How To Connect Samsung Galaxy S4 To TV
Samsung Galaxy S4 is the latest flagship device from Samsung and is another device from the manufacturer which has set the standards for the year in the Android smartphones market. The device has some new and unique features along with a beautiful HD screen. Even though the S4’s screen looks quite crisp and works well for videos and graphics, smartphones are generally small and cannot give out a TV-like HD experience. The great thing is that you can connect most Android smartphones to your TV in order to do everything that you do on your smartphone, on your HD TV. Use this article to learn how to connect Samsung Galaxy S4 to TV.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 features a full HD 1080p display and you can easily enjoy the experience on your TV. Learning how to connect Samsung Galaxy S4 to TV is quite simple and the process is straight forward. However, you might need some additional plugs if you don’t already have them lying around in your house. Here are the methods you can use to connect Samsung Galaxy S4 to TV and enjoy the experience on the big screen.
Method 1: Wired Method
This method uses HDMI cable. A lot of Android smartphones have this feature and most of them do come with HDMI ports. However, the Galaxy S4 doesn’t have a direct HDMI port, so use another plug in order to connect it to your TV.
Step 1
Firstly, buy a MHL adapter with 11 pins and an HDMI cable if you don’t have them lying around at your place. You might be able to get the MHL adapter for around $10 from Amazon. You can also use an unbranded cheaper version of the cable if you can find it. Make sure that you only buy an 11 pin adapter as there are older models still sold as well, which won’t work with the Galaxy S4.
Step 2
Next, connect the MHL plug of the adapter to your Galaxy S4.
Step 3
Now, connect a micro USB device charger to your adapter. You will see a micro USB port included on the adapter just as you have on your Galaxy S4 for charging. This is a recommended step, as powering a HDMI cable directly through your device will consume a lot of battery on your device.
Step 4
Now, plug one side of your HDMI cable into the MHL adapter which is connected to your Galaxy S4. Plug the other side of the HDMI cable in your television. That’s it! You have successfully connected your S4 to your TV and you can now enjoy videos and games from your android phone directly on your TV. For improving audio quality on your TV, simply go to the Settings app in your phone and go to the My Device tab. Then, go to Accessory/Audio Output and choose Surround.
Method 2: Wireless Method
This is another easy method for connecting your Galaxy s4 to your HD TV. This method uses Samsung’s Screen Mirroring feature to “mirror” the phone’s display on the TV without the need for any wires. This is the perfect option if you want to play games or play videos while lying down far away from your TV, avoiding the need for different wires and adapters. This method is ideal if you have a Smart TV from Samsung as you won’t need to buy any additional tools to connect your device. However, you can also use this method on a TV from another manufacturer, as long as you buy Samsung’s Allshare Cast Wireless Hub, which is a bit expensive.
Step 1
Firstly, buy the Allshare Cast Wireless Hub if you are not using a Smart TV from Samsung. You can buy it from Amazon for $65. If you have a Smart TV from Samsung, proceed to Step 3.
Step 2
Next, use an HDMI cable to connect the Hub to your HD TV. The indicator on the Hub device should turn red after a couple of seconds. If the red light indicator starts blinking, simply press the reset button and the red light will become stable. This means that the Hub device is successfully connected to your TV.
Step 3
Next, open the Settings app on your Samsung Galaxy S4. Click on the Connections tab. Now, tap on Screen Mirroring and enable it by flicking the button to the right.
Step 4
After enabling Screen Mirroring, you Galaxy S4 should scan for the available devices and would list the Allshare Cast Hub which you connected to your TV earlier. Simply tap on the device name when you see your device after your Galaxy S4 has scanned for the available devices. Your Galaxy S4 should now be connected to your TV and you can enjoy content from your smartphone on your TV.
Conclusion
Using Android smartphones is a great way to enjoy content on the go as you can watch movies and play games. Previously, the screens on these Android devices were of relatively poor quality with low screen resolutions. However, today, most premium Android smartphones feature a 1080p HD display, similar to some of the best TV screens. Still, the things you can do on your Android smartphone are limited due to the screen size. Connecting your Android device to a TV is, therefore, a great way to enhance your smartphone experience. The Galaxy S4, no doubt, is a brilliant device and you can easily enhance your device experience by connecting it to your TV using one of the methods above. Make sure that you follow all the instructions carefully and feel free to ask any questions below!
I could not locate on/off switch in screen mirrioring, i mean there is of onn/off switch, so how do i switch on in i9500
We did not understand your question clearly. Could you please ask your question in detail?
can u help me as when i connect my galaxy s4 to tv the picture flickers on phone and TV i am using mhl cable with power cable pluged in
Berni,
I think there is problem with the cable. Try to check with new one. I dont see any other reason.
I have tried setup 1 using an HDMI and MHL adapter and it crashes. Every time. I have a Panasonic Vieira which I was told will work with Samsung products. So, my setup is correct and connects but crashes every time I select a show, movie, sports. I have Verizon and added NFL and that says not supported my HDMI. HELP!
Does the image crash or does your phone crash? Make sure that the HDMI adapter is working. You can check with another phone as well.
I have plugged in all cables as this site says to. But nothing shows up on my tv. Any suggestions?
Are you on HDMI mode on your TV? If yes, then there’s probably something wrong with the TV.
I have a Samsung smart tv. My galaxy s4 not able to find it when scanning for screen mirroring. What do I have to do to either the tv or the s4 to get then to connect? Thanks.
Ty,
Are you using the wireless hub? All smart TVs are not supported for mirroring. You can also try connecting via HDMI cable.
Make sure that the TV settings are right.
Hi Rick,
Thanks for your suggestion. =-)
i am only getting 720p not 1080p. The monitor is a Visio E220va perfectly capable of displaying 1080p. The adapter is from Samsung, and the HDMI cable is new. Is there something I need to do with the phone to get the better picture to display.
Can you check this please. Maybe there’s a 1080p separate mode on your tv? A quick chat with TV customer service could help.
When using the mhl adapter. Does the tv have to meet any specifications other then having a hdmi input port? Further more, is there a setting on your phone that needs to be changed to make it an output device?
Hunter
As far as I know, most latest TVs should work fine and you don’t need to set up anything on your phone.
When I plug in the MHL to HDMI adapter to my S4 I get nothing on the tv, but it works when I plug in my Note 3. Why is that?
Lee
Are u sure you have the right mhl adapter? I think I read that there’s an issue with some s4 devices running android 4.3+.
Why does it work on my note 3 but not s4 it just says check cable wire.
Maybe your television doesn’t support the galaxy s4 or maybe the port on the phone is faulty?
When I connect s4 to TV using adapter the image that is displayed on the TV screen is small, it’s doesn’t give me a full screen.
Joe
Check the settings on your TV, such as crop or aspect ratio.
DOES NOT WORK! This is useless! When I try to launch NFL live, says “HDMI is not supported”. Why the fuck would I just want to play with my phone apps on the big screen. Of course I want to watch the game, not play with the stupid phone apps. Don’t waste your time with this crap!
Richard Sandoz,
This will not work on all S4. Of course there are lot who claimed as working!
Ok I did all of that and screen mirroring is not locating my tv
May,
May be your TV is not supported 🙁
My Samsung Galaxy is connected to my Samsung smart tv with all required Wires but the screen on the tv is still small.
Saira,
Try playing around with the TV’s settings menu to change the size
Question… does the screen on the Samsung tv gets to be bigger than the size of the samsung Galaxy phone
Yes it gets bigger.
I’m using the mhl setup but my tv is saying no signal,but it works sometime and other times it does any helpful tips on this
Dela,
May be the adapter is faulty? Have a quick check.
hello
although my Samsung s5 is working efficiently the only problem with it is it hangs during crucial moments mainly when am receiving a call.how can I fix that
answer in my account above thank you
Mullah,
Try performing a factory reset. That might fix it.
I want to hear the sound (not see the video) from a Samsung TV on my Galaxy S4 using conventional ear buds so I don’t disturb others in my house. The TV and S4 both have bluetooth so is it possible to do this. I can pair the devices but no sound comes out of the ear phones. Can you suggest an App that will let me hear the audio from the TV on my S4.
Neil,
To my knowledge, I don’t think this is possible.
I have an s4 and so does my husband his phone connects to our samsung tv with no problem but my phone doesn’t even notify me that it is connected to an hdmi port at all? I have already called samsung and they said since my mhl adapter isn’t samsung brand they can’t help me
Heaven
What happens when you connect the cable? Maybe your phone’s port is faulty. If your phone is not updated, installing an update might fix the issue.
Turns out it was the port i took it to my service provider and they replaced it for free and i am now enjoying my netflix (: is there any way to keep my phone from dying while it is on the mhl adapter? I have a power cord plugged in but it isn’t keeping my phone charged
Hi Heaven,
Have you tried completely charging your phone before enjoying Netflix and maybe the reason that your phone doesn´t keep enough energy could be problems with hardware. Have your replaced the charger?
Video is great when screen mirroring on my galaxy s4 to my smart samsung tv but there is no sound chiming from tv or phone when screen mirroring.
Jane, I believe sound should only come from the TV. Make sure that the volume is high. If it doesn’t work, then maybe your TV doesn’t support it. Also, try going to Accessory in Settings, then to Audio output and enable Surround.
I can’t get any pictures or sound on my tv..I have a sharp tv and a galaxy s4
Hi Cindy,
Are you using a wireless hub?
I bought everything suggested. My Insignia TV is saying “No Signal.” Does this work on the Samsung Galaxy Tablet and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2?
Hi Renae,
Is your TV on HDMI mode?
I’m guessing isignia is not set up for this
Hi Derek,
Unfortunately, not all TV´s are compatible. Have you checked if you model is compatible? =-)
Can i connect my samsung s4 to a hatachi smart tv…..cheerd
Hi Jazza,
Have you tried all of the tips in this article?
I bought 2 mhl cords to be safe. They both work perfectly with my wife’s S4 but neither work with my Note 3. I can’t figure it out and I’ve been searching online for days!
Hi Anthony,
The rules for choosing and MHL Cable for a Note are the same as for the Galaxy S device, but have you tried buying a Samsung brand MHL? Hope this helps.
Hello can you help me I have an s5 and for the last three days when I plug in my mhl Samsung adapter it turn my phone off now before these three days it was woking no it just keeps turning my phone off. I brought a new hdmi cord I even took the Samsung adapter back and got a new one and its still doing the same thing, so what should I do?
Can’t get my Samsung Galaxy avant to work with my Sanyo HD tv, I have the right cables from my phone to the hdmi port but the Tv says no signal. What else can I try.
Hi Jess,
Is your TV on HDMI mode?
Installed 5.1.1 update and now phone crashes when I plug Samsung Mhl adapter to tv. Never had an issue before this. I did a factory reset and wiped cache. Still no help. Please help!!!
Hi There,
Have you tried re-installing the update? Maybe something wasn´t copied correctly in this last update that would explain the issue. Hope this helps.=-)
Folks,
I bought the stuff from Samsung to mirror my S4 on a big screen, that is the HDMI adapter and a blue-tooth mouse. The stuff worked great first time.
The next step is to remove the LCD and Digitizer pad. Has anyone had success running this way?
Hi Jim,
I am glad to hear that it worked great for you. I haven´t tried the next step you mentioned, but maybe other users have. Hopefully, they will comment on their experience. Thanks for reading. =-)
I have the micro HDMi, USB power cords. Or in other words, the three way cord to plug into your S4. So, I tried plugging my phone into my Vizio (about 6-7 year old HDTV Non- smart TV), and I used both HDMI channels, and nothing. What will it take to stream my phone to my TV? I don’t have home internet. Is home Internet a MUST, to use the connection from my S4 to my Vizio HDTV? Does S4 have to be connected to a Samsung SMART TV to exchange screen size from my phone to the TV? I just want the cheapest method of streaming from my phone to the big screen.
Hi There,
Are you using the 11 pin adapter or a Hub? Your TV may not be compatible in some way and will need these accessories for this to work. Hope this helps. Thanks for commenting. =-)
Does my cell support hdl..its a Samsung Galaxy s 4 mini .I’ve been trying to hook up my cell to my tv to no avail. I have Samsung mhl adapter, hdmi cable. Plug in into hdmi port 2 and it shows nothing on the t.v. screen. What do you think.
Hi Michael,
Did you remember to change the input on your Tv? =-)
Hi
If it helps, I have used the mhl-hdmi adapter extensively and more often than not, the issue is the phones port. The S4 is not very robust and very vulnerable to the twisting at tweaking from plugging/unplugging and moving around of the phone while the cord is plugged in. I had an S4 on which it worked perfectly. I had that phone replaced ((due to a non-related issue) with a reconditioned phone and my adapter didn’t work. A subsequent replacement did.
Hi Bob,
Of course it helps and your feedback is appreciated. Thanks for sharing. =-)
I am able to locate my tv in screen mirroring but I can’t hear the sound please help
Hi There,
The first thing to check if no volume can be heard is the sound settings. Check the settings for both the TV and your phone.
Try playing different video files to verify if the problem is not file related. Play a particular video file on your phone without screen mirroring then play the same file with screen mirroring enabled.
You could also try a factory reset (remember to back everything up), but if you don´t want to do that you can wipe the cache partition of your phone. If this issue is caused by a corrupt temporary data then this procedure will resolve the issue.
Turn off the phone.
Hold the Volume Up, Volume Down and Power Key simultaneously.
Release the keys when the Android recovery screen appears.
Press the Volume Down key to highlight Wipe Cache Partition.
Press the Power key or Home key (this varies based on the software version of your phone) to select.
The phone will display Cache Wipe Complete after a few seconds.
Press the volume keys to highlight Reboot System Now.
Press the Power key to select.
If all else fails then you may want to consider using the wired mirroring option. You will need to use an AllShare cast dongle to connect your phone to the HDMI port of your TV for this feature to work. Hope this helps. =-)