How to Cast a Laptop to TV, Wired and Wireless

To cast a laptop to a TV wirelessly, press Windows logo key + K on a Windows laptop and pick the TV, or on a Mac open Control Center in the menu bar, click Screen Mirroring, and pick the TV. Those are the routes Microsoft's mirroring page and Apple's Mac AirPlay guide give, and each one only works when the TV can receive that particular signal.

If an HDMI cable is within reach, use it instead. It doesn't care which laptop you have, it doesn't care about Wi-Fi, and when it fails the list of possible reasons is short. The wireless routes are for when the cable isn't an option, and the first job with any of them is working out what the TV on the other end can actually receive.

Pick the Route Before You Press Anything

A laptop sends one of three wireless signals. Windows sends Miracast. A Mac sends AirPlay. Chrome, on either, sends Google Cast. The TV has to speak the same one. This table is the check I'd do before touching a key.

The phone version of this table, with each TV brand's AirPlay cutoff, is in the iPhone mirroring guide. The receivers are the same ones; only the sender changes.

HDMI First, Because It Fails in Fewer Ways

Plug one end into the laptop, the other into the TV, and switch the TV to that HDMI input. On most laptops that's the whole procedure, and I'd rather people tried it before spending twenty minutes on wireless discovery.

Which cable or adapter you need depends on the port. Apple's HDMI page lists the Macs with a built-in HDMI port as the Mac Studio (2022 or later), Mac mini (2018 or later), Mac Pro (2019 or later), and MacBook Pro (2021 or later). Everything else with a Thunderbolt or USB-C port uses an adapter such as the USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter, and older Macs with Mini DisplayPort use a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. Windows laptops vary too much to list; look at the side of the machine for an HDMI port, and if there's only USB-C, you need a USB-C to HDMI adapter or cable. My advice for a USB-C-only laptop is to buy an adapter whose box lists the TV's resolution, because Apple names an adapter that can't handle the resolution as one cause of a blank screen.

Once the picture is on the TV, three settings decide whether it looks and sounds right.

Mirror or extend. On Windows, press Windows logo key + P. Microsoft's page lists PC screen only, Duplicate, Extend, and Second screen only. Duplicate is the mirror. Extend treats the TV as a second desk, which is why people sometimes plug in and see only their wallpaper on the TV; the windows are still on the laptop. On a Mac, the first AirPlay connection asks whether to mirror or extend, and for a cable Apple's external display guide puts the same choice under System Settings > Displays.

Audio. HDMI carries sound, but the laptop has to be told to send it there. On Windows, go to Settings > System > Sound > Output and pick the TV, or click the arrow next to the volume slider on the taskbar, per Microsoft's sound page. On a Mac, open System Settings > Sound > Output and choose the HDMI device, per Apple's HDMI page. Apple adds that on a Mac mini, anything plugged into the headphone jack has to come out first.

Overscan. If the edges of the desktop are cut off, the TV is applying overscan. Apple's HDMI page notes the Mac offers an underscan adjustment for TVs; on the TV side the setting usually sits in the Picture menu under a name like screen fit, and I'd change it on the TV rather than the laptop so the fix survives a reboot.

Cast From a Windows Laptop to the TV

Windows uses Miracast, and the TV has to support it too. Roku's mirroring page says most current Roku players and Roku TVs do (with a few Express models excluded), and Samsung's mirroring page says most Windows 10 and 11 PCs can send it. Neither of those is a promise about your specific pair, which is why I'd run the self-check before anything else.

Check the laptop. Microsoft's wireless display fix page gives the test. Press Windows logo key + K. If the laptop doesn't support Miracast, the panel says so and tells you to connect a display with a cable. Samsung's version of the same test is Windows key + P and looking for a "Connect to a wireless display" link at the bottom. No link, no Miracast, and the cable is your route.

Then connect.

1. Turn the TV on and make sure Wi-Fi is on for the laptop. Samsung says both should be on the same Wi-Fi network.
2. Press Windows logo key + K.
3. Pick the TV or Roku from the list.
4. On the TV, accept the prompt. Samsung's page says to select Allow.

Microsoft's alternative route is to search Start for "Cast" and choose Connect to a wireless display. Roku describes it for Windows 11 as Win + K, then Connect to a wireless display, then the Roku; on Windows 10 it's the Action Center on the taskbar, then Connect.

When the picture appears, press Windows logo key + P once more if the TV is showing the wrong thing. Duplicate mirrors. Extend gives you a second screen, which is the better choice for a film, because the laptop stays usable and the video window can go full screen on the TV alone.

Samsung lists a TV-side menu for managing which devices may connect, under All Settings > Connections > External Device Manager > Device Connect Manager. If you once pressed Deny by mistake, that's where to undo it. The Roku app update guide shows where Roku's Settings menu lives if you need the System section.

Mirror a Mac to the TV With AirPlay

A Mac sends AirPlay, so the TV needs to be an Apple TV 4K or an AirPlay 2 smart TV, and Apple's guide says both devices need Wi-Fi on and the same network. Then, from the macOS 27 guide, in this order.

1. Click Control Center in the menu bar.
2. Click Screen Mirroring, then select the TV.
3. If asked, type the four-digit code shown on the TV into the Mac.
4. Choose whether to share a window, mirror the screen, or extend it. Apple says Set as Default saves the choice for next time.

To change the choice later, open the same menu and click Change. Add Window adds another window when you're sharing one. When you're done, click the Stop button. Sharing a single window is the option I'd point people at for a presentation, since notifications and the rest of the desktop stay off the TV.

For a film, don't mirror at all. Apple's guide says to click the AirPlay icon in the app's playback controls and choose the Apple TV 4K or smart TV; the video goes to the TV at its own resolution and the Mac stays free. Stopping is the same icon, then the Mac's name.

If a Mac needs to reach a TV that only has Miracast, there's no AirPlay receiver on the TV side, and Apple's guide documents no Miracast sender on the Mac side. That pairing is the cable.

Cast From Chrome to a Chromecast

Google's Chrome cast page covers a Chromecast, a Chromecast with Google TV, a Google TV Streamer, or a TV with Google Cast built in, from an up-to-date Chrome on Mac, Windows, or Chromebook.

1. In Chrome, open the three-dot More menu.
2. Choose Cast, save, and share, then Cast.
3. Under Sources, pick Cast tab, Cast screen, or Cast file.
4. Select the receiver.

To end it, click the Cast icon and choose Stop casting. Google notes that on macOS 15 or later you have to grant Chrome access in System Settings before a screen cast will work.

This is where the Reddit thread ranking for the search gets its answer. The poster wanted the whole laptop screen on the TV, not just YouTube. Cast screen does that. The catch is audio, and Google states it plainly. Cast a tab and the sound plays only on the TV. Cast the screen and the audio may keep playing on the computer, so if you need the TV to carry the sound, cast the tab. My rule is tab for anything with sound, screen for slides and documents.

When It Connects but Behaves Badly

Connected and wrong is a different problem from not connected, and the fixes are smaller. I'd take them in the order listed.

• Picture on the TV, laptop went black. Windows logo key + P is set to Second screen only. Choose Duplicate or Extend.
• Wallpaper on the TV, windows on the laptop. That's Extend. Drag the window across, or switch to Duplicate.
• Silent TV. Change the output device as above. Microsoft's sound page also warns of the reverse case, a monitor without speakers selected as the default output, which gives you silence everywhere.
• Edges cut off. Overscan. Picture settings on the TV, or Apple's underscan control on a Mac.
• Stutter over wireless. Samsung's page suggests disconnecting from a VPN and checking updates. If the router is the weak link, the Wi-Fi disconnecting guide has the order I'd use.
• Screen goes dark mid-film. Samsung points at the laptop's screen timeout setting, which suggests casting doesn't hold the laptop awake on its own.

Why the TV Doesn't See the Laptop Wirelessly

In the order I'd work through them. Stop as soon as the TV appears in the list.

1. Wrong signal. A Mac can't see a Miracast-only TV and a Windows laptop can't see an AirPlay-only TV. Check the table.
2. The laptop lacks Miracast. Windows logo key + K says so directly, per Microsoft. Cable or a Miracast adapter in the TV's HDMI port.
3. Wi-Fi off on the laptop. Microsoft's first check. Look at the network icon on the taskbar.
4. Different networks. Samsung wants both on the same Wi-Fi network; Apple wants the same network for AirPlay. Samsung also says to disconnect from a VPN if you get connection errors.
5. Stale pairing. Microsoft's fix is Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Devices, then Wireless displays & docks, select the TV, Remove device, and connect again. It's the same settings page the Bluetooth pairing guide walks through for headphones.
6. Drivers and firmware. Microsoft asks for current device drivers on the laptop and current firmware on the TV or adapter.
7. Restart both. Microsoft's wording is "Restart your PC and the wireless display." Cheap and reversible, and I'd do it before anything below.
8. Blocked at the TV. Samsung's Device Connect Manager, or a Roku that was told to deny.

If the TV still isn't listed after step 8, my honest advice is to stop and use the cable rather than install mirroring software. The wireless routes above are the only ones the TV vendors and OS vendors document.

Why HDMI Shows Nothing

Ordered by how little each step changes, from Microsoft's external monitor page and Apple's dark display page.

1. Input. The TV is on the wrong HDMI input. Cycle through them with the remote's Input or Source button.
2. Cable seated. Both vendors start here. Unplug both ends and reseat them.
3. Another cable, another port. Microsoft says to try a different cable and, if the laptop has more than one video output, a different port.
4. Projection mode. Windows logo key + P and pick Duplicate or Extend.
5. Detect the display, Mac. System Settings > Displays, hold the Option key, and click Detect Displays where Night Shift normally sits. Apple also says a MacBook with Apple silicon may ask you to allow the accessory the first time, and that putting the Mac to sleep and waking it is worth a try.
6. Remove the dock. Microsoft says to disconnect docks, dongles, and adapters that can conflict; Apple says to connect the display directly to the Mac rather than through a hub.
7. Graphics reset, Windows. Windows logo key + Ctrl + Shift + B. Microsoft describes it as resetting the graphics driver.
8. Restart. Then updates. Apple notes macOS updates specifically address display detection.

Anything past that is a cable that doesn't match the resolution the TV wants, or an adapter that doesn't support it, which Apple's page names as a cause. I'd swap the adapter for one that lists the TV's resolution before assuming the laptop's port is dead.

The Short Version

Cable if you can. If not, match the signal to the TV before pressing anything. Windows logo key + K sends Miracast to a Miracast TV or Roku; Control Center > Screen Mirroring sends AirPlay from a Mac to an Apple TV or AirPlay 2 set; Chrome's Cast menu reaches a Chromecast from either, with the tab carrying the audio and the screen often not. When the picture arrives but looks wrong, it's the projection mode, the sound output, or overscan, in the order I gave them. And when a wireless route refuses after the ordered list above, the cable is the fix, not another app.