
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