It’ll let you do everything from playing YouTube music videos to viewing files on the big screen. If you have a ton of images on your phone, you can even show them off! It can be useful for those who own smart TVs or are looking for alternative ways to display their content. We’ll walk you through how to set up and use Smart View.

What Is Samsung Smart View?

Samsung Smart View is a feature that allows you to mirror the contents of your Samsung device right onto a smart TV.

Using a smart TV instead of a small device display will give you an enhanced viewing experience. You can also use it as an additional monitor of sorts. The Smart View feature is now designed to primarily work with Samsung smart TVs, but it might still work with other brands that support the Miracast standard, such as LG, Sharp, Philips, Sony, and more.

However, DRM-protected content cannot be mirrored using the Smart View functionality.

How to Use Samsung Smart View

To use Smart View, you’ll need to make sure your smart TV is connected to the same network as your Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet. You’ll also need the Miracast wireless display technology on your smart TV—the newer Samsung TVs are equipped with this, as are some other brands mentioned above.

Once you’ve confirmed that these settings are in place, open Smart View on your mobile device and select the smart TV you want to mirror to, from the list of available devices. Your phone’s screen will then be mirrored to your TV’s screen. Let’s take a closer look at some of the ways you can do this.

Use Wireless Display Mirroring With a Smart TV

With this feature, you can enjoy your favorite apps, images, videos, and games on your TV. To get started, you will need a Miracast-supported Smart TV and a working Wi-Fi connection. If you have an older TV model or phone or any unsupported devices, this method may not work. If that’s the case, you should try some of the other methods outlined below.

Here’s how to set it up:

On your Samsung device, use two fingers to pull down the Quick Settings panel, and swipe left. Tap on Smart View. Make sure your phone and TV are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. The app will automatically start searching for compatible devices. Select your smart TV on the list of devices that appears. If it doesn’t show up, try unplugging and restarting your TV. On the pop-up screen, tap Start now to grant permissions. Once connected, your Samsung Galaxy device should begin mirroring onto your TV. You can see the Smart View menu on the right. If you’d like to switch to a full-screen view, simply change the aspect ratio by going to the Smart View menu and selecting Phone aspect ratio > Full screen on connected device on your phone. To disconnect the feature, go to the menu and tap Disconnect.

Mirror Your Screen With the Samsung SmartThings App

The SmartThings app has built-in support for Samsung’s recent lineup of smart TVs (2017 and later), which allows you to stream content from your phone directly to your TV, while offering a variety of useful features for other connected devices in your home, such as controlling lights or opening doors.

The Smart View functionality supports limited Samsung TVs manufactured between 2011 and 2016. For newer models, you can use the Samsung SmartThings app.

Download: SmartThings (Free)

Here’s how to use it.

On your Samsung Galaxy device, download and install the SmartThings app from the Galaxy Store. Tap Continue to grant required location and other permissions. In the pop-up screen, tap While using the app. On the home screen, navigate to the bottom menu panel and tap Devices. Tap + (the plus icon) and select Add device in the top-right corner to add a new device. 4 Images Close Tap Scan to find any TVs within range that are connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your device. Select your device and tap Add. The device availability status will be updated automatically. You’ll need to keep both your phone and TV powered on and connected to the same network during this process. Navigate back to the list of devices and tap on your TV once more. You can now see the Mirror screen (Smart View) option updated for your device. Select Play/View content. You will need to accept the connection request on your TV screen to start mirroring your device. 3 Images Close

Mirror Your Screen With a Third-Party App

It’s easy to display your Android device’s screen on your TV using several methods. One of the ways you can do this (for both Samsung and non-Samsung devices) is to use a third-party app. We’ll be using the Quick Settings app as an example here, and it’s a good alternative if Smart View doesn’t work for you.

Download: Quick Settings (Free, in-app purchases available)

Launch Quick Settings and tap Accept and Continue to agree to the terms. On the app screen, tap Multimedia > Cast > Enable tile. Navigate to the Quick Settings tray on your device by swiping down from the top. Tap the three-dot menu on the top-right of your home screen. To add the Cast icon to the tray, select Edit buttons. You can view the Cast icon in the list. Long press and drag the icon into the tray. Tap Done at the bottom of the screen to save your settings. Now simply tap the Cast button to mirror your screen to your TV.

Issues and Troubleshooting

If you’re having trouble mirroring your Samsung Galaxy device using the Smart View app, you can try fixing the issues with these tips below.

Connection/Pairing Issues

You’ll need to check whether both of your devices are on the same Wi-Fi network. If you’re having trouble connecting to the Wi-Fi network, try restarting your router. On your Samsung device, navigate to Settings > Connections > Wi-Fi to check whether your connection is active. Turn off any VPN connections that you might have installed as well.

Further, you’ll need to ensure you’ve accepted device connection permissions for your TV and smartphone devices.

Compatibility Issues

Your smart TV must be compatible with the Smart View feature. To check if your TV supports screen mirroring, you can either look up the user manual that came with your TV or conduct an online search for its model number (where available) and information about compatible devices or features.

Also, the latest versions of Smart View are designed to work with other Samsung products, so you may have compatibility issues depending on which version you’re running.

You can also try mirroring your Android device using these methods.

Share and Present Your Content Easily

Mirroring your device on a TV or computer can make your experiences more captivating and interactive.

Smart View makes it easy to share and show content directly from your phone or tablet. With mirroring capabilities, you will be able to present content from a Samsung Galaxy or other Android devices, such as a slide deck for your presentation, a web page, a product pitch for passing around for discussion, or a set of photos for inspiration.