Project your smartphone display onto your television to view photos, play games, watch videos or surf the Internet is the simplest thing in the world. Yes, and that's because Miracast is on all devices from Android 4.2. The most curious thing is that the vast majority of users don't even know they have it. We show you what Miracast is and how you can project your mobile device screen to TV.
What is Miracast
Miracast is a Wi-Fi Alliance certified technology for wireless screen transmission between different devices. It is a standard system that, through a peer-to-peer network, sends what you see on your smartphone screen to another compatible larger screen, such as a television.
It is the number one enemy of the HDMI cable. It provides a wireless connection to watch your smartphone / tablet / computer on television in a very simple way. With Miracast you can share audio and even video content
Miracast works as a “screen mirroring” (mirror screen) over the Wi-Fi network. Something like sending a photo via Bluetooth. It's best to think of it as an HDMI cable but without a cable. Miracast appears natively on smartphones starting with Android Jilly Bean 4.2.
Its main advantage is that it is a common feature with any Android manufacturer Miracast was launched in 2012 and as of July 2017 it supports 4K content.
Differences between Miracast, Chromecast and AirPlay
Simply put, Miracast is the technology standard certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance Manufacturers Association. Chromecast and AirPlay are similar technologies but are owned by Google and Apple respectively. All three are similar but the Miracast options might be a little more basic.
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How to activate and mirror the screen with Miracast
The first thing we need to do is connect the smartphone or tablet to the same Wi-Fi network as the screen to which we want to broadcast.
You can find the Miracast feature in Settings> Display> Send Screen. Its name varies depending on the model and manufacturer of the smartphone. It may appear as "Send Screen", "Cast Screen", "Wireless Display", "Multi Display", "Screen Sharing", "Wireless Display", etc.
For example, in Xiaomi, go to Settings> Wi-Fi & networks> More> Wireless screen.
Regardless of its name, it usually has a shortcut in quick settings. You will see a symbol for a screen with a wireless network, a screen with an arrow, or two screens of different sizes.
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Now just tap on the icon and configure the settings to connect with the screens you have at hand and start using them. Of course, you need to be on the same Wi-Fi network as your TV screen, and the TV needs to be compatible with Miracast TV.
LG, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and all major TV brands have included this certificate on their Smart TVs since 2013. You can also buy a Miracast dongle adapter like Chromecast if your TV isn't compatible.
Select on your smartphone which TV you want to connect and it will start casting the screen to the TV. On some smartphones, we have the possibility to see the gallery app on the TV, in most cases we have to resort to direct access by pulling down the notification bar.
Normally you have to have the screen always activated on your smartphone, what your phone display shows is what you will see on your TV. If you want to turn off the screen and your smartphone doesn't support this option, we recommend ClockworkMod's AllCast app, which costs less than 4 euros. Also, the free version can only project the mobile phone screen for 5 minutes.
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And this is all! Now you can enjoy your smartphone screen on the big screen.
