How to Connect Any Smartphone to TV via USB

Connecting your smartphone to the TV may not be as simple as it seems, especially if you do not have a Smart TV as such. Whether you want to enjoy cloud video services like Netflix , view family photos or just use it to work from home, connecting your smartphone to TV via USB is not without its difficulties. In this article we are going to teach you how you can do it in a simple way and investing the minimum necessary money.

With the ease of wirelessly mirroring your phone screen to your TV, you’re probably wondering why you want to connect via cable, right? The reality is that wireless transmission for screen mirroring has a long delay and fails a lot, so a wired connection will give the transmission lower latency, input lag, and surely quality.

Connect Any Smartphone to TV via USB

What do you need to connect the smartphone to the TV?

To connect your smartphone or tablet to the TV via USB you can choose the following methods:

  • Android
    • USB-C cable with DisplayPort
    • USB cable with MHL
    • USB cable with SlimPort
  • iOS (iPhone / iPad)
    • Lightning Cable

The option you decide to use will depend on your device and the operating system you have, along with its compatibility. Although all the methods are similar, the process is different on each phone or tablet, especially between Android and iOS devices.

In the same way, the connection method varies depending on what you want to do, since it is not the same to see the photos of the smartphone on the TV (for which you will be worth with the same charging cable from the terminal) than to duplicate the screen to see Netflix, for which you will need a separate adapter.

Adaptador HDMI para conectar smartphone a la TV

How to connect the smartphone to the TV

We are going to see the different methods and options that we have depending on the device and what we want to do.

Connecting to HDMI using a USB-C cable

The latest generation Android smartphones and tablets already include a USB-C connector, and this includes support for the DisplayPort standard, so if this is your case, you only need to connect the smartphone directly to the television. If your TV does not have this possibility, you will need an HDMI to USB adapter.

USB MHL connection

MHL is one of the most common solutions for what we intend to do here, as it is specifically designed for it. All you will need is to make sure that your smartphone and TV are compatible and use the appropriate cable for it (from micro USB (phone) to USB (TV)). If not, you may also have to buy an adapter in this case.

Adaptador MHL para conectar smartphone a la TV

USB SlimPort connection

If you have an older smartphone, you can also connect it to the TV as long as you have a SlimPort cable. Although it is similar to MHL, it uses different outputs, so make sure it is compatible with both your smartphone and television. Of course, although MHL is limited to HDMI, SlimPort is capable of outputting the video signal through HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort and even VGA.

Connecting an iPhone or iPad to TV

Since iPhone and iPad do not have a USB connection, an adapter is required. Apple sells its official one for 50 euros, but there are more versatile and cheaper ones that are equally valuable.