I’m trying to connect my LG TV to my iPhone so I can show photos and videos from my phone on the bigger screen. I keep seeing AirPlay, screen mirroring, and an HDMI adapter mentioned, but I’m not completely clear on whether AirPlay and mirroring are the same thing.
Which option do people actually use for this, and why? Is one more straightforward or reliable than the others for a normal TV-and-phone connection?
I compared three routes by checking TV compatibility, Wi-Fi requirements, hardware needs, and whether each method mirrors the whole screen or only sends media. I also treated performance claims cautiously, since results can vary by model and network.
For most LG webOS smart TVs from 2018 onward, AirPlay 2 is the obvious first test. Put the iPhone and TV on the same Wi-Fi, enable AirPlay through Home Dashboard or Settings → General → AirPlay & HomeKit, then swipe down from the iPhone’s top-right corner. Choose Screen Mirroring, select the TV, and enter the displayed code if prompted. Menu paths vary, and older sets may never appear, so this is not quite the universal answer it sometimes pretends to be.
The app option is DoCast, available through the App download DoCast page for iOS 15 or later. It connects to DLNA-enabled smart TVs, including LG models without AirPlay, plus Samsung, Sony, Roku, Fire TV, and Chromecast devices. With both devices on the same Wi-Fi, select the TV, tap Screen, adjust settings, and start mirroring. Videos, Photos, and Music can also be sent separately. The advertised features include adjustable quality, auto-rotation, and latency under one second on strong Wi-Fi. I could not verify that delay across every network, which is doing rather a lot of work in that claim. Photo casting is free and unlimited, while full-screen mirroring and unlimited video and music require Premium. The Mirroring guide DoCast explains the setup, while the Feature summary DoCast covers the same wireless approach.
HDMI is the least mysterious fallback and works even with older non-smart LG TVs. Lightning iPhones need Apple’s Lightning Digital AV Adapter; iPhone 15 and newer use USB-C to HDMI. Connect the adapter and cable, select the correct HDMI input, and accept being tethered. It is stable, though extra hardware is required.
AirPlay is simplest when supported, HDMI avoids weak Wi-Fi, and DoCast is flexible without cables, but which route has actually worked best for people in this thread?
Avoid full-screen mirroring if all you want to do is view photos or videos because doing so can be a bit of a pain since it will show all sorts of unwarranted notifications and stuff on the TV. Instead, open the item in Photos, tap Share, then AirPlay to the TV. Use Screen Mirroring for apps and menus, and remember to fall back on HDMI if it refuses to show up or Wi-Fi playback is consistently stuttering. Some streaming apps will turn black due to copy protection.
Being on the same Wi-Fi name will not work if either device is on a guest network or if the router is blocking devices from seeing each other. That is often the case why an LG TV never appears in the AirPlay list. Turning off any VPN on the iPhone, not using the guest network, restarting devices, and making sure AirPlay is enabled in the TV’s settings may help. An update of the TV’s software can sometimes make a difference.
In short, the difference is that AirPlay allows you to send photos or videos, while Screen Mirroring copies everything that is visible on the phone. If a user wants to share family photos, they should open the item and tap the AirPlay icon if possible. When it comes to apps, the user should consider using mirroring to show what they do on the phone.
If the TV appears but is constantly disconnected, I would try fixing the router before installing another app. A cable adapter is the ultimate way out if the wireless discovery is not working reliably, especially on hotel, apartment, or school Wi-Fi, where network isolation may be beyond one’s control.
First check whether that LG model actually supports AirPlay. If there is no AirPlay option anywhere in the TV’s settings, changing router settings will not magically appear. Then you need to get a streaming box that supports AirPlay or a wired connection.
To set up wireless mirroring, turn on AirPlay on the TV, open Control Center on the iPhone, tap Screen Mirroring, and select the LG. The code on the television was entered into the phone. To set up a cable, you need to buy the adapter that matches your iPhone’s port (USB-C or Lighting) and connect it to an HDMI cable and switch the TV to that HDMI input.
I would avoid the cheapest no-name adapters. Many require external power, and some work for the home screen, but not for protected video apps. But for ordinary photos and personal videos, however, a wired adapter is usually the least complication and does not require Wi-Fi.
Download a couple of photos and videos to the iPhone to verify before testing if iCloud Photos is set to optimize. A clip that still has to make a trip down from iCloud can stall or outright fail during AirPlay, giving the appearance of the TV being the culprit when the actual issue lies with the phone waiting on the internet.
For family photos and personal videos, I would test from the Photos app than to mirror the entire contents of the phone. Open the item and go to Share then AirPlay and select the LG TV. This way, texts, incoming calls, and everything else on the phone won’t show up on the television. It may take a moment for longer videos to start playing.
Screen Mirroring is best reserved for actually needing the TV to mirror the phone, for a website, demonstrating an app, or navigating more than a few screens. There are going to be large swathes of empty space on the television when using portrait mode. Turning the iPhone sideways can sometimes help, but it will depend on rotation lock being off and the app actually supporting landscape. Mirroring does not automatically turn every phone app into a proper full-screen TV app.
I would be weary of purchasing an adapter before testing what the port actually is. Newer iPhones use USB-C while many older ones are Lightning, and adapters that look similar are not going to be able to be used interchangeably. A wired connection is a good choice for a slideshow or a home video that might be several hours long because it takes Wi-Fi out of the equation. It will not necessarily get around copy protection in every streaming app, and buying a cable for a specific purpose such as Netflix or another subscription service can end up being disappointing.
If normal AirPlay works for photos but a video or an app doesn’t, this is a sign that it’s the file, app, or a cloud download rather than the LG TV. Test with a simple photo and a short video recorded by the iPhone. It will provide a much cleaner starting point than trying to tinker with the router settings or install new software right away.
For a quick photo slideshow, AirPlay is less hassle. For a long home video, HDMI is safer because Wi-Fi tends to develop a personality right when everyone sits down. Use Share > AirPlay in Photos unless you actually need the entire iPhone screen displayed.
By using HDMI, you have to get the adapter that fits into your iPhone’s port, ideally one that also charges the battery. Video output depletes battery power, so an arrangement of cables not allowing to charge the phone is surprisingly close to catastrophic.
The cheap AV adapters tend to max out at 1080p, and many Lightning ones fall beneath that level when compression is taken into consideration. Viewing on a large 4K panel can make your photos and clips look murky compared to the phone’s display, a dubious benefit given the effort of running the cables. Thus it’s not an absolute given that wired is better, because a slideshow of nice shots can actually look better from a recent iPhone over AirPlay than a budget adapter. HDMI has better stability, but not image quality.
The Photos then Share then AirPlay suggestion is good advice and I’d endorse it. One thing that can be a problem for extended viewing sessions is the LG screensaver. Leave a photo up too long without interaction and the TV assumes you’ve gone away, so a family slideshow can be rudely interrupted if the TV decides to turn itself off or go to the screensaver. Check the energy saving and screensaver settings before blaming the Wi-Fi connection.
Do not buy an HDMI adapter based on the fact that your phone has USB-C: the iPhone 16e, for example, does not support wired video output via that port. Thus, the cable fallback is not as universal as this thread suggests, and I would consider checking the specific models of your iPhone and the LG before buying based on whether they require a wireless cast or a wired cable.
