How to Connect a Phone to Your Projector

Since phones and tablets contain so much of the content we want to access and share, and projectors provide great ways to enjoy and experience content, then it stands to reason that eventually you’ll want to cast content to your projector from your smart devices. But what exactly does this process involve? What do you need to connect an iOS or Android phone or tablet to a projector? Do I need any special hardware or software and drivers? In this article we’ll break down the answers to these questions and get you ready to enjoy your content to the fullest.

While projectors are usually intended for enjoying movies, TV shows, and gaming on a big screen, you may want to showcase content from your iOS or Android devices on that large display as well. We all have photos, videos, and playlists of favorite songs readily accessible on our phones and other mobile devices, and hooking it up to a projector is a lot easier than you may think.

Projectors offer a great way to view content in a way that’s more suited for sharing with others. Pictures and videos you’re used to seeing on a 6 to 8 inch screen look incredible on a 200 inch mega-screen, and it’s especially handy when you have people over who want to see your content. One big, glorious screen everyone can enjoy at once beats crouching around a small, hand-held screen. This applies to travel photos, family videos, and even personal art you’ve created on your phone while commuting. Whatever the content may be, a projector link will make it stand out. 

You may opt to approach the phone-to-projector connection process in one of two ways: a direct-wired connection or a wireless connection. Since all good projectors have HDMI, you can get a USB-C to HDMI cable or adapter. These are available for every version of USB-C, so check your phone and pick the right one. Once connected, simply change the source on your projector to the relevant HDMI port and you’ll see your phone’s screen displayed. If your phone or tablet has a mini HDMI out, you’ll need a mini HDMI to HDMI cable.

For a wired connection, it’s good to use a USB-C to HDMI adapter plus an HDMI cable. However, the USB-C cable needs to be USB IF Certified, support Power Delivery (PD), and support Data Transfer. A setup like that will cost anywhere from $30 USD to $80 USD. Regular USB-C to HDMI cables are simpler but may compromise quality because they lack the adapter to negotiate the USB-C to HDMI conversion. USB-C to HDMI cables range from $10 USD to $50 USD in price, depending on brand. We recommend a Belkin cable, for strong power delivery and data transfer.

The wireless option may be more appealing if you don’t want added cables all over the shop. If your projector has Bluetooth, then pairing it to a phone or tablet is easy. Since Bluetooth isn’t prevalent on home cinema projectors but is standard on quality portable projectors, connection capabilities depend on your projector. Another good way is using a third-party media box or streaming stick. Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, or Chromecast will work because all have Bluetooth and easily pair with mobile devices. Once paired, the media box or stick sends phone contents to the projector via HDMI. As all major media and streaming sticks have full-size HDMI out, there’s no need for adapters, they plug directly into the HDMI on your projector.

As with most non-gaming applications, the best picture mode setting for viewing content from your phone is Movie, Cinema, or D. Cinema. The names may vary, but it’ll usually be one of those three. Standard, Bright, Vivid, and Dynamic modes may end up looking too bright and saturated, and Movie/Cinema mode offers the most accurate brightness, contrast, and color depiction. 

Connecting your phone or tablet to a projector is a fairly easy task with no overly complex settings. Thanks to the advanced technology of iOS and Android, there’s no settings at all involved. Phones automatically output their displays when an “out” connection is detected, so all you need to do is change the source on the receiving device, in this case, your projector. So sit back, relax, and enjoy.