I was recently on vacation where I wanted to light up Paramount Plus to watch Big Brother with my friends, but I really didn’t want to log into the app on our Airbnb TV. I didn’t want to deal with entering my login information using the remote, nor did I want to risk accidentally staying logged in for the next guests of the cottage. Fortunately, mine phone had streaming service ready to watch on the go, and we figured out how to connect mine iPhone on TV, and used AirPlay.
While luckily we had access to television with Apple TV framework, it is no longer necessary. Many TVs now come with built-in support for AirPlay, Chromecast or Miracast, all of which allow you to connect your phone to your TV wirelessly. The trickiest part isn’t whether you can connect your phone to your TV, because you probably can. Instead, you’ll need to know which wireless streaming connection your phone supports and make sure the TV you want to connect to also supports it.
We’ll share how it works based on whether you’re using an iPhone or an Android phone. We’ll also highlight when you’ll be using AirPlay, Chromecast, or Miracast to connect, depending on the device you have.
iPhone supports AirPlay and Chromecast
Apple’s iPhone devices have two methods of wireless connection to the TV. At the system level, iPhone can use AirPlay to stream media from video and music apps to any device that also supports AirPlay. This was originally exclusive to Apple TV, but AirPlay now supports many TVs from Samsung, LG, TCL and Vizio, along with Roku streaming devices. Chances are, if your device supports the Apple TV app, there’s AirPlay support somewhere in its settings.
You can access AirPlay in one of two ways. If you’re using a supported app like Paramount Plus, you should tap the AirPlay icon represented by a TV with a triangle. You can also access AirPlay from your phone’s Control Center by tapping the icon represented by two rectangles, then selecting the device you’re broadcasting to. Using the latter option, you can also mirror your phone’s screen to the TV to show apps like Instagram or TikTok that don’t include AirPlay internally.
Screen Mirroring menu on iPhone.
The biggest exception to this Apple TV rule for finding AirPlay is Google Chromecast devices and TVs running the Google TV operating system, but the iPhone also supports Chromecast. Similar to using AirPlay from a media app, you’ll tap the Chromecast icon represented by a rectangle with three wavy lines. Next, you’ll tap the device you want to broadcast to. The biggest difference between how AirPlay works on iPhone and Chromecast is that you won’t be able to mirror your iPhone’s screen through Chromecast.
The Chromecast icon is circled in this screenshot of the Paramount Plus app.
Certain apps like YouTube will merge these broadcast options for convenience. When you tap Google’s Chromecast button, a submenu will let you choose between using AirPlay, Chromecast, or connecting directly to the YouTube app on your TV using a code.
And if you want to connect your iPhone to your TV using an HDMI cable, Apple also sells a Lightning-to-HDMI adapter which allows screen mirroring without using AirPlay.
Android always supports Chromecast, sometimes it supports Miracast
Samsung’s Smart View screen mirroring.
Android phones don’t support AirPlay, but they sometimes support two wireless streaming options that connect to almost any TV.
First, all Android phones include Chromecast support. So if your TV has Chromecast built in or has a Chromecast streaming player attached, you’ll be able to connect your phone by tapping the Cast icon from within the app or mirroring the screen using the Google Home app. You can also set up a Screen Cast shortcut in the Quick Settings drop-down menu, which will provide an even faster way to quickly cast to your TV. CNET’s Nelson Aguilar put together a guide to that, which you can check out here.
Ready For is a software interface that allows you to connect your phone to a TV or monitor.
And while it’s not supported on all Android phones, Samsung and Motorola make Android phones that support Miracast for screen mirroring. These features are labeled “Smart View” and “Ready For” respectively, and will allow you to connect your phone to TVs or displays that support a setting often called “Screen Mirroring”. What’s unique about Miracast is that many Windows PCs also support this style of casting, and during my recent trip it came in handy to play some Jackbox games.
An additional note about Samsung’s Smart View and Motorola’s Ready For is that both support connecting your phone to your TV using a USB-C to HDMI cable, if you have one on hand. This could be especially useful if you’re trying to do a more data-intensive activity on your phone, such as connecting to a TV to use your phone more like a computer.
YouTube TV on a phone connected to the app on a TV.
More tips on connecting your phone to your TV wirelessly
While many TVs and streaming devices support one or more of these methods, it’s entirely possible that you won’t find the perfect travel partner. For example, you might have an Android phone, but the TV in your hotel room only supports AirPlay or blocks access to the HDMI port. But for home use, now that many TVs support multiple connection options, there’s a good chance you can set up a method that works for everyday viewing.
You should also keep in mind that, similar to streaming video, your network can also affect how effective the wireless connection will be with your TV. Wherever possible, you should have your phone as close to the router as possible, which will help with the connection. If your video quality drops while streaming, you may need to turn off and on the stream again to clear the connection.
But as long as your phone and TV can connect in one of the ways above, you should otherwise be free to stream movies or music from your phone to your TV.
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