Screen Mirroring vs Casting to a TV
These are two different things, and almost everyone starts with the wrong one. Mirroring copies your entire phone screen to the TV — right for a presentation, a photo album or an app with no cast button. Casting hands the TV a single video and gets out of the way — right for almost everything you actually want to watch. This guide helps you pick, then shows you how to do either one on Android and on iPhone.
The short answer
If you want to watch a video, cast it. If you want to show the TV something that is not a video, mirror it.
Mirroring streams a live copy of your display, so the phone has to stay awake and keep re-encoding the screen. That costs battery, softens the picture, and puts your notifications on the television. Casting sends the TV the video's address and lets the TV fetch and play it directly — full quality, phone free to lock.
One honest limit: a protected service like Netflix or Disney+ will not mirror (you get a black screen) and no third-party browser can lift its stream. Those apps have their own cast buttons, which work because the service casts it itself — use those.
Just want to watch a web video? Cast it at full quality — CastBrowser is free.
Which one do you want?
| What you are trying to do | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Watch a video from a website | Casting | Sharper, phone can be locked, works on more TVs |
| Show a presentation or a document | Mirroring | There is no video stream to hand over |
| Show photos to people in the room | Mirroring | You want to swipe and have the TV follow |
| Play a phone game on the big screen | Mirroring | The TV has to track live input |
| Watch something in an app with a cast button | That app's cast button | Always the best path when it exists |
| Watch Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video | That app's own cast button, or the TV app | DRM blanks a mirrored screen and blocks third-party casting |
It is worth being clear about one thing, because it is the most common disappointment: CastBrowser is a casting app, not a mirroring app. It finds the video on a page and sends that stream. It will not copy your screen, and it cannot lift DRM-protected playback out of a service that encrypts it — that is a licensing decision by the service, not a limitation anyone can code around. If you specifically need mirroring, the instructions below use the features already built into your phone — no app required.
How to mirror an Android phone to a TV
Android has three different mirroring technologies and the one you get depends on who made the phone. Start by putting the phone and TV on the same Wi-Fi — not a guest network — then work through whichever applies.
Samsung phones: Smart View
- Swipe down twice to open the full Quick Settings panel.
- Tap Smart View. If you cannot see it, tap the pencil or three-dot icon and add it to the panel.
- Pick your TV from the list and accept the prompt that appears on the television.
Smart View uses Miracast and Samsung's own protocol. Recent Galaxy phones can also reach Google Cast receivers, but that is still a beta feature you have to switch on yourself — look for a Chromecast toggle under Labs in SmartThings (older One UI versions put it under Smart View's own settings). The menu path moves between releases, so check Samsung's support page for your model if it is not where you expect. Samsung's standalone Smart View app was retired — see what replaced the Smart View app if you are looking for it in the Play Store.
Pixel and near-stock Android: Google Cast screen sharing
- Open Quick Settings and tap Cast (sometimes Screen Cast).
- Choose a Chromecast, Google TV, or TV with Chromecast built in.
- Tap Cast screen to confirm.
This route reaches Google Cast receivers. For Roku and Samsung options, see the Pixel to TV guide.
Other Android brands: Wireless Display (Miracast)
Xiaomi, Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo and others usually expose Miracast under a name like Wireless Display, Cast, Screen Mirroring or Smart View. On the TV side you may need to open the mirroring input first — Roku calls it Screen Mirroring under Settings → System, and Fire TV has Display Mirroring under Settings → Display & Sounds. Both wait only about a minute before giving up, so start on the TV, then connect from the phone.
Miracast connects phone to TV directly rather than through your router, which is why it sometimes works when discovery fails — and why it can be flaky in flats with congested Wi-Fi.
Mirroring looking soft or lagging? Cast the video instead — one free app for Roku, Chromecast, Fire TV, Samsung and DLNA.
How to mirror an iPhone to a TV
- Put the iPhone and TV on the same Wi-Fi network.
- Open Control Centre and tap Screen Mirroring.
- Choose an AirPlay-compatible TV or Apple TV, and enter the code shown on the television if asked.
iPhone mirroring is AirPlay only, but that reaches further than people expect. Most current Roku devices support AirPlay 2 — Roku lists the Streaming Stick 4K, Express 4K, Ultra, Streambar and Roku TVs among them, needing Roku OS 9.4 or 10.0 depending on model, with Select and Plus Series TVs supported on any version. Turn it on under Settings → Apple AirPlay and HomeKit on the Roku first. Many Fire TV and Samsung, LG and Vizio sets support AirPlay 2 as well.
What iOS genuinely cannot do is mirror to a Chromecast: there is no Google Cast client and no Miracast in iOS, so a Chromecast will never appear in the Screen Mirroring list. If your TV supports neither AirPlay nor anything else on this list, mirroring is not available to you — casting the video still is, which is covered next.
How to cast a video instead (and why it is usually better)
If what you are trying to put on the TV is a video on a web page, you do not need mirroring at all. Casting is both easier and better looking, and it works across more televisions than any single mirroring standard.
- 1. Install CastBrowser on the phone. Nothing is needed on the TV itself.
- 2. Join the same network. Phone and TV on the same Wi-Fi, no guest network. On iPhone, allow Local Network access when prompted — denying it silently blocks all discovery.
- 3. Open the page and press play once so the stream starts loading and can be detected.
- 4. Tap the cast icon and pick your TV. The television fetches and plays the stream itself, so you can lock the phone or use other apps.
This reaches Chromecast and Google TV, Roku, Fire TV, AirPlay devices, and Samsung, LG and other DLNA televisions from one app. If the TV supports none of those but does have a web browser, the Web Receiver route works instead: you open a page on the TV and enter the three-character code the phone shows you — see the Web Receiver guide.
Device-specific walkthroughs: casting from Android, casting from iPhone, Roku, Chromecast and Google TV, Samsung and Fire TV.
Side by side
| Mirroring | Casting | |
|---|---|---|
| Picture quality | Re-encoded, usually softer | The TV's native quality |
| Phone during playback | Must stay awake and on-screen | Free to lock or use |
| Battery | Drains quickly | Minimal |
| Notifications on the TV | Yes — everything shows | No |
| Reaches | Matching standard only (AirPlay or Miracast or Cast) | Cast, Roku, Fire TV, AirPlay, DLNA, browser |
| Non-video content | Yes | No |
| DRM services | Black screen | Only via the service's own cast button |
When the TV does not appear
Nearly every failure is the network rather than the phone. Check these in order: both devices on the same network and not a guest network; VPN or iCloud Private Relay turned off while you test; AP isolation or "client isolation" disabled on the router; on iPhone, Local Network permission granted; and on Roku or Fire TV, the mirroring input actually opened and waiting.
If mirroring connects but you get a black screen, that is DRM rather than a fault — a protected app detects the capture and blanks the picture. The full checklist is in screen mirroring not working, and discovery problems specifically are covered in when a cast device will not show up.
No network at all to work with? Casting without home Wi-Fi covers the hotspot and travel-router routes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is screen mirroring?
Screen mirroring sends an exact copy of your phone's display to a TV in real time — everything you see on the phone, including notifications and the user interface, appears on the screen. It uses technologies like Miracast or Smart View on Android and AirPlay screen mirroring on iPhone. Because the whole screen is streamed continuously, it drains battery and can look soft or laggy. Casting, by contrast, sends only the video stream and lets the TV play it at full quality.
How do I screen mirror my Android phone to a TV?
On most Android phones, open Quick Settings and tap Smart View, Cast, or Screen Mirroring, then pick a Miracast- or Chromecast-compatible TV. Samsung phones use Smart View. Both the phone and TV must support the same mirroring technology and be on the same network. If you only want to watch a web video, casting it with CastBrowser is usually smoother than mirroring the whole screen.
How do I screen mirror my iPhone to a TV?
Open Control Center, tap Screen Mirroring, and select an AirPlay-compatible TV or Apple TV. The TV must support AirPlay. This mirrors your entire iPhone screen. If your goal is a single web video, casting it with CastBrowser sends just the video and also works on Roku, Chromecast, Fire TV, Samsung, and DLNA TVs that may not support AirPlay.
What is the difference between screen mirroring and casting?
Screen mirroring copies your whole phone screen to the TV in real time, so the phone must stay awake and keep working, which drains battery and shows notifications on the TV. Casting sends only the video stream to the TV, which then plays it at its own quality while your phone becomes a remote you can lock or use for other things. For web video, casting is almost always the better experience.
Can I screen mirror to a Roku?
Yes, two ways. Most current Roku devices support AirPlay 2, so an iPhone or iPad can mirror to them once AirPlay is enabled under Settings > Apple AirPlay and HomeKit; Roku requires OS 9.4 or 10.0 depending on the model. Roku also accepts Miracast mirroring from some Android and Windows devices. Roku does not support Google Cast at all. Either way, mirroring web video is often laggy and low quality — for web video, casting the stream with CastBrowser over Roku's native protocol is more reliable.
Does CastBrowser do screen mirroring?
No — CastBrowser is a casting app, not a screen-mirroring app, and that is deliberate. Instead of copying your whole screen, it detects the video on a web page and sends just that stream to the TV at full quality. The result is sharper video, much less battery drain, no on-screen notifications, and support for more TVs than mirroring reaches.
Cast Web Video — No Mirroring Needed
Download CastBrowser for free and send web videos to your TV at full quality from Android or iPhone — sharper than mirroring, with far less battery drain.