Screen mirroring keeps disconnecting

Why does screen mirroring keep dropping out?

Repeated disconnects are almost always Wi-Fi interference or power management, not the app. Miracast opens a direct device-to-device link that competes with your normal Wi-Fi traffic, so a congested 2.4GHz band, aggressive battery saving, or the phone's screen locking will each break the stream.

Step by step

1. Turn off battery optimisation for the mirroring app

   Android aggressively suspends background network activity. In Settings, Apps, find the app, then Battery, and set it to Unrestricted. On Samsung, also remove it from Sleeping apps under Device care. This alone resolves a large share of drop-outs after two to three minutes.

2. Stop the screen from locking

   On most Android devices, locking the screen suspends the mirroring session. Set the screen timeout to 10 minutes or longer while mirroring.

3. Move to the 5GHz band, or move closer

   The 2.4GHz band is shared with microwaves, Bluetooth and neighbouring networks. If both devices support 5GHz, use it. Miracast also degrades quickly through walls because it is a direct link rather than a router-mediated one - reduce the distance and the number of walls between phone and TV.

4. Rule out thermal throttling

   Mirroring encodes video continuously and heats the phone quickly, especially while gaming. If drops start after five to ten minutes and the phone is warm, that is thermal throttling. Take the case off, stop charging while mirroring, and lower the streaming resolution if the app allows it.

What cannot be fixed

When to use a different method

For gaming or anything where latency matters, use a USB-C to HDMI cable. A wired connection has no interference, no throttling and effectively no lag.

Related

• Why does my TV not appear in the list of devices?
• Why is there no audio when I mirror to my TV?
• Check whether your phone and TV are compatible at all

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