How to Connect Laptop to TV with HDMI Cable

Want to connect your laptop to a TV using an HDMI cable? It’s easy. In this guide, you’ll learn how to do it step by step.

• Step 1:

Power your laptop and TV (with HDMI port) and prepare an HDMI cable.

• Step 2:

Plug the HDMI cable into your laptop and TV ports.

• Step 3:

You may see your TV with a blue screen showing a No signal message. Press the INPUT or SOURCE button on your TV remote. Then use the Arrow icon to choose HDMI 1 on your TV screen.

• Step 4:

Tada! You may see the same screen as your laptop on the TV.

How If There’s No Sound from TV Speakers?

If you can’t hear the audio from your TV, make sure the sound isn’t muted, and the volume is set correctly on your laptop and TV.

In addition, set your HDMI audio output device as the default device.

Right-click on your laptop’s screen’s sound icon at the bottom right. Then click Playback devices.

Highlight your HDMI audio output device and click Set Default.

NOTE: If you cannot see your HDMI audio output device, right-click on the blank area and tick on Show Disabled Devices.

Still No Sound?

If there’s still no sound from your TV’s speakers after all the settings above, we highly recommend you update your HDMI audio output device driver. You can download the latest driver from your device manufacturer’s website. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds. It needs you to find the correct driver and download it all manually.

If you’re uncomfortable playing with device drivers, we recommend using Driver Easy. It’s a tool that detects, downloads, and (if you go pro) installs any driver updates your computer needs.

To update your drivers with Driver Easy, click the Scan Now button, then when it lists the drivers you need to update, click Update. The correct drivers will be downloaded, and you can install them – either manually through Windows or automatically.

How If I Couldn’t See The Same Screen With My Laptop On The TV?

• On your laptop’s keyboard, press the Windows logo key + R key together to open the Run box.
• Type control in the box and press Enter to open Control Panel.
• Click Display when viewed by Large icons.
• Click Adjust resolution.
• Select TV from the Display drop-down list.
• Change the Resolution to earn the best view on the TV screen. Then click OK to save your settings.

How to Connect Your MacBook to A TV

Connecting your Apple laptop, be it a MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air, to your TV can be as simple as connecting one end of a cable to your MacBook and the other end to your TV. Or, it can be as complicated as using specific adapters compatible with your laptop and your TV’s available ports.

Available ports vary per laptop and TV model, so before you attempt to connect to a TV, make sure that they either have compatible ports or that you have the necessary adapters to hook them up.

Apple Laptop Models and Ports

Apple laptops have at least six video-related ports: micro DVI port, Mini DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 2 port, Thunderbolt 3 port, HDMI port, and USB port.

Some laptops have at least two of them built-in (usually a USB port in combination with either a micro DVI port, Mini DisplayPort, or Thunderbolt port), and some, like the MacBook version, only have one (although you can use specific adapters to accommodate other types of video connectors). Much older models, however, typically have more built-in ports, including VGA and HDMI ports.

TV Ports

Like Apple laptop ports, TV ports can vary by model and brand. There are, however, specific ports that are common among them, such as the following:

HDMI Ports

 The HDMI or High Definition Multimedia Interface port is probably the most common type of port on electronic devices. These ports have been around since early 2000 because of their ability to transfer large amounts of data (allowing for higher-resolution videos). If your MacBook has a built-in HDMI port, it is the easiest way to connect it to a TV.

DisplayPort

The DisplayPort is a successor to the HDMI port. It is fairly common in laptops and PCs, but far less common in TVs than in its predecessor.

DVI Ports

DVI or Digital Visual Interface ports are standard in electronic devices released from the late 90s to the early 00s. They can usually be identified by their rectangular shape, which has similarly rectangular holes, and usually comes in the color white.

VGA Ports

VGA ports are standard in devices released between the late 80s and 90s. However, there might be some later devices that still use them. They can be easily identified by their elongated shape and the circular holes in them. They usually come in the colors blue, black, or pink.

Connect Your Laptop to a TV

After you’ve confirmed that your computer and TV have compatible ports or that you have the necessary adapters to connect them, you can connect your laptop to a TV.

Connect a Laptop with an HDMI port to a TV with an HDMI Port

• Plug one end of the HDMI cable into your laptop.
• Plug the other end of the HDMI cable into your TV.

After you’ve connected your laptop to your TV, your Mac will treat your TV as an external display. You will then need to tell your laptop how you want it to use your TV: as a second display that shows an entirely different screen from what is being shown on your computer, or as a mirrored display that shows the same content currently being shown on your laptop.

To tell your laptop how you want it to use your TV:

• Go to the Apple Menu
• Open “System Preferences.”
• Click on “Displays.”
• Click on the “Arrangement” tab.
• Tick the box that says “Mirror Displays” if you want your TV to show the same content that is being shown on your laptop screen.
• Leave the box as it is if you want to use the TV as a second display.

After setting up the display, you can tell your computer which audio source you would like it to use: your laptop’s built-in speakers or your TV.

To do this:

• Go to the Apple Menu
• Open “System Preferences.
• Click on “Sound.”
• Click on “Output.”
• Select “TV.”

Connect your Laptop with a USB-C port to a TV with an HDMI port.

The latest Apple MacBook models come with a USB-C port and not much else; however, you can still connect your computer to a TV with an HDMI port by using a USB-C to HDMI adapter.

To do this:

• Plug one end of the USB-C to HDMI adapter into your laptop’s USB-C port.
• Plug one end of the HDMI cable into your TV’s HDMI port.
• Plug in the other end of the HDMI cable to the other end of the USB-C to HDMI adapter.
• Follow the same steps as above to set your TV as the audio source

Connect Your Laptop with a Thunderbolt port to a TV with an HDMI Port

Built-in HDMI ports have long been removed in the newer Apple laptop models and have since been replaced by Thunderbolt ports to save on space. If your Mac doesn’t have an HDMI port but has a Thunderbolt port, you can use a Thunderbolt adapter to connect your Laptop to a TV.

To connect your Laptop to a TV using the Thunderbolt port:

• Get a Thunderbolt adapter.
• Plug the Thunderbolt adapter into your laptop.
• Plug one end of your HDMI cable into your TV’s HDMI port.
• Plug the other end of the HDMI cable into your Thunderbolt adapter.
• Follow the same steps above to set your TV as the audio source.

Connect Your Laptop with a Mini DisplayPort to a TV with an HDMI Port.

Before the Thunderbolt ports, laptops used to come with Mini DisplayPort. If they are what your Mac has, you can connect it to a TV with an HDMI Port by using a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter.

To do this:

• Get a Mini DisplayPort adapter.
• Plug the Mini DisplayPort adapter into your laptop.
• Plug one end of your HDMI cable into your TV’s HDMI port.
• Plug the other end of the HDMI cable into your Mini DisplayPort adapter.
• Follow the same steps above to set your TV as the audio source.

Connect your Laptop with a DVI port to a TV with an HDMI Port.

Much older Apple laptops (like those released around 2000) usually have DVI ports. If your machine has one, and you want to connect it to a TV with an HDMI port, you will need a DVI to HDMI adapter to connect your laptop to a TV.

To do this:

• Plug one end of the DVI into the HDMI adapter into your laptop’s DVI port.
• Plug one end of the HDMI cable into your TV’s HDMI port.
• Plug in the other end of the HDMI cable to the other end of the DVI to the HDMI adapter.
• Some adapters do not work with HDMI audio, so you might not hear any sound from your TV after you connect it to your Mac. If you encounter this problem, you could work around it by following these troubleshooting tips.

Connect your Laptop to a TV with a VGA Port

HDMI ports are standard to modern TVs, but for older ones, there is a good chance that they have a VGA port instead. Native VGA ports have long been gone on laptop models. If your computer still has them, then you can connect one end of the VGA cable to your laptop and the other end to your TV, but if not, you can connect your laptop to a TV with a VGA port by using a Thunderbolt adapter that has one.

To do this:

• Plug the Thunderbolt adapter into your Mac.
• Connect one end of the VGA cable to your TV’s VGA port (Make sure it’s held tightly in place).
• Connect the other end of the VGA cable to the VGA port of your Thunderbolt adapter.

Ending Line

Your TV should now be able to play what’s being shown on your Laptop screen. Should you encounter further compatibility issues, you may seek assistance from an official Apple support forum or your TV manufacturer’s customer support line.

That’s all there is to it. Hopefully, you can enjoy the large screen now.

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below; thanks.