I’m trying to play videos from my iPhone on my smart TV, but the TV doesn’t appear in the screen mirroring menu. Both are on the same Wi-Fi network. Do you usually use screen mirroring, a casting app, or a cable for this, and why?
When I want to show iPhone photos on a TV, I need to know whether I’m sending pictures or sharing everything on my screen. That distinction is why I’m comparing mirroring DoCast with the built-in options rather than treating every casting button as interchangeable.
Define the actual job
For a video or song, a compatible app’s Cast button may be enough: open the app, tap Cast, and select a Chromecast-enabled TV. The limitation matters more than the button’s convenience: Google Cast support inside an app does not give me whole-screen mirroring.
Photos, presentations, and switching between apps make that distinction worth checking before downloading anything.
Count the costs, not the taps
For broader TV compatibility, streaming DoCast supports multiple smart-TV brands, DLNA-enabled sets, Roku, Chromecast, and Fire TV. On the same Wi-Fi network, I’d select the TV, then choose Screen and Start mirroring, or pick Videos, Photos, or Music.
The useful split is financial: photo casting is free; mirroring and unlimited video and music streaming require Premium. A lifetime option exists. With latency DoCast, the stated delay is under one second on strong Wi-Fi, with adjustable quality. I wouldn’t budget for zero delay.
Check what the TV already provides
An AirPlay 2-compatible TV avoids the extra app. With both devices on the same Wi-Fi, I’d open Control Center, choose Screen Mirroring, select the TV, and enter any requested code. For individual photos or videos, the AirPlay icon handles supported content.
The compatibility check comes first. A familiar TV logo is not a specification.
My cutoff for troubleshooting
HDMI trades wireless convenience for a physical connection: Apple’s Lightning Digital AV Adapter, or USB-C to HDMI for iPhone 15 and newer, plus an HDMI cable and the correct TV input.
My verdict: use the built-in feature that fits the job, pay only for a missing capability, and keep HDMI as my backup. I’m trying to share photos, not adopt a networking hobby.
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Being on the same Wi-Fi does not necessarily mean that devices are compatible. Guest networks, plus certain features on routers like “AP isolation” or “client isolation,” might prevent devices from seeing each other even if they are connected to the same network. First, before downloading a casting application, make sure that neither device is on a guest network and that your home router does not have those “isolation” features turned on.
I do agree that it is essential to check compatibility, but I would not be so quick to buy an application. If your TV is AirPlay compatible, it probably has the feature disabled by default, so enable it in your TV’s settings, restart devices, and try again. Those fixes are worth trying before switching to another method. What brand/model is your TV, and is it videos you store locally on your phone or are you casting them from a streaming service? I think it would help to know more before recommending something specific.
Don’t mirror your entire phone if you have private notifications previews enabled. Any notification on your phone could appear on the screen for everybody watching the TV. This is a drawback of the whole-screen mirroring that is forgotten once the race for the fastest app connection begins.
For streaming-service videos, I’d check whether the TV has that service’s own app before spending time fixing mirroring. It takes the phone out of the playback setup entirely. If you’re playing videos saved on your iPhone, that’s a different job, and @silentscript39’s compatibility check is where I’d start. I wouldn’t install a casting app until you know what the TV actually accepts.
My preference would be to send just the video whenever possible. Sharing your entire screen seems more practical for when you need to show something on the phone rather than sit down and watch it.
Don’t buy an HDMI adapter because you can’t get wireless mirroring to work. Before purchasing an alternate cable connection as suggested here, you might want to check your video apps help section for information regarding HDMI playback if you primarily want to use the device for a specific streaming service.
“Screen mirroring” on the TV could be using the wrong protocol. Some TVs use the term for Miracast, while your iPhone’s Screen Mirroring uses the related but different AirPlay protocol. Sony specifically differentiates their Miracast screen-mirroring ability from the options for Apple devices.
That’s why I’d hold off on the router settings suggested by @silentscript39 until you’ve checked what the TV’s mirroring mode actually accepts. The network advice makes sense, but I’d want to rule out a mismatch before changing anything. If you’re sitting on a TV screen that says it’s waiting for a device, look up that exact feature in the TV’s manual rather than assuming it’s the right place to connect an iPhone.
On the built-in iPhone way of route, go to the AirPlay option on the TV setting or manual. They require an AirPlay-enabled receiver for the iPhone to work, not just a TV with a wireless screen sharing. If your TV has it, that’s probably the one I would suggest before downloading anything else. For the video, Apple allows you to send the video through AirPlay instead of mirroring everything.
I would say to go wireless for the time being, but I wouldn’t get a casting app or cable yet. I think it’s important to see what message it shows on the TV connection thing. Is it specifically saying AirPlay? Or does your TV only have something like Screen Mirroring? That’s probably something worth looking into before getting the chance to restart anything again. An empty menu is a bad enough deal without having to troubleshoot anything else.
Watch out for the Local Network permission if you try a casting app. Denying it can stop the app from finding nearby devices even while its online content loads normally. Before treating an empty device list as another TV failure, check Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network and enable access for that app, assuming you trust it. That permission is easy to dismiss without realizing what it controls.
There’s an important boundary here: this is a check for an app’s own device discovery, not a fix for your current empty Screen Mirroring menu. Apple’s system AirPlay service doesn’t require that app-level permission. So I agree with @openrouter4982 about checking the TV’s supported protocol first, but if you then switch to an app, you’re introducing a separate permission check into the troubleshooting.
My approach would be to try one playback pathway and see if it plays a brief self-recorded video before investing in a subscription or adapter for the app. I’d aim to distinguish between ‘Will this configuration play a generic clip?’ and ‘Will it play the specific streaming service I want?’ Keep a close eye on what exact step in the TV’s control center or the app’s device chooser is the point of failure, or else you might accidentally adjust multiple variables at once and have no idea what’s wrong.
It’s too easy to change several settings at once and end up with no idea as to what’s wrong.
Your iPhone’s Screen Mirroring list only displays AirPlay Receivers. If your TV is Chromecast or Miracast only it won’t appear on the list no matter how many times you turn it off and on, or fiddle with the router settings. Because it’s not an Airplay receiver it’s not a bug it’s simply on the wrong menu!
The empty list may actually be telling you exactly what the TV is!
That’s where @openrouter4982 is onto the real issue, and I’d lean on the protocol point harder than the network one. AP isolation is a genuine thing, but it’s rarer on a normal home router than people think, and it usually breaks a lot more than just casting. Before I touched any isolation setting, I’d confirm whether the TV even speaks AirPlay. On most sets that support it, there’s a dedicated AirPlay entry in settings, separate from whatever they call generic screen mirroring. If that entry doesn’t exist, no amount of network fiddling will put the TV in your Control Center.
For the Chromecast-only case, this is actually a place where a casting app earns its keep. The iPhone does not support direct casting of videos to a Chromecast outside of particular apps with a Cast button. So something like DoCast is doing the translation you phone isn’t. Note that it’s a limitation of the device, not an upsell convenience. If your TV does support AirPlay, I would not bother with any of this.
One short-cut I haven’t seen anyone mention: open up the YouTube/Netflix app on the TV and sign-in, then use the phone as a remote for whatever service that is. For video from the aforementioned services, this is actually preferable to any kind of mirroring as the TV is pulling the stream directly and your phone is free for other uses. Mirroring is a worthwhile pursuit only for your own photos, videos, and stuff without a TV-app presence.
So in short order, I’d go: look for an AirPlay entry in the TV settings, if there is one try out Control Center. If there’s no AirPlay presence at all, decide if a Cast-capable app is worthwhile, or your TV has the apps you need. Leave the router and adapter-guessing game for when you’ve ruled out the obvious.
Do you have a streaming box or stick plugged into the TV, or are you using the TV by itself? Before buying anything, check that connected device’s settings for AirPlay. If it supports it, enable it, switch the TV to that device’s HDMI input, and look for its name in your iPhone’s Screen Mirroring menu. I agree with checking compatibility first, but check the whole setup rather than stopping at the TV’s specs.
Even if you fix the empty menu, mirroring a paid streaming app will probably just give you a black rectangle with sound and nothing else. Netflix, Disney, Prime and a few others block the video layer over screen mirroring because of copy protection. People spend an hour getting mirroring to connect, load one of those apps, and assume something broke. Nothing broke. The app is refusing to hand its picture to a mirrored output. So if your actual goal is one of those services, mirroring was never the path, which is why @stealthlynx_54 and @smartengineer8773 pointing you at the TV’s own app is the right call for that case.
Where I’d push back a little is the rush to treat this as a protocol puzzle. @openrouter4982 and @smartengineer8773 are correct that an empty Screen Mirroring list often just means the TV isn’t an AirPlay receiver, and that’s worth checking first. But I’ve seen plenty of TVs that do support AirPlay and still vanish from the list because the set drops its network stack in standby or eco mode. Deep sleep settings, ‘quick start’ toggles, and power-saving options can stop the TV from advertising itself until it’s fully awake on the right input. Worth poking at before you conclude the protocol is wrong.
Regarding the casting app: this is only worth doing if you’re actually going to use it on your own content (e.g., local files) through either the Chromecast or DLNA protocols. If your TV supports AirPlay, don’t waste your time installing any apps. If your TV doesn’t support AirPlay and you need to share local videos without a dedicated app, then it’s worth installing a translating app. But don’t pay for a subscription if you’re not sure your TV will show the content, just test it first by casting a photo to make sure it’ll be discovered.
My recommendation for deciding what to do would be: sort your content first. If it’s from a streaming service, open their app on the TV and use the phone as a remote. If it’s your own photos/videos, enable AirPlay on the TV or cast app if you have a supported TV. If it’s another application you want to show to someone, enable full mirroring (and you’ll notice that black screen issue won’t occur).