staff@slashgear.com (Brad Hill)
2024-04-22 14:45:57
www.slashgear.com
There are a number of reasons why a phone might not cast to a TCL smart TV. The nice thing about it is that there are just as many solutions, and some of them are simple fixes. The number one thing to check is the Wi-Fi. If the phone and TV aren’t on the same Wi-Fi network, the phone won’t be able to cast to a TV at all.
People who value their privacy often run a VPN on their devices, including their phones. However, using a VPN changes the IP address, which affects screen mirroring and casting, since devices need to be on the same network to connect. While there are ways to use a VPN for streaming, turning off the VPN is a quick and easy fix when you can’t cast from your phone.
Have you tried turning it off and back on? It’s a cliche, but it actually does work periodically. With new TV technology, people often put their TVs in standby mode instead of turning them off fully. For this to work, the TV needs to be completely powered down. After a minute or two has gone by, turn it on again — this will sometimes initiate a firmware update. Additionally, manually checking for updates on the TV and phone you’re trying to cast to/from often helps.