How to mirror the smartphone screen on the PC

If your intention is to transmit the entire screen of your phone to your computer, then you’ve come to the right guide! In fact, in the next few lines we will explain in detail how to mirror the smartphone screen on the PC using some very intuitive applications.

Preliminary operations

Before getting to the heart of our new tutorial today, it is necessary to perform some preliminary operations that include the installation of the ADB drivers on the computer and the activation of USB debugging.

For the uninitiated, the ADB ( Android Debug Bridge ) is a tool that allows you to allow easy communication between an Android device and a computer and to access features otherwise not accessible from the device itself.

To be able to download ADB, you just need to download the SDK Platform Tools by connecting to the download page on the Android Developer site and pressing Download SDK Platform Tools for Windows, Download SDK Platform Tools for Mac or Download SDK Platform Tools for Linux depending on of the operating system in your possession.

Alternatively, you can directly download Android Studio which allows you to install ADB more easily through the SDK Manager. You can proceed with downloading the suite by connecting to the dedicated Web page, always present on the Android Developer site, by clicking on the Download Android Studio button. If the Internet portal has not correctly detected the operating system installed on your computer, then press on the Download Options item and click on the correct link.

Once ADB and its drivers have been successfully installed on your computer, you can now proceed to enable USB debugging via Settings.

Let’s see how to proceed:

Open the Android Settings by pressing on the gear icon on the main screen, in the drawer or by pulling down the notifications curtain and then choose Info on the phone.
Now, you find the Build number item and plug it on it 7 consecutive times until a message appears indicating the correct activation of the developer options.
In the next step, go back to the Settings menu and choose Developer Options.
Completed the procedure identifying the wording Debug USB and pressing on the dedicated switch bringing it from OFF to ON.

How to see the smartphone screen on the PC via AirDroid

The first application that we advise you to use to project the phone screen on your computer is called AirDroid. It is a free software that allows you to do many things including screen mirroring.

Let’s see how to make the most of it:

The first thing to do is to proceed with downloading the AirDroid and AirMirror apps from the Google Play Store.
Once the AirDroid installation is complete, click on Log In or Register to log in to your account or to create a new one by following the wizard.
At this point, start AirMirror, tap on the Login button and enter the same credentials used on AirDroid to make the communication.
Now, on your computer, connect to the official website of AirDroid, always carried the same account and then click on ‘icon AirMirror present in the main screen AirDroid Web.
A notification should now appear on the smartphone screen. Press the Grant button to proceed with mirroring.

The procedure seen earlier is valid only for Android devices with root. In the event that the device does not have such permissions, you will need to take additional steps.

The first thing to do is to connect the phone to the PC using the USB cable and possibly enable USB debugging from the settings as reported earlier. At this point, log in to AirDroid Web and then click on the AirMirror icon. After that, the website will ask you to install an extension for Google Chrome that allows you to connect your smartphone to view the screen remotely.

Alternatively, you can download the service client on your computer by connecting to the download page and pressing on Windows or Mac OS X depending on the operating system in use. Once the installation is complete, start the software, click on the binoculars in the left sidebar of the program and choose Non-root.

After that, select the device to be connected and click on Connect. A confirmation message should appear indicating that the connection was successful. Now, press the binoculars again, choose the device to be projected through the My devices section and then press on AirMirror to start the screen projection.

How to mirror the smartphone screen on the PC via TeamViewer

Another program you can take advantage of is TeamViwer which allows you to remotely manage a smartphone or a tablet using the QuickSupport application. You can download the app for Android and iOS from the Google Play Store and from the App Store while on the computer you need to download the client by connecting to the download page and simply pressing the green button Download TeamViewer (after selecting Windows, Mac or Linux through the menu just above).

At this point, on Windows and MacOS it is necessary to follow the normal installation procedure while on iPhone and Android you need to perform preliminary operations. After completing the installation of the TeamViewer QuickSupport app, on iOS, open the Settings by pressing on the gear icon on the main screen, choose Control Center and then tap on Customize controls. Through the Additional controls section, press on the item + screen recording to add it to the control center so as to start the QuickSupport app later. On Android, instead, start the app and press the Download button from the notice that appears to download the requested add-on.

At this point, jot the 9-digit number provided at the item Your ID within the app TeamViewer QuickSupport and then insert it into the desktop client in ID caller, activate the option Remote Control and click the button Connect.

To proceed with the connection, tap Allow on the notification that appears on the smartphone screen. On iOS, on the other hand, it is necessary to make one more step, that is to start recording by clicking on the recording button in the Control Center, then select TeamViewer from the menu that appears and tap on Start transmission.

How to view the smartphone screen on the PC via Connect

If you have a computer with Windows 10, then you can take advantage of the Connect application which is already pre-installed on the Microsoft operating system. This tool allows the transmission of the screen on the computer through the Miracast protocol. Before seeing the steps to be followed specifically, you need to make sure that the Android device supports that technology and that both are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

That said, let’s discover together the steps to follow:

Click on the Start button and proceed with opening the Settings by pressing on the gear icon. Alternatively, use the key combination Win + I.
At this point, click on System and then choose Projection in this PC via the left sidebar.
After that, if the message appears in red This device does not support receiving Miracast, so you can not do projections wirelessly, it means that you can not leverage Connect to Windows 10. Otherwise, customize the various options available according to your needs.
Now, type the term connect in the Start search field and press on the most appropriate result to start the Microsoft app.
Now, from your Android device, open the application that allows you to mirror and wait for the computer to search.
Once identified, just click on the icon of the PC on which the Connect app is open and wait for the projection to start.

How to see the smartphone screen on the PC: alternatives

In addition to the solutions listed above, it is possible to use alternative programs to mirror the screen of your Android or iOS smartphone/tablet on the Windows or Mac PC. Below is the complete list: