In case you’re wondering how to connect phone to Smart TV without WiFi, then in this guide you’ll learn about all possible ways.
We’ll explore and explain everything from top to bottom so you would know exactly how to connect an Android or iOS phone to smart TV without WiFi…
To connect any smartphone to a smart TV without WiFi, share a mobile data hotspot from the settings and connect the smart TV.
In case the mobile data hotspot is not a workable solution, any smartphone can connect to the HDMI port of your TV via a wired adapter.
Let’s unwrap more!
Can You Connect Phone to TV Without WiFi?
Without WiFi, yes there are multiple ways to connect the phone to a smart TV, but without an internet connection, things might get a bit more challenging.
In case your phone is contracted with an operator and you’ve got unlimited data, things are much easier so let’s learn more!
Here are all possible ways of connecting the phone to the TV without a WiFi:
- Using the Mobile Data (HotSpot) from Phone
- Connecting Phone to TV via a cable adapter
- Use Ethernet + Mobile Data + Screensharing
Mobile Data Limitations?
If you’re intending to share a personal hotspot with the smart TV and connect to be able to stream content from the phone or from the TV, you should be aware.
Streaming from your phone consumes ∼700 MB per hour.
Alert: For users with limited mobile data we recommend not to share personal hotspot with the TV unless you’re not going to stream, download or upload anything.
How to Connect Phone to Smart TV Without WiFi?
Tip: There are 3 fundamental methods that can be used to connect phone to smart TV without being connected to any WiFi.
We recommend exploring them all and deciding for yourself.
1. Share the Smartphone Mobile HotSpot
The most common and proven-to-work method that allows users to connect their phones to the TV without a WiFi connection is by using a personal hotspot.
The personal hotspot basically makes your phone such as a WiFi router, allowing other devices to connect and use the data.
How to Enable HotSpot on Android?
- Access the Quick Menu or phone Settings.
- Tip: Slide down from the top of the screen.
- Tap and hold the Personal Hotspot option.
- When the settings appear, select a name.
- Then insert a strong connection password.
- Go into Settings and turn OFF the WiFi.
- Ensure that you’ve enabled the hotspot.
How to Enable HotSpot on Apple?
- From the home screen, go into the Settings.
- Then enter the “WiFi” tab and set it to OFF.
- Then go back and enter Personal Hotspot.
- Tweak the name and hotspot password.
- Tap on the toggle to enable the hotspot.
How to Connect Smart TV to HotSpot?
Note: Connecting a TV to the phone’s hotspot is exactly the same as connecting to the WiFi but the options and menus on all brands of TVs are different.
Universally, here’s how to connect any smart TV to the phone’s hotspot:
- Use the remote to go to the home screen.
- From there enter Settings > Network.
- On some TVs, you need to enter Advanced.
- Select “WiFi Network” or “Wireless Network”.
- Tap on the phone’s WiFi-shared hotspot.
- Insert the password and the TV will connect.
Info: When the TV is connected to the phone’s hotspot, you can perform any sort of online activity, using mobile data without WiFi!
2. Connect Phone via USB (File Transfer)
The secondary way of connecting the phone to the TV without WiFi happens by a USB cable, of course respectively for iOS (lightning port) and for Android (USB Type-C or MicroUSB).
With a such a cable you can connect the phone to the TV by inserting the cable into the charging port.
Then based on your TV’s operating system you can play videos and music from your phone on the TV or transfer data, images, files, and more.
3. Connect Phone via Adapter (Streaming)
If you would like to see the display of your phone on the TV screen without WiFi, another way of achieving this would be via a video transfer cable adapter.
There are quite a lot of different adapters that you could use so let’s explore all of them in a concise manner…
| Connect Phone to TV via Video Transfer Adapter | ||
| Adapter Type | OS Support | Description |
| HDMI to Lightning Port Adapter | iOS | Standard video transfer for Apple |
| HDMI to USB Type-C / MicroUSB | Android | Standard video transfer for Android |
| MHL Cable (Micro USB to HDMI) | Android | Mobile-Hight-Definition Link |
| VGA to Lightning or Type-C/MicroUSB | Android/iOS | For any TVs with VPA input |
| AV Composite (3.5mm to RCA) | Android/iOS | For music and video streaming |
Info: These wired video transfer connections do support connecting any mobile Android or iOS devices as per the table above including (iPads and any Android tablets).
Streaming from Phone to TV Without WiFi?
The answer is simple – mobile data (personal hotspot) or wired connection via an HDMI or other adapter.
Unfortunately, video streaming (screen sharing), requires internet on both your TV and smartphone, hence let’s explore the only possible ways.
Streaming with HotSpot + Screensharing:
Note: If you’re an Apple user you need to scroll down and follow the steps guide on how to connect your phone to your TV via AirPlay.
- How does it work?
In order to stream the content shown on your mobile device’s display onto the big TV screen, you would need to use a screen-sharing option.
On smart TVs, this option is called Miracast or Screen Sharing, which is available not only on smart TV but also on streaming sticks!
To establish the connection you would need to share a hotspot from your mobile phone and connect the TV to the internet.
Then, in the TV options you would want to enable the screen share option, and finally connect to the TV using the screen share option from your phone!
Note: Most mobile apps such as YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu have their own screen-sharing option from within the app, avalaible while streaming content.
Streaming from Phone to TV via Cable Adapter:
Another way to stream content from your phone is by connecting the smartphone to the TV via a cable adapter – HDMI, VGA, AV Component, or MHL.
This way you can directly stream your TV, content from your phone, even if you don’t have an internet connection at all.
Note that some streaming apps online allow users to download content for offline viewing and when your phone is connected to the TV via an adapter you don’t need the internet.
However, if you have mobile data on the phone you can perform online streaming and watch on the big TV.
Streaming from Phone to Apple – Android TV (AirPlay):
In order to stream from iPhone to Apple TV you would need to utilize the AirPlay feature which only Apple TVs as well as some Android TVs support.
To begin with, you need to enable the AirPlay on the TV and then from the Quick Access Menu on the iPhone connect to the TV.
However, note that the option is still called “Screen Mirroring” even though it uses the AirPlay technology, which is quite limited to be honest.
For example, you can’t connect your iPhone to any smart TV, that does not support AirPlay and they are few.
Info: Without WiFi and mobile data on the smartphone, you can only use a wired connection to connect the phone to the TV and stream only locally downloaded content.
Quick Recap:
Here we’ve learned how to connect phone to Smart TV without WiFi in multiple different ways.
They involve sharing a personal hotspot from the mobile device or connecting a video transfer adapter such as HDMI to lightning or Type-C/MicroUSB cable. Follow us for more relevant content!
Read Next: How To Connect Android Phone To Non Smart TV? Complete Guide
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