How to cast to the living room TV

You’re watching something on your phone and want it on the big screen instead. That’s called casting (or AirPlay on an iPhone). It takes one tap once you know where the button is, and this guide covers every kind of TV box.

The trick most people miss: you usually don’t mirror your whole phone — you tap a little icon inside the app (Plex, YouTube, etc.) and the TV does the rest. Your phone becomes the remote, and you can lock it or use other apps while the show keeps playing.

Before you start

Two things have to be true, and they almost always are:

• The TV is on and showing its home screen (Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast/Google TV, Fire TV, or the TV’s own smart menu).
• Your phone and the TV are on the same Wi-Fi. This is the one that trips people up — if your phone is on a guest network or cellular, the TV won’t show up.

The easy way (works on almost everything)

This is the best way to watch Plex, YouTube, and most streaming apps. The picture plays straight from the internet to the TV in full quality, and your phone is just the remote.

1. Start playing the movie or show on your phone as normal.
2. Look for the cast / AirPlay icon — a little screen with curved waves, or a rectangle, in a corner of the player.
3. Tap it, then pick the living room TV from the list.
4. The show jumps to the TV. Use your phone to pause, skip, or change the volume.

To stop, tap the same icon and choose Stop Casting / Disconnect.

Note

The cast icon only appears when your phone and TV are on the same Wi-Fi. If you don’t see it, that’s almost always why — check the Wi-Fi first.

Tip

If the app you’re using doesn’t have a cast button (some games or websites), use whole-screen mirroring instead — find your TV in the list below for how.

Sending your whole screen — find your TV

Whole-screen mirroring shows everything on your phone on the TV. How you do it depends on what’s hooked up to the living room TV. It’s the small box or stick behind the TV (or built into it). Jump to yours:

Apple TV

• iPhone / iPad: Swipe down from the top-right corner → tap Screen Mirroring (two overlapping rectangles) → pick the Apple TV. To stop: Control Center → Screen Mirroring → Stop Mirroring.
• Android: Apple TV doesn’t mirror Android screens. Use the easy way above (the in-app cast button) instead — it still works.
• If it asks for a 4-digit code the first time, the code shows on the TV — type it into your phone. You only do this once.

Roku

• iPhone / iPad: Roku supports AirPlay. Use Screen Mirroring (top-right swipe → Screen Mirroring → pick the Roku). If the Roku isn’t listed, on the Roku go to Settings → Apple AirPlay and HomeKit and turn AirPlay On.
• Android: Swipe down to Quick Settings → Cast (or Smart View on Samsung) and pick the Roku. If nothing shows, on the Roku enable Settings → System → Screen mirroring.

Chromecast / Google TV (and TVs with “Chromecast built-in”)

• Android: Swipe down to Quick Settings → Cast (or Screen Cast) and pick the Chromecast / Google TV. Tap the tile again to stop.
• iPhone / iPad: iPhones can’t mirror their whole screen to a Chromecast, but the easy way above works great — the cast button inside Plex, YouTube, etc. sends straight to the Chromecast.

Fire TV (Fire Stick / Fire TV Cube)

• Android: On the Fire TV remote, press and hold the Home button → choose Mirroring. Then on your phone, swipe down → Cast / Smart View → pick the Fire TV.
• iPhone / iPad: Most Fire TVs don’t do AirPlay out of the box. Use the easy way above (the in-app cast button), which works for Plex, YouTube, and more.

Smart TV with built-in apps (Samsung, LG, Sony, Vizio…)

• Many newer smart TVs have AirPlay (for iPhone) and/or Chromecast built-in (for Android) baked in. Try the same steps as Apple TV (iPhone) or Chromecast (Android) above and look for the TV’s own name in the list.
• Honestly, the simplest path on a smart TV is often to open the TV’s own Plex or YouTube app and skip casting entirely — see How to use Plex.

Tips that make it nicer

• Sound comes out of the TV, not your phone, once it’s casting. Use your phone’s volume buttons to control it.
• You can put your phone down. With the in-app cast method, you can lock it or open another app and the show keeps playing. (Whole-screen mirroring is the exception — it shows everything, so only use it when you mean to.)
• For movie night, the TV’s own Plex app is even better — no phone needed at all.

When it won’t connect

Try these in order — the first one fixes it almost every time:

1. Check the Wi-Fi. Your phone and the TV must be on the same network. Not the guest one, not cellular. This is the #1 cause.
2. Wake the TV up. Make sure it’s on its home screen, not off or on a different input (HDMI).
3. Close the app fully and reopen it, then look for the cast icon again.
4. Turn your phone’s Wi-Fi off and back on (or toggle airplane mode for five seconds).
5. Restart the TV box — unplug it for ten seconds and plug it back in.
6. Still stuck? Text Stephen. Tell him which phone you have and which TV box you’re trying to reach — that’s enough to sort it fast.