How to connect iPhone to Smart TV
Finally you have replaced your old TV with a Smart TV and now you can not wait to take full advantage of its full potential: in particular, you are thrilled to be able to take your iPhone and send videos, photos and music to your TV in just a few taps. Well, I understand you, it’s a comfort that even I can not do without … but if you’re here right now and you’re reading this tutorial, it means something is wrong, is it?
Let me guess: not being a tech expert, you tried to “tweak” a bit in the settings of your “iPhone by” but you have not yet figured out how to connect iPhone to Smart TV. Is that so? Well, do not worry, you’re not the only one in a situation like that. In fact, connecting a smartphone to a television is not always intuitive, but I am here today to help you.
Courage: take five minutes of free time, follow the instructions I am about to give you and I assure you that you will succeed. I will first explain how to connect the iPhone to the TV, to transmit video or other content to the latter, then I will explain how to mirror the screen of the “iPhone” on the Smart TV and finally I will recommend some apps that allow you to use the iPhone as a remote control. I guarantee you that there is nothing complicated to do, also because the instructions to follow are the same for all models of Apple smartphone. Enjoy reading and have fun!
Index
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Connect iPhone to Smart TV to transmit content
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Wireless technology built into the Smart TV
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Chromecast
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Apple TV
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Cable
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Connect iPhone to Smart TV to mirror the screen
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Apple TV
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Cable
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Connect iPhone to Smart TV as a remote control
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Connect iPhone to Smart TV to transmit content
Are you trying to figure out how to connect iPhone to Smart TV to enjoy a movie or the episode of a TV series on the big screen of the living room? No problem, there are several solutions that you can rely on and find them listed below.
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Wireless technology built into the Smart TV
Some Smart TV models include iPhone compatible wireless transmission technologies, through which you can transmit content from certain applications to the TV (eg YouTube or Netflix). In order for the system to work, iPhone and TV must be on and connected to the same Wi-Fi network, otherwise nothing needs to be done.
Among the wireless transmission technologies compatible with iPhone, I point out AnyView Cast of Hisense televisions and Google Cast of TV sets Android TV, which allow you to project on the TV the contents of apps like YouTube and Netflix without having to face any configuration. Furthermore, by installing some third-party applications on the “iPhone”, it is possible to use the same technologies to send photos and videos to Smart TVs from the roll or contents hosted on the local network (eg on network hard disk).
To take advantage of technologies like AnyView Cast or Google Cast through applications officially supported by televisions (eg Netflix or YouTube), all you have to do is start them on iPhone, press the transmission icon (the Wi-Fi screen) Next page) that appears at the top right and select the name of your Smart TV from the list of available devices. Then you have to start playing the movie of your interest and this, almost like magic, will be projected on the TV.
If you do not see the transmission icon appear on the iPhone, make sure your TV and phone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network (you can check this setting in the Settings> Wi-Fi menu of the “iPhone” and in the Settings menu> TV Network) and, for safety, try to start the app of the service you want to use (eg YouTube or Netflix) on Smart TV too.
To transmit the contents of the iPhone’s memory, such as the pictures and videos of the Camera Roll, you can use applications such as AllCast TV and TV Assist, which, once downloaded and started, allow you to access the “iPhone” photo library (subject to authorization) in order to transmit them to the television through technologies like AnyView Cast and Google Cast.
To give you a practical example, using AllCast TV, you can transmit the pictures and videos of the Camera Roll simply by selecting the name of your Smart TV from the main app screen, then going to the Pictures and Videos tabs and selecting the content you are interested in.
Going, however, in the Music and Browser tabs you can transmit to the TV, respectively, the music on the iPhone and video content available on the Net, for example on YouTube.
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Chromecast
If your Smart TV does not include an iPhone compatible wireless transmission system, or even does not support wireless connectivity, you can fix it by purchasing Chromecast.
If I’ve never heard of it, Chromecast is a dongle produced by Google that, once connected to the HDMI port of the TV and a power source (which may be the power outlet or the USB port of the same TV) and connected to a Wi-Fi network, allows you to transmit to the TV the contents of all the apps that support it. And as I explained in my post about applications for Chromecast, the apps that support it are so many: Netflix, Infinity, YouTube and then many applications for streaming from hosting sites (eg iWebTV) and for the transmission of content from from the local network (eg Video & TV Cast).
Currently there are two models of Chromecast video: a standard, which costs 39 euros and supports Full HD resolution, and an Ultra, which instead costs 79 euros and supports 4K resolution. The Ultra model is a bit ‘more cumbersome and can be powered only by the power socket. You can buy both models on the official Google store or in any physical or digital electronics store.
Once purchased, the Chromecast must be connected to the TV as explained above and configured via the Google Home app available for free on the App Store. The configuration takes very little and is very simple: you do not have to do is log in with your Google account, consent to use the location, connect to the Wi-Fi network generated by Chromecast (if necessary), return to the app, wait for detection of the device by the latter and check if the code displayed on the screen of the “iPhone” corresponds to that displayed on the Smart TV.
To conclude, you must indicate the room of the house where you installed the Chromecast (eg Living Room, which will also be the name of the device) and choose the Wi-Fi network to use for Internet connection, which I remind you should be the same to which you will have to connect the iPhone.
Once the configuration of the Chromecast is complete, you can transmit video and audio files to the latter (but not the iPhone screen) as explained before in the procedure dedicated to Google Cast, in fact Chromecast is based on this technology to work. This means that you have to start one of the many apps supported by the device (eg Netflix or YouTube), press the transmission icon (the screen with the waves of the Wi-Fi next to it) and select the content to send to the TV. Easier than that ?!
If some steps are not clear to you and / or you need more information on how to connect Chromecast to your TV, check out the tutorial I have dedicated to this topic.
Note: You can find many cheap Chromecast-like adapters on the Internet. Personally I do not recommend buying them, as they can not guarantee the same transmission quality as the original Chromecast.
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Apple TV
Apple TV is a media center produced by Apple, thanks to which you can access a wide range of content, apps and games in a native way (has an App Store built just like that of the iPhone and iPad) and, what interests you moreover at this juncture, you can transmit content from the iPhone to the TV. It also allows you to mirror the screen, but we’ll talk more about this in the next chapter of this tutorial.
Apple TV is available in two variants: a base, which costs 159 euros, has 32GB of internal memory and supports Full HD resolution and a 4K, which is available in 32GB (199 euros) and 64GB (219 euros) and supports UltraHD / 4K resolution. You can buy directly from Apple’s website or in the main electronic stores, both physical and digital.
In order to be able to take advantage of the wireless transmission functions of the Apple TV and iPhone (ie the AirPlay technology), the two devices must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Once this is done, the transmission of the contents can be done in a very simple way.
All you need to do is to select a photo, video or music on your iPhone (via any app, including Photos, YouTube, Safari etc.), start playback, press the AirPlay icon (the triangle with the triangle) below) and select the name of your Apple TV from the menu that appears.
If some steps are not clear to you and / or you need more information on how Apple TV works, I invite you to read the guide I have dedicated entirely to this product.
Note: You can find many cheap AirPlay adapters on the Internet. I do not recommend the purchase, as they can not guarantee the same quality of transmission of Apple TV.
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Cable
If you prefer cable to wireless systems, you can connect your iPhone to your TV using a Lightning to Digital AV adapter, to which you can pair an HDMI cable to be purchased separately. It works with all iPhone models from 5 onwards and requires no special configuration. After connecting the iPhone to the cable TV, all you have to do is tune it to the right HDMI output and enjoy the show (knowing that some apps, like those of pay TV, can inhibit the viewing of their contents on the television).
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Connect iPhone to Smart TV to mirror the screen
Have you organized a presentation in your office and you need to transmit the screen of your “iPhone by” on a TV? Do not worry, it’s a much simpler operation than you imagine, you just have to get the right “tools“.
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Apple TV
Mirroring iPhone Smart TV. If you want to mirror your iPhone screen on your TV wirelessly, you must purchase an Apple TV. Once the Apple TV is connected to the TV and connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the “iPhone”, you can use the AirPlay system to view the phone screen on the Smart TV.
To take advantage of the screen mirroring feature, you need to call up the iOS control center (by swiping from the bottom of the screen upwards or, if you have an iPhone X, from the top right corner of the screen down), press the Duplicate screen button and select the name of your Apple TV from the menu that opens.
Then, to stop the transmission, you will not have to do is return to the control center of iOS, press the icon on the duplication of the screen and select the voice Duplicate from the menu that appears on the screen.
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – Cable
If you do not intend to buy an Apple TV or you need a zero-lag transmission (therefore without any risk of slowing down, which however with the AirPlay system is very small), you can buy the adapter from Lightning to digital AV of which I talked to you before and connect the iPhone to the TV using an HDMI cable.
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV – How to connect iPhone to Smart TV as a remote control
Maybe you did not know, but you can also use your iPhone as a remote control for your Smart TV. All you have to do is download the app that best suits your TV (each brand of Smart TV uses a different app), start it and wait for the TV to be detected. Even in this case, so that everything works properly, TV and smartphone must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Let’s take a practical example: if you have a Hisense branded Smart TV, you need to download the V-Remote app, start it while the TV is on and connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the iPhone and wait a few seconds. The connection to the Smart TV should take place automatically: you can check its status by pressing the hamburger icon located at the top right and consulting the list of devices detected by the app (in which there must be the name of the TV with the check mark next).
Once the connection is established, you can use the various tabs of the application to control the TV via iPhone: by selecting the tab with the TV icon you can go back and forth between the channels, call up the Home menu, increase or decrease the volume and going back; selecting the tab with the arrow icon you can navigate within the menus, while going into the tabs with the keyboard and mouse icons you can control the TV as if you were using a keyboard or mouse.
What I have just done is just one example, but in the App Store there are apps to control Smart TVs of all the major brands: Remotie for Samsung Smart TV, LG eemoto for LG Smart TV, Sonymote for Sony Smart TV and so on
How to connect iPhone to Smart TV