How to cast videos from your iPhone or Android phone to your TV

I recently went on a vacation where I wanted to heat up Outstanding Plus to watch some reality competitions with friends, but I really didn't want to log into the app on our Airbnb's TV. I didn't want to mess with entering my login details with a remote control, and I didn't want to risk accidentally staying logged in for the vacation rental's next guests. Thankfully, my phone had the Streaming service ready for display on the go, and we figured out how to iPhone connected to the TV and Aerial play.

Fortunately, we had access to a TV with AppleTV If you have a box, that's no longer essential. Many TVs now come with built-in support for AirPlay, Chromecast, or Miracast, which let you connect your phone wirelessly. The hardest part isn't whether you can connect your phone to your TV, because you probably can. Instead, you need to know which wireless casting connection your phone supports, and make sure the TV you want to connect to supports it, too.

We'll break down how it works depending on whether you're using an iPhone or an Android phone. We'll also point out when to use AirPlay, Chromecast, or Miracast to connect, depending on your device.

The iPhone supports AirPlay and Chromecast

Apple's iPhone devices can connect wirelessly to a TV in two ways. At a system level, an iPhone can use AirPlay to stream media from video and music apps to any device that also supports AirPlay. Originally, this was exclusive to the Apple TV, but AirPlay now supports many TVs from Samsung, LG, TCL, and Vizio, as well as Roku's streaming devices. If your device supports the Apple TV app, it probably has AirPlay support listed somewhere in the settings.

You can access AirPlay in two ways. If you're using a supported app like Paramount Plus, tap the AirPlay icon, represented by a TV with a triangle through it. You can also access AirPlay from your phone's Control Center by tapping the icon represented by two rectangles and then selecting the device you want to cast to. The latter option also lets you mirror your phone's screen to your TV to view apps like Instagram or TikTok that don't include AirPlay natively.

The biggest exception to this Apple TV rule for finding AirPlay is Google’s 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 tap the Chromecast icon, represented by a rectangle with three wavy lines. Then tap the device you want to cast to. The biggest difference between how AirPlay works on the iPhone and Chromecast is that you can't mirror your iPhone's display via Chromecast.

Certain apps, like YouTube, combine these casting options for convenience. When you tap Google's Chromecast button, a submenu lets you choose between using AirPlay, Chromecast, or linking directly to your TV's YouTube app via 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 that enables screen mirroring without using AirPlay.

Android always supports Chromecast and sometimes Miracast

Android phones don't support AirPlay, but they sometimes support two wireless casting options that connect to almost any TV.

First, all Android phones support Chromecast, so if your TV has Chromecast built-in or you have a Chromecast streaming player connected, you can connect your phone by tapping the Cast icon in any app or screen mirroring using the Google Home app. You can also set up a Screen Cast shortcut in the quick settings dropdown box that will make casting to your TV even quicker. CNET's Nelson Aguilar put together a guide for this, which you can check out here.

And while it's not supported on every Android phone, Samsung and Motorola both make Android phones that support Miracast for screen mirroring. These features are called “Smart View” and “Ready For” respectively, and allow you to connect your phone to TVs or displays that support a setting often called “screen mirroring.” What's great about Miracast is that many Windows PCs also support this type of casting, and during my recent trip, that came in handy for playing some Jackbox games.

An additional note about Samsung's Smart View and Motorola's Ready For is that both support connecting your phone to a TV via a USB-C to HDMI cable, if you have one handy. This can be especially useful if you're trying to do a more data-intensive activity on your phone, like connecting to your TV to use your phone more like a computer.

More tips for connecting your phone to a TV wirelessly

While many TVs and streaming devices support one or more of these methods, it's entirely possible that you won't have the perfect solution when traveling. 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, there are now many TVs that support multiple connection options, and you can probably set up a method that works for everyday TV watching.

You should also keep in mind that, similar to video streaming, your network can affect the effectiveness of a wireless connection to your TV. If possible, you should place your phone as close to a router as possible, as this will improve the connection. If your video quality degrades while streaming, you should also turn casting off and on again to reset the connection.

But as long as your phone and TV can connect using one of the methods above, you should otherwise have no problem streaming any movies or music from your phone to your TV.

Look at that: Apple's biggest drama? It's sport

06:27