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If, for any reason, you don't have a smart TV that can natively play whatever media you have on a phone, then streaming it onto the big screen is something you definitely need to get familiar with. There are many ways to do so, but how exactly you do it comes down to three things: what kind of phone, what type of TV, and what platform the video is streaming from. An older smartphone, for instance, may not have the screen casting capabilities modern Android and iOS devices have, and even if it did, if your TV doesn't support wireless casting, it won't work anyway. This means that you'll end up playing a delicate matching game dance, but luckily, there are just so many ways to do it that it should work on anything invented in the last decade.
In the end, you'll have to resort to three major ways of streaming videos from your phone to your TV: First, using a wired HDMI cable to plug your phone directly to the TV; second, native wireless casting if your TV supports it; third, streaming boxes and sticks, like Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, etc. We chose to separate these three because they each require different hardware, and not necessarily because the end results don't overlap. However, a cable will almost always beat a wireless connection in terms of reliability and fidelity, as you may soon discover. Below, we've outlined all the major steps to stream video from your phone to your TV, but keep in mind that nuances will apply depending on what kind of phone or TV you have.
Use an HDMI cable to stream from your phone to the TV
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The best and most reliable way to get a video stream from your phone to a TV is to use a compatible HDMI cable. For most modern phones, that means a USB-C to HDMI cable. All you have to do is literally plug and play, and you're good to go — note that what HDMI port you use on your TV actually makes a difference, so keep that in mind if you want the best quality.
There are two major problems with this method, though: First, you need to have a cable or a small USB-C hub with a HDMI port, so that means some extra financial investment on your part (and even more money if you want a 4K, high-quality cable) and the second is that relatively newer iPhones, such as the iPhone 14 series and older, all use a Lightning port instead of the USB-C we see in the 15 series and later. For the latter problem, you'll need Apple's Lightning Digital AV Adapter to solve it. You can connect the adapter to your iPhone, then link it to a TV using an HDMI cable. However, the adapter costs $49 on Apple's website, and it's locked at 1080p.
If you have an older Android that doesn't support video output through USB-C or simply has an old micro-USB port, you'll need an MHL or SlimPort adapter that converts to HDMI (or sometimes VGA/DisplayPort for SlimPort).
Use the TV's native wireless casting feature if it supports it
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Any modern smart TV worth its salt comes with wireless casting as a built-in feature. It's essentially a way your phone and TV can communicate, share data, and ultimately stream from one point to the other when they're on the same Wi-Fi network. It generally falls into three categories: Chromecast (Google Cast), AirPlay, and Miracast.
If your TV has Chromecast built in (which is common on Android and Google TVs), all you have to do is open a streaming app that supports it on your phone, like Netflix or YouTube. Next, tap the cast icon and select the TV from the list of available devices. That's it, your phone becomes more like a remote you can use to adjust volumes, pause, play, rewind, and all of those controls, while the TV directly streams the video from the internet. If your TV doesn't have Chromecast built in, you can always buy a Chromecast device and plug it into its HDMI slot.
For iPhone users, AirPlay is the best way to stream media from your phone to the TV. Many TVs these days support it, and if it doesn't, an Apple TV box will give you AirPlay functionality. It works exactly the same way as Chromecast here, but it comes with the additional benefit of screen mirroring. You can pretty much stream whatever is on your iPhone to a compatible TV simply by selecting AirPlay from the Control Center.
Lastly, there's Miracast, which uses Wi-Fi Direct to send audio and video from what's on your phone's screen to the TV. However, this only works on Android phones.
Make a dumb TV smart or compatible by using a streaming box or stick
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If your TV lacks built-in wireless casting capabilities, streaming devices offer an affordable solution to bridge the gap. Popular options include Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, and Google Chromecast dongles, which plug directly into your TV's HDMI port and connect to your home Wi-Fi network.
Once connected, these devices essentially transform any TV with an HDMI input into a smart TV. For Android users, a Chromecast or Fire TV Stick works seamlessly with most streaming apps. Just like we mentioned earlier, simply tap the cast icon in supported apps like Netflix, YouTube, or Spotify, and your content will appear on the big screen. iPhone users will want to consider an Apple TV box, which provides full AirPlay support for both casting and screen mirroring. Roku devices offer a middle ground, supporting screen mirroring from both Android and iOS devices through their own Roku mobile app.
The advantage of streaming boxes and sticks is that they're relatively inexpensive (starting around $30 for basic models) and work with virtually any TV manufactured in the last 20 years, as long as it has an HDMI port. They also come with their own remotes and interfaces, giving you access to streaming apps directly on your TV without needing your phone at all. Just remember that all of these devices require a stable internet connection to function properly, so make sure your Wi-Fi signal reaches wherever your TV is located.
