Smart TVs have been around for quite a while now; they were known to replace the old-fashioned analog TV. It has all the improved features that your smartphone has—only with a wider screen that’s fit for family viewing. Various brands of smart TVs are now available worldwide.
Your smart TV can also cast media content from your phone; whether it is from popular streaming services like Netflix and YouTube or just movies saved on your phone, you can watch them—but you will need a WiFi connection. We have an article on how to what to do if your TV is not connecting to wifi.
But what if your WiFi service is not available for a few weeks? (Is your internet wifi with AT&T?) Is there a way to stream from phone to TV without WiFi? In this guide, we’ll show you how to watch movies on your phone by using a smart TV—even without a WiFi connection.
Table of Contents
How to Connect Phone to TV Without WiFi
1. Chromecast
Chromecast is a streaming device created by the technology company giant Google. It can be used to cast various media content from streaming services, like Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, and others.
Although it can be easily plugged into the HDMI port of your smart TV, there are two other ways to connect Chromecast—a wired (Ethernet) connection and a mobile hotspot. So, if you’re wondering how to stream without WiFi using Chromecast, follow these steps below.
Connect Chromecast using a Wired Connection
Since Chromecast does not have an Ethernet port available, you can buy an Ethernet adapter; this works by connecting the Ethernet cable on the adapter and plugging in the other end to the Chromecast.
Once the wired connection is established, you can now set up your Chromecast device and cast movies without WiFi. If this method doesn’t work for you, check out are article which deals with your ethernet not working.
Connect Chromecast using Mobile Hotspot
If you have your mobile hotspot set up, you can now proceed to connect your Chromecast device to your phone. Here’s how to do it:
- Turn on your smart TV and plug in the Chromecast device on one of its HDMI ports. Plugin the other end into a power source.
- Next, reset the Chromecast by long-pressing the power button until the blinking light becomes stable.
- Besides your phone, you’ll need either another phone or a laptop to use as a mirroring device. Your phone will serve as a mobile hotspot.
- Open your phone’s mobile data and hotspot features.
- Connect your second device through the mobile hotspot that you established earlier.
- Next, open the Google Home app to open your Chromecast. Connect it to your mobile hotspot.
- Let the Google Home app search for nearby Chromecast devices. Once it is detected, tap Yes.
- Pair both your mirroring device and smart TV by entering the verification codes sent to those devices.
- You can now cast various movies from streaming applications supported by Chromecast.
Note: This method relies on your phone’s mobile data network. Please see our fix if you get a Mobile Network State Disconnected error.
2. HDMI Cable
You can use an HDMI cable to connect your phone to your smart TV. However, you’ll need an MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) adapter to make this work. It’s also important to ensure that your device is MHL and HDMI-supported.
To connect your phone to your smart TV using an HDMI-MDL-USB cable connection, follow these steps below:
- Plug the USB end of the MDL cord into your phone. Also, plug one end of the HDMI into the MDL cord.
- Insert the other end of the HDMI cable to your smart TV and plug in another USB-A cord to power up the MDL cable.
- If the connection is successful, the smart TV can mirror your phone’s screen via HDMI input. You can use this to view saved movies and stream movies using a mobile data connection.
3. Screen Mirroring
This option will require you to have a Chromecast device, a smartphone with the Google Home app installed, and a smart TV that supports screen mirroring. You will also need enough mobile data as an alternative for the WiFi connection.
So, if you’re wondering how to mirror your phone to TV without WiFi using Chromecast, follow the steps below:
- Enable your phone’s mobile hotspot and connect your Chromecast device.
- Then, open the Google Home app and go to the Account tab.
- Tap the Mirror Device option and select Cast Screen/Audio.
- From the list, pick the smart TV you want to cast content to. You can now stream content from your phone using Chromecast.
Note: You may need to use your mobile data subscription to stream movies from online streaming applications.
4. Laptop
If your phone is not HDMI or MDL-supported, you can use your laptop’s HDMI plug. This way, the laptop will serve as a bridging device for your phone and your smart TV. If you’re finding ways how to cast your phone to TV without WiFi, you can use this method.
To connect your phone to the TV using a laptop, refer to the steps below:
- Turn on your laptop and plug in one end of the HDMI cable to the laptop’s HDMI port.
- Plugin the other end of the HDMI cable into your smart TV.
- Next, connect the phone to your laptop using a USB cable that’s compatible with your smartphone.
- Turn on your smart TV and switch to its HDMI input. You can now cast movies from your phone to your smart TV using your laptop as a mirroring device.
Final Thoughts
Smart TVs are powerful devices with features that are similar to smartphones. Most importantly, it can cast movies and other media content from other devices. Usually, it needs a stable wireless connection for this to work.
However, your WiFi connection may not work temporarily. In this case, this guide can hopefully help you to cast content from your phone to your smart TV without using WiFi. Although, this will only work best as a temporary solution since a mobile network connection can be costly and unsustainable.