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How to connect a laptop, iPad or tablet to a TV

We show you how to get a bigger screen for your dream machine…

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Getting started with a new laptop, iPad or tablet? Fancy playing your favourite games or viewing family photos and videos on a huge display? If you’re nodding your head, why not connect your little screen to your TV for a big screen experience?

There are a couple of ways you can do this - either wirelessly (by casting or mirroring) or with a cable linking the two.

What’s the difference between mirroring and casting?
Screen mirroring
lets you ‘mirror’ what’s on your laptop or tablet to your TV screen without a wired connection. The TV will show exactly what’s happening on the phone. So if you’re playing a game, any pauses will happen in real-time on the TV screen too.
Screen casting lets you display content such as movies and home videos on your TV. Only the content is shared, so you can use your tablet or laptop to do other things without playback being interrupted.

It’s all pretty straightforward as long as you follow a few simple steps for your device. Below, we’ll show you the different ways of connecting a laptop, iPad or tablet to a TV.

How to connect a laptop to the TV

Connecting a laptop to a TV wirelessly
You can wirelessly connect your laptop to a smart TV using Wi-Fi Direct – just as long as they both support this feature.
To set it up, grab your TV remote control and select ‘screen mirroring’ as your source.
Then go into settings on your laptop, head to ‘connected devices’ and select ‘add device’. Select your TV, and you’ll see your laptop display on your telly.

Connecting a laptop to a TV with a cable
You can also connect your laptop to the TV with an HDMI cable. This is a great option if you don’t have a smart TV. Simply plug your cable into your laptop and one of your TV’s HDMI ports. Then go into your TV settings, select the HDMI input you’ve chosen, and enjoy the view on your TV.

Some newer laptops are so thin, they haven’t got HDMI ports. These usually come with USB Type-C instead. But don’t worry, there are plenty of HDMI to USB-C cables and adapters out there at a decent price.

How to connect an iPad to a TV

Connecting an iPad to a TV wirelessly
The easiest way to connect your iPad and TV wirelessly is with Apple's AirPlay feature. This is built-in to your iPad already, and lets you mirror or cast content to any AirPlay compatible TV.
To use AirPlay, your iPad and TV need to be connected to the same home Wi-Fi network. Then open ‘Control Center’ on your iPad, tap ‘AirPlay Mirroring’ and select your TV. It’ll then show whatever’s on your iPad screen.

Connecting an iPad to a TV with a cable
You can connect your iPad to your TV with a cable if you have a Lightning Digital AV Adapter. Plug this into your iPad, then you just need to connect an HDMI cable from the adapter to your TV’s HDMI port.

How to connect a tablet to a TV

Connecting a tablet to a TV wirelessly
You can connect your laptop to your TV wirelessly by streaming. It’s easiest to do this with a smart TV that has Chromecast built-in, but don’t worry if yours doesn’t. A
Google Chromecast device is all you need. Simply plug it into your TV’s HDMI port and a USB power port, and make sure the Chrome browser is installed on your laptop.

When everything is connected, select the “cast” button in Chrome on your laptop and follow the onscreen steps. You’ll be casting your laptop to your TV screen in a couple of minutes.

Connecting a tablet to a TV with a cable
The quickest, easiest, and most direct way to connect your tablet to your TV is by using a Micro HDMI to HDMI cable. Simply connect it to your laptop and one of your TV’s HDMI input sockets. Then go into your TV settings, select the HDMI input you’ve chosen, and you’ll see your tablet display on the telly.

Any questions?

Need more help choosing your next tablet, laptop, TV or any other piece of tech? If you’d like to talk to an expert, pop in-store or have a video chat using ShopLive.

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