Why Is My Screen Mirroring Not Working?

Screen mirroring is the mechanism that clones the content on the screen of a mobile device and displays it on a bigger screen. Most mobile devices are capable of screen mirroring, but they fail from time to time. This guide is all about reasons and solutions for answering the “why is my screen mirroring not working on my iPhone or Android phone” question.

Reasons for Screen Mirroring Not Working

The cause of screen mirroring not working can be categorized into four main branches: unsupported protocol, wrong network settings, network error and software failure. Now, let me explain all these categories to make them clear.

Reason 1. Streaming device or TV doesn’t support screen mirroring

iPhone or iPad

iOS devices use Airplay protocol to stream content on TV, therefore your TV should support Airplay protocol, otherwise you have no way to mirror screen from your iPhone or iPad to TV.

Android phone or tablet

Android devices mainly use Miracast to stream content on TV. As a result, if your TV doesn’t support Miracast protocol, you can not mirror the screen from Android devices to TV.

Reason 2. Phone and TV aren’t connected to the same Wi-Fi network

Since the Wi-Fi network is the bridge to transmit signals of data between your phone and the TV, you should always make sure that your mobile device and the TV are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

There is a chance that your router can generate two Wi-Fi under the same name but different frequencies, so you have to make sure you have connected both devices to the same frequency of Wi-Fi. For example, if your TV is connected to Wi-Fi with 5GHz, then your phone should also connect to the one with 5GHz.

Reason 3. Corrupted Wi-Fi network

As a significant bridge of connection, the problem of Wi-Fi networks can be another critical damage to screen mirroring. A corrupted Wi-Fi network is usually caused by the problems of router, a device that generates wireless local network.

Reason 4. Screen mirroring function fails to work

Screen mirroring is the built-in function for most phones and tablets, so their stability is limited. When there is a software error, it might cause critical failure to the screen mirroring function.

Solutions for Screen Mirroring Not Working

Solution 1. Swap to a streaming device that supports screen mirroring

There are various streaming devices that support screen mirroring, and here come three most popular ones:

1. Amazon Fire Stick
2. Roku Streaming Stick
3. Google Chromecast

Solution 2. Reconnect your phone to Wi-Fi network

In order to reconnect your phone to Wi-Fi network, you need to disconnect by turning off the Wi-Fi switch on your smart phone first.

Step 1. Go to the settings interface of your phone.

Step 2. Go to Wi-Fi settings.

Step 3. Turn off the Wi-Fi switch and wait for 10 seconds.

Step 4. Turn on the Wi-Fi switch and connect to the Wi-Fi your TV is currently connected to.

Solution 3. Restart the Wi-Fi network

When the Wi-Fi network is corrupted, restarting the network is the solution with maximum efficiency. All you need to do is restart your router, but before you do so, you need to make sure the one you are going to restart is a router.

Usually, in order to deploy a Wi-Fi network in your house, you need two devices, one is the router that generates wireless network and the other one is the modem, which receives and converts the signals. They look similar, so people usually find it hard to distinguish them.

In order to find out which is the router, you need to look at the ports. The one that is directly hooked on the wall is the modem, and the one hooked on a modem, that will be the router. Luckily, most network carriers provide modems that are integrated with a router. Therefore, if you only have one network device, you can simply restart that one.

Solution 4. Use a screen mirroring app

The screen mirroring function on smart phones is a basic method of displaying the phone screen on TV, therefore, if you want to mirror your screen with more stability, you need to use an advanced screen mirroring app.

iOS Devices

For iPhone or iPad, they use Airplay protocol, so you need an app that supports it. Here I recommend Screen Mirroring: TV Cast App by BoostVision.

Step 1. After you have downloaded and installed the app, double check if your phone is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your TV does.

Step 2. Open the app, click the Tap to Connect area.

Step 3. Choose your TV from the devices list and the connection will be automatically built.

Step 4. Click the Screen Mirror button.

Step 5. Choose the quality of mirroring and click the Start Mirroring button.

Your phone screen will be displayed on TV after a count-down has finished.

Android Devices

Android devices use Miracast protocol for screen mirroring, so you need an app which supports it. Personally, I recommend BoostVision’s Smart TV Cast.

Step 1. After the installation, make sure you have your phone and the TV connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

Step 2. Open the app, click the Tap to Connect area.

Step 3. Choose your TV from the devices list and the connection will be established automatically.

Step 4. Click the Screen Mirror button.

Step 5. Choose the quality of mirroring and click the Start mirroring button.

Step 6. Click the Start now button and it will start screen mirroring automatically.

Conclusion

Now you know the answers to “why my screen mirroring is not working”, and solutions for such problems. By first troubleshoot, indicate which categories the real problem belongs to, and apply the solutions above. To level up your screen mirroring experience, I strongly recommend you to use an advanced screen mirroring application software.

Why Is My Screen Mirroring Not Working FAQ

Q: Why doesn’t my screen mirroring work on my Samsung TV?

The reasons are varied, and you can try the following methods to troubleshoot.

1. Check if your phone supports screen mirroring protocol.
2. Check if you have connected your phone to the Wi-Fi that your Samsung TV is connected to.
3. Use an advanced screen mirroring app.

Q: How to use screen mirroring on iPhone?

The iPhone is capable of screen mirroring by itself, so you can simply follow these steps to screen mirroring on the iPhone:

Step 1. Connect both your iPhone and your TV to the same Wi-Fi network.

Step 2. On the Home screen, swipe down to let the shortcuts menu pop up.

Step 3. Click the Screen Mirroring button.

Step 4. Choose the device you want to mirror to and start mirroring.