Cast Your Phone to a TV Without Wi-Fi or Internet

First, what does “without Wi-Fi” mean for you?

• You have a router, but the internet is down (outage, unpaid bill, a router with no uplink). Your phone and TV can still talk to each other on that local network.
• You have no router at all (hotel, caravan, holiday home, office restrictions). You need another way to link the phone and the TV.

Casting always needs your phone and your TV to reach each other. That link doesn't have to be your home Wi-Fi, and for local files it doesn't have to include internet access either.

Method 1: use your local network without internet (DLNA)

If your router is on but the internet is down, nothing changes for DLNA / UPnP casting: your phone sends the video, photo or song directly to the TV over the local network.

1. Connect your phone and your TV to the same router (Wi-Fi, or an Ethernet cable for the TV).
2. Open SmartGoCast, tap the cast button and pick your TV.
3. Choose a video, photo or song stored on your phone and cast it.

One thing to know: Chromecast generally needs internet access, because it fetches its casting receiver from Google when a session starts. DLNA / UPnP TVs don't have that limitation.

Method 2: build a mini network with a second phone or a travel router

No router around? Create one.

1. Turn on the hotspot of a second phone or tablet, or switch on a pocket / travel router.
2. Connect your TV to that network in the TV's Wi-Fi settings.
3. Connect your own phone to the same network.
4. Open SmartGoCast and cast, exactly as in Method 1.

This works because both devices are plain clients of the same network. On most phones the hotspot works even with mobile data switched off, and pocket routers are cheap and very reliable for travel.

Method 3: use your own phone's hotspot

Some TVs can join the hotspot of the phone that is casting. When it works it's the quickest solution: no extra hardware.

The catch: on some phones the hotspot doesn't forward the discovery messages TVs use to announce themselves, so the TV may never show up in the list. If that happens, switch to Method 2 or Method 4.

Method 4: Miracast (Wi-Fi Direct) screen mirroring

Miracast creates a direct link between your phone and the TV: no router and no internet. Android brands call it Smart View, Cast, Screen Cast, Wireless display or Wireless projection.

• It mirrors the whole screen instead of sending a file to the TV, so your phone stays busy.
• Not every phone or TV supports it. Some recent phones, such as Google Pixel models, don't include Miracast.
• Streaming apps often show a black screen when mirrored because of copy protection.

SmartGoCast has a Screen mirroring tab that explains the steps and opens your phone's built-in screen mirroring settings in one tap. Our guide to mirroring Android to a TV walks through it.

Method 5: an HDMI cable (the most reliable)

If nothing wireless works, a cable always does.

• A USB-C to HDMI adapter only works if your phone supports video output (DisplayPort Alt Mode). Check your phone's specifications first.
• Plug the adapter into the phone, an HDMI cable into the adapter and the other end into the TV, then select that HDMI input.
• Latency is close to zero, which is ideal for presentations and games.

Which method should you choose?

If the TV still doesn't appear

• Turn off any VPN on your phone: it can send local traffic somewhere else.
• Make sure both devices use the same network name, not a guest network.
• Router options such as client isolation (AP isolation) stop devices from seeing each other.
• Restart the TV and your phone's Wi-Fi.

More ideas in TV not showing up in the cast list.