How to Cast Your Phone to a TV: Every Method Explained Simply

By Ken Hollow, personal AV technician for a fox spirit who believes anything smaller than a 55-inch screen is “an insult to content”

The request came at 11 PM on a Tuesday.

“Ken. I need my phone screen on the TV. Right now. My K-drama just hit the betrayal arc and I refuse to watch it on this tiny mortal rectangle.”

I walked her through it in three minutes. She acted like I’d performed a miracle. Her exact words were, “You have earned tonight’s survival.”

Casting your phone to your TV is one of those things that sounds like it should be complicated but really isn’t. Whether you have an iPhone or Android, a smart TV or a dumb one, there’s a method that works for you — and most of them take under a minute to set up once you know which one to use.

Here’s every method, organized by what you actually have.

First: Casting vs. Mirroring — They’re Different

Before we get into the how, it helps to understand the difference between these two terms because they come up constantly and they don’t mean the same thing.

Casting sends specific content from an app to your TV. When you tap the cast icon in YouTube or Netflix, the app tells your TV to play that video directly from the internet. Your phone becomes a remote control — you can close the app, use your phone for other things, and the video keeps playing on the TV. This is the better option for watching video content.

Mirroring duplicates your entire phone screen onto the TV in real time. Everything you see on your phone — including notifications, texts, and whatever app you have open — shows up on the TV. This is useful for presentations, showing photos to a group, or anything that doesn’t have a built-in cast button. The downside is that your phone has to stay on and active the whole time, which can make it run hot during extended sessions.

Most methods below support both, but casting is generally smoother for video since it offloads the work to the TV.

Method 1: AirPlay (iPhone → Smart TV or Apple TV)

If you have an iPhone and a TV made after 2019, there’s a good chance your TV supports AirPlay 2 built in. Samsung, LG, Sony, and Vizio smart TVs from recent years all support it — no extra hardware needed.

How to do it:

1. Make sure your iPhone and TV are connected to the same WiFi network.
2. Open Control Center (swipe down from the top-right corner on iPhones with Face ID, or swipe up from the bottom on older models).
3. Tap Screen Mirroring.
4. Select your TV from the list.
5. If prompted, enter the code displayed on your TV screen.

That’s it. Your iPhone screen is now on the TV. To stop, go back to Control Center → Screen Mirroring → Stop Mirroring.

For casting video specifically (better quality, less battery drain): open a streaming app like Netflix or YouTube, start playing something, and tap the AirPlay icon (a rectangle with a triangle at the bottom). Select your TV. The video plays on the TV while you’re free to use your phone.

If your TV doesn’t support AirPlay, an Apple TV streaming box plugs into your TV’s HDMI port and adds full AirPlay support plus its own streaming ecosystem.

Method 2: Google Cast / Chromecast (Android → Smart TV or Chromecast)

This is the Android equivalent. Many smart TVs (especially those running Google TV or Android TV) have Chromecast built in. If yours doesn’t, a Chromecast dongle plugged into the HDMI port adds it for about $30.

How to cast from an app:

1. Make sure your phone and TV are on the same WiFi network.
2. Open a cast-enabled app (YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, etc.).
3. Tap the Cast icon (a rectangle with WiFi waves in the corner — you’ll recognize it once you see it).
4. Select your TV from the list.
5. The content plays on the TV. Your phone is now a remote.

How to mirror your whole screen:

1. Swipe down from the top of your phone to open Quick Settings.
2. Look for “Screen Cast”, “Smart View” (Samsung), or “Cast”.
3. Tap it and select your TV.
4. Your entire phone screen now appears on the TV.

On Samsung phones specifically, the feature is called Smart View and works the same way — it’s just Samsung’s name for it.

Method 3: Fire TV Stick or Roku (Any Phone → Any TV with HDMI)

If your TV isn’t smart (or its built-in apps are painfully slow, which is common), a streaming stick turns any TV with an HDMI port into a casting-ready smart TV. The two most popular options:

Amazon Fire TV Stick ($25-40): Supports screen mirroring from Android phones. For iPhones, you’d need a third-party app (like AirScreen) since Fire TV doesn’t support AirPlay natively. Its main strength is as a standalone streaming device with Alexa built in.

Roku ($25-50): Supports both AirPlay (on newer models) and Miracast (Android mirroring). This makes it one of the most versatile options if your household has both iPhone and Android users.

Both plug into your TV’s HDMI port, connect to your WiFi, and turn any TV into a smart one. If your TV is older than about 2018, one of these is probably the cheapest and easiest upgrade you can make.

Method 4: HDMI Cable (Any Phone → Any TV — No WiFi Needed)

If your WiFi is unreliable or you want zero lag (important for gaming), a wired connection is the way to go. You’ll need:

For most modern phones (USB-C): A USB-C to HDMI adapter or cable. Plug the USB-C end into your phone, the HDMI end into your TV, and switch your TV to the correct HDMI input. Your phone screen appears instantly.

For older iPhones (Lightning): Apple’s Lightning Digital AV Adapter converts the Lightning port to HDMI. Same process — plug in and switch inputs.

Wired connections give you the best quality and zero latency, which is why they’re preferred for gaming and presentations. The downside is you’re physically tethered to the TV.

Important note: Not all phones support video output over USB-C. Most flagships do (Samsung Galaxy S series, Google Pixel 6 and newer, OnePlus), but budget phones often don’t. Check your phone’s specs if you’re not sure.

Which Method Should You Use? (Quick Decision Guide)

Your Situation	Best Method
iPhone + Smart TV (2019 or newer)	AirPlay — built in, no extra hardware needed
iPhone + Older TV	Apple TV box or Roku (both support AirPlay), or Lightning HDMI adapter for wired
Android + Smart TV with Chromecast built-in	Google Cast — tap the cast icon in any supported app
Android + Older TV	Chromecast dongle (~$30) or Fire TV Stick, or USB-C to HDMI adapter for wired
Mixed household (iPhone + Android users)	Roku — supports both AirPlay and Miracast/Chromecast
No WiFi / Need zero lag (gaming)	HDMI cable + adapter — wired is always the most reliable

Troubleshooting: Why Isn’t It Working?

If casting or mirroring isn’t connecting, check these in order:

“My TV doesn’t show up in the list.” Your phone and TV are probably not on the same WiFi network. Check both. If your router broadcasts 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz as separate networks, make sure both devices are on the same one.

“The video plays on TV but the screen is black.” This happens with streaming apps like Netflix and Disney+ when you try to screen mirror instead of cast. These apps use DRM (digital rights management) that blocks mirroring to prevent piracy. Use the app’s built-in cast button instead — that’s the authorized method and works without the black screen.

“There’s noticeable lag.” Wireless mirroring typically has 100-300 milliseconds of delay. For watching video, you won’t notice. For gaming, you absolutely will. Switch to a wired HDMI connection if lag matters.

“The quality looks bad.” Check your WiFi speed. Casting HD content needs a solid connection. If your WiFi is spotty in the room where your TV is, that’s your bottleneck. A WiFi extender, mesh router, or simply moving the router closer can help.

“My phone is getting really hot.” Screen mirroring is processor-intensive — your phone is encoding and transmitting video in real time. This is normal for extended sessions but not ideal. Casting (where the TV pulls content directly from the internet) is much lighter on your phone and doesn’t cause the same heat buildup.

TL;DR

Casting your phone to a TV is simple once you know which method matches your devices. iPhone users: use AirPlay (built into most smart TVs from 2019+). Android users: use Google Cast (built into most smart TVs with Chromecast). If your TV isn’t smart, a $25-40 streaming stick (Chromecast, Fire Stick, or Roku) adds wireless casting to any TV with HDMI. For zero-lag or no-WiFi situations, a USB-C to HDMI adapter gives you a direct wired connection. Both devices need to be on the same WiFi network for wireless methods to work.