Connect laptop and TV via WiFi

Want to connect your laptop to the TV but don’t have an HDMI cable handy? Then connect the devices via WiFi.

Your laptop screen is certainly smaller than your TV. That’s why it can be worthwhile not just watching some content on your laptop, but rather on the big TV screen. To do this, you have two different options: wired connection or wireless connection via WiFi. In the following article we will show you how to establish the connection without an HDMI cable.

Connect laptop and TV via WiFi

The modern way to connect a laptop to the TV is the WLAN. However, this does not work with older televisions. You need a Smart TV for this.

On your Smart TV, call the settings or network services on. Here you can activate the connection. Streaming to your TV is via software called Miracast. You need this tool to connect other devices to it. On your TV you have to “Miracast” or “screen mirroring” or something similar. The exact name varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Now, on your laptop running Windows 10, you need to use the key combination (Windows) + (K) Press to bring up the Connect menu. The device you want to connect your laptop to should now appear here – in this case your television. Click on the device name and then on “Connect” allows you to stream your laptop’s content directly to your TV. If you get a message like “Your PC or mobile device does not support Miracast”, you need to update your laptop’s drivers.

By the way: For Apple devices this is all much easier. You can simply use AirPlay for this. You can find more information about Apple AirPlay in this article.

Connect laptop with cable

The “classic” method is to connect your two devices with a cable. The advantage of this method is the low effort: plug the HDMI cable into the laptop, then connect the other end of the cable to your television and the connection is already established. If in doubt, you still have to select the right connection in the television display and the picture will be transmitted 1:1. You can find more information about connecting laptops and televisions via cable here.