Best Android Apps for Screen Mirroring to TV or PC

Are you looking for a way to project your smartphone screen to your TV or PC? Well, in this article you will not only find the best screen mirroring apps, but also other methods that will allow you to project your mobile screen without using a special application. Furthermore, you will also discover some accessories that will guarantee you projection on almost any type of television in circulation (even non-smart ones).

In short, there is certainly no shortage of alternatives and in one way or another, at the after reading this post, you will have clearer ideas on how to screen mirror your smartphone with or without an application. So let's go straight to the topic!

Index

What is screen mirroring and how to do it? Best Android Apps for Screen Mirroring to TV Cast to TV All Mirror Castto Google Home Chromecast and Fire TV Stick perfect for non-smart TVs Wired Screen Mirroring Best Android Apps for Screen Mirroring to PC

Source: Motorola

What is screen mirroring and how to do it?

Before going into the actual procedure, it is right to clarify what screen mirroring is. To be short and concise, screen mirroring or screen mirroring is the projection of the smartphone (or tablet) screen onto a larger display, such as that of a TV or PC.

However, different situations can arise. Speaking of TV, the first situation is that in which a smart TV is available with the Wi-Fi Direct function, or alternatively also Miracast, which allows you to establish a direct connection between smartphone and TV without the need for something act as intermediary. It is one of the easiest and fastest solutions to implement, but not all TVs have this privilege, however, you can always buy adapters that implement the miracast functionality in the TV.

Alternatively, you can take advantage of the Cast technology developed by Google. In this case, it is possible that the TV has this functionality already integrated but, if it does not have it, it is possible to purchase an external device (a Chromecast to be precise) which adds compatibility to this technology.

If smartphone and TV cannot communicate, even if your TV has Wi-Fi Direct or Miracast, you may need a screen mirroring app for easier projection management. In order for this collaboration between smartphone, app and TV to be successful, however, the TV and smartphone must be connected to the same local network (Wi-Fi or network cable). However, as anticipated, we will tell you about these applications (but not only) shortly.

We have so far only mentioned the possibility of transmitting the smartphone screen to the TV, but there are also apps to project the screen of the smartphone to PC . We will also tell you about these.

Finally, it is always possible to use the dear, old and reliable cables. Indeed, there are cables from HDMI (input on the TV) to USB Type-C (input on the smartphone) that allow you to project the smartphone screen directly onto your TV. We'll also explore this aspect better later.

Best Android apps for screen mirroring on TV

Cast to TV

A first application of which we speak is Cast to TV . It is a free app that can be downloaded from Google Play, which can be useful both for broadcasting the smartphone screen on your TV and on your PC. It's also really easy to use.

Once downloaded and installed, you're already halfway there. If your TV supports screen projection functionality, it will be sufficient that both the TV and the smartphone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Then go to the Screen Mirroring section and then to Smart TV. Press the START button at the bottom and select your TV from the list of wireless networks that will appear. That's all, you should already see the smartphone screen on the TV.



As for the PC, however, there are fewer complications. This is because everything will simply work through the browser. In the app, just go to Screen Mirroring and then to Mirror Web Browser. In this section, a URL containing an IP address will appear before your eyes to type in the address bar of the browser on your PC. Once typed, just press START MIRRORING on your smartphone and you will begin to see your mobile screen right on your PC.

Download Cast to TV from the Google Play Store

All Mirror

Very similar to Cast to TV, we also point out All Mirror , an excellent free app downloadable from Google Play, which allows you to project both your smartphone onto the TV and onto your PC.



This application allows you to make the transmission from smartphone to TV totally free (remember that smartphone and TV must always be connected on the same network), but only the paid version allows you to transmit to PC. However, it is possible to take advantage of this last feature for free by viewing a short advertisement each time.

Download All Mirror from the Google Play Store

Castto

We also recommend Castto , an app free downloadable from Google Play, which allows in a couple of presses on the screen to project the smartphone display on the smart TV.



As always, TV and phone must be connected to the same Wi-Fi router -Fi and the TV must have Miracast functionality, otherwise it will be impossible to proceed with the correct configuration. Once wireless screen casting is enabled on your smartphone, just launch the app and search for the TV in question in the list of available devices and you're done.

Download Castto from the Google Play Store

Google Home

Naturally, this list could not miss Google Home, the native and free Google app that can be downloaded from Google Play, to control all the smart home accessories, including smart TVs. Its configuration is within anyone's reach and is guided step by step thanks to the instructions that appear on the screen, so you can't go wrong.



As already explained a few lines above, it will be possible to transmit the smartphone screen on the TV, only if the latter is equipped with Chromecast technology or if there is an external Chromecast device installed. Be that as it may, the application works incredibly well but, as regards the transmission of videos and photos, it is perhaps better to make use of the projection features natively present in the individual apps (such as YouTube), rather than making use of the screen mirroring offered by Google Home.

Download Google Home from the Google Play Store

Chromecast and Fire TV Stick: perfect for non-smart TVs

But what if your TV is not smart and all the applications above may not help you? Then it might be time to buy a Chromecast or a Fire TV. We briefly explain the differences and how they work.

The Chromecast is a Google home device that allows both screen mirroring and direct playback of videos or photos on the TV, even if the TV is not smart! That's right, because this device connects to the HDMI port of the TV. In summary, it will then be sufficient to connect the Chromecast to the same Wi-Fi network to which the smartphone is also connected and it will immediately be possible to transmit content from the mobile phone to the Chromecast, using the Google Home app mentioned a moment ago.

Amazon's Fire TV Stick is a pretty similar device to the Chromecast. It also connects to the HDMI port and it is then necessary to connect it to the same Wi-Fi network as the smartphone to proceed with screen mirroring. You will need to make sure that the screen mirroring feature is active from the Amazon stick settings and then from your smartphone, just look for the Fire TV Stick in the list of available devices on which to project.

Screen mirroring with cable

If your TV isn't smart and you don't even have a Chromecast or Fire TV Stick at your disposal, but you have an HDMI to USB Type-C cable like this one, then you still have a chance! In fact, there is the possibility of performing screen mirroring through the cable mentioned above.

To proceed, you will need to connect the HDMI cable to the respective port of the TV and the USB Type-C cable to the smartphone port and the procedure ends up simply switching the source on the TV.

However, you have to be careful, because not all smartphones support this type of transmission. Some support the older MHL standard while other even older smartphones may have the Slimport standard. Often the newer models support the DisplayPort protocol so they are ready to go by simply connecting a cable like the one we indicated above. Other smartphones may not support wired screen mirroring at all!

It is therefore good and right to do a little Google research to check which type of cable is compatible with your smartphone.

Best Android apps for screen mirroring to PC

Mirroring your smartphone screen to your PC is often possible using proprietary software solutions from various manufacturers, such as DeX for Samsung or Ready for for Motorola. Alternatively, it is possible to use dedicated applications compatible with a greater number of devices.

AirDroid

Another excellent application for screen mirroring is AirDroid. With this free application (with in-app purchases) downloadable from Google Play, it will only be possible to broadcast the smartphone screen to a PC and not to a TV, however, it allows you to obtain many other advantages. For example, there is the possibility of sharing files between smartphones and PCs.



Doing so is very simple, in fact, just go to the AirDroid Web section of the app and type the URL with the address IP on the search bar of the PC browser. It will then be necessary to give permission from the smartphone and you will immediately have access to a web page from the PC, where it will be possible to consult all the files and media on the smartphone. This can be particularly useful both for moving or copying some files from the smartphone to the PC, and for showing some videos directly on the larger screen of the PC instead of on the smaller display of the mobile phone.

Download AirDroid from the Google Play Store