How to cast shows from your Android phone or tablet

Thanks to Amazon’s hold on its rich ecosystem of apps and services with its feature-loaded FireOS software. The tech giant has an excellent streaming device that’s easily affordable, such as the Amazon Fire TV Stick. The Amazon Fire TV Stick is a must-have add-on for cord-cutters to enjoy live TV channels and on-demand content without cable. Aside from a rich app library, the Fire TV Stick supports screen mirroring from Android and iPhone. Your phone also has a built-in cast feature, but that only matters if your smart TV supports it. Our guide teaches you how to directly cast content from an Android phone or tablet to your Fire TV Stick.

Why cast your phone or tablet to your Amazon Fire TV Stick

We tend use our Android devices for nearly everything. But we can do more when we share our device’s content using a larger screen connected to an Amazon Fire TV Stick. Some of the benefits of casting or screen mirroring include:

• Access to a larger screen: You can cast videos, show images, and play games saved on your Android device while sharing them on a larger screen — perfect for family viewing when showing off vacation memories and birthday pictures.
• Enabled multi-tasking: It doesn’t lock you out of using your Android phone while casting to your Fire TV Stick. You can also pause Smart View to resume functions on your phone while temporarily turning off the display on your TV.
• Remote control features: You can use your connected Android device to remote control content played on the screen, including access to dedicated playback, volume, and navigation buttons.

How to set up a Fire TV Stick and Android device connection

You must turn on the cast feature on your Fire TV Stick before anything else. If you don’t, your Android device can’t detect or connect to it via a Wi-Fi network. Follow the steps to activate it:

1. Turn on your TV and ensure it’s switched to the Fire TV Stick’s input source.
2. Press the Home button on the Stick’s remote control.
3. Navigate to Mirroring or Display Mirroring and press the Enter button on the remote to open the menu.

   

4. On some models, go to Settings > Display & sounds. Then, select Mirroring or Display Mirroring.

   

5. Your Fire TV Stick enters casting mode and prepares for the connection.
6. Leave the screen as it is so that your phone can discover the TV Stick.

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How to mirror content from Samsung devices to a Fire TV Stick

Turn on the cast feature on your Android phone or tablet to connect to your Fire TV Stick device. Ensure your Wi-Fi connection is on and both devices are connected to it. The menus and settings may vary depending on the Stick’s model and your phone’s operating system (OS). However, the difference isn’t so much that you can’t discover it on your own.

Google Pixel phones and tablets only support casting via Chromecast or Discovery and Launch (DIAL) protocols. Fire TV Sticks mostly use Miracast, which Pixel phones don’t support. If your TV lacks Chromecast compatibility, mirroring from a Pixel doesn’t work (but there is a workaround that we will discuss later). That’s why we use a Samsung device in this tutorial. Follow these steps to set up the connection and cast media files across your phone and TV Stick:

1. Go to Settings > Connected devices > Smart View.

   

   

2. Select your Fire TV Stick from the available devices to connect to it.
3. Alternatively, swipe down with two fingers from the top of your screen. This action opens Quick Settings.
4. Tap Smart View.

   

5. Select your Fire TV Stick from the available devices.

If mirroring your Samsung device’s screen to your Fire TV Stick doesn’t work, use our quick troubleshooting steps to resolve the issue. After a successful connection, your phone’s screen appears on your TV. Now, you can open any content on your phone, and it displays on the larger screen. Press any button on the remote to exit mirroring mode. If that doesn’t work, access Quick Settings and tap Smart View.

How to mirror content from any Android device to a Fire TV Stick

Google Pixel and other Android phones that use Chromecast or Discovery and Launch (DIAL) protocols don’t support screen mirroring on Fire TV Stick. When you go to the Cast menu, you won’t see your streaming device on the list.

Otherwise, here is where a third-party solution comes into play. AirScreen is one such app to enable screen mirroring on any Android phone or tablet. It’s the most advanced app that supports multiple protocols like AirPlay, Miracast, and DLNA and works with other platforms like iOS, macOS, Windows, and Android. Let’s check it in action.

1. Go to Amazon Fire TV home.
2. Slide to the Search icon.

   

3. Search for AirScreen. Select it from the app suggestion menu.

   

4. Click AirScreen and download it from the following menu.

   

5. Launch AirScreen upon a successful installation.
6. Check the device ID, network status, performance rating, and more. The app connects to an authentication server of AirScreen. It asks you to share the content with a specific device.

   

Now, connect your mirror to your Android phone to the Fire TV Stick. Before you go ahead, connect your Fire TV Stick and Android device to the same Wi-Fi network.

1. Open Settings on your Android phone. We use a Pixel phone as an example.
2. Tap Connected devices.
3. Select Connection preferences.

   

   

4. Tap Cast. Select AirScreen.
5. The system asks if you want to cast a single app or an entire screen. Select Start casting. If you tap a single app, the system displays a menu to select an app.
6. That’s it. Check your content on Amazon Fire TV Stick.

   

   

In our testing, AirScreen worked as expected. We tried mirroring several 4K videos and didn’t encounter any glitches or shuttering. If you don’t see AirScreen on your Android device, go to AirScreen settings on Fire TV, open the Cast menu, and select ON.

Use your smartphone to cast your favorite shows on Fire TV

Casting your phone’s screen on your Fire TV Stick is easy unless you own a Google Pixel. Google Pixel owners looking to cast may want to look into Chromecast instead. If you have one, connect the Pixel to it via the Google Home app or the Screen Cast feature in Quick Settings. If your TV has built-in Chromecast support, you can cast content without an additional dongle, stick, or other device. Otherwise, use a third-party app like AirScreen; AirScreen supports AirPlay, Cast, Miracast, and DLNA.