* Screen mirroring, tablet to TV. Bring back HDMI . . . *

hybernia

We have a dumb 42" Sony TV purchased in May 2010 and working just fine. No reason to change it. I also have an Asus Transformer Infinity tablet, purchased 2011 but no longer working just fine: the famous 'Asus lag' is worse than ever. I've just replaced it with a new Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2016) 10.1 inch tablet.

One of the things the Asus did well was connect up to the Sony TV via HDMI cable. Though both tablet and TV are old and dumb they were still smart enough to manage the simple task of transmitting and receiving data over a cable.

When researching which tablet to buy, I learned that the way I'm used to doing things is pathetically old-fashioned. So-oo last century. My new Samsung tablet, therefore, won't allow me to be so uncool any more. It won't transmit anything by HDMI cable to my TV. Instead, I must mirror the Samsung screen to the Sony screen.

Samsung UK apparently sold a device that could be plugged into a dumb TV enabling casting. (I understand the difference.) However: Samsung has now stopped selling the device, reportedly because competing products are now better than the Samsung offering.

At the same time as purchasing the tablet, we also purchased a substantially discounted Amazon Fire Stick Mk 2. The discount was given because being so incredibly stupefyingly old-fashioned as to use HDMI cables, we're also incredibly stupefyingly old-fashioned enough to be Amazon LoveFilm customers, paying £7.99 a month for DVDs by post.

But that's so-oo last century too. Amazon is scrapping that service in October. We're switching our £7.99 a month to Amazon Prime instead.

Amazon told us the new Fire Stick Mk2 handles screen mirroring. Samsung told us the new Galaxy Tab A handles screen mirroring. But surprise, surprise: nothing at all happens when we attempt to get the devices to intercommunicate.

Question: does anyone know how to get an all-new Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 tablet to play nicely with an all-new Amazon Fire Stick Mk2 to actually achieve mirroring?

Question: does anyone know of a Samsung Galaxy Tab A user forum? My old Asus had a great forum, find out anything you needed to know from other users. But I can't identify any similar user group on the 'Net.

The various Android forums have proved to be of no help where my new tablet is concerned. Samsung USA does run a 'support community', but UK members aren't welcome: one should, instead, use 'your home country's support community'. But Samsung UK doesn't offer anything of the kind (thanks, Samsung UK.).

As for asking Samsung UK online for help: forget it. I typed 'mirroring problems' into the Q&A and Samsung had nothing to say. I deleted the word 'problems' (because that's clearly not a word Samsung ever wishes to contemplate) and was told: 'How To Turn On Screen Mirroring'. Yeah. Right. And as for asking Amazon UK: likewise.

Help appreciated. Thanks. Meantime: I'm keeping the old Asus and my HDMI cable. It's dumb and uncool and yet, and yet: it works. . .

DavidFx

Anything to do with technology - Ask a child ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnKW76FUswk

hybernia

Thanks David. Cute kid on that video.

No help though: it's merely a walk-through of the simple Firestick instructions.

He seems to have a Samsung phone of some type but doesn't say which. He follows the onscreen instructions and mirrors his phone to the TV and it works. I follow the same onscreen instructions to mirror my tablet to the TV and it doesn't.

Seems to me that mirroring may be device-dependent where Samsung phones and tablets are concerned. That there's a difference in the hardware config according to model, type, and price.

debitcardmayhem

Try here http://firetvblog.com/2015/01/mirror-phone-tablet-screen-fire-tv/

John_Gray

I don't think I've yet bought a laptop or PC which has something as new as an HDMI socket! All the ones I get at still SVGA.

(Admittedly the PCs and laptops are second-hand/refurbished...)

another_casualty

I'm an Apple person ( hate their penny pinching antics though).
I was wondering if you had a software update along the line, that now prevents you from doing what you did before?
Just a thought

hybernia

debitcardmayhem wrote: »

Try here http://firetvblog.com/2015/01/mirror-phone-tablet-screen-fire-tv/

Thanks DCM. The video reinforces my impression that Samsung is using different specs on different devices.

The video says the Firestick (it's the first version, not the latest) works with all devices running Android 4 and above.

This tablet is running Android 7. Nougat. And nope. There's no mirroring. . .

Geodark

John_Gray wrote: »

I don't think I've yet bought a laptop or PC which has something as new as an HDMI socket! All the ones I get at still SVGA.

(Admittedly the PCs and laptops are second-hand/refurbished...)

I havent seen a new laptop in a while that still comes with SVGA, all the ones I have had for the last few years have had hdmi

hybernia

another_casualty wrote: »

I'm an Apple person ( hate their penny pinching antics though).
I was wondering if you had a software update along the line, that now prevents you from doing what you did before?
Just a thought

Thanks AC. Nope, no update, the tablet came with Nougat installed. And I've never been able to mirror the damn thing at any time anyway.

My OH is an Apple person who has never encountered difficulties using iOS or owned an Apple device that doesn't do what its manufacturer said it would.

Me, I'm an Android user, though I wonder why because there are often difficulties with the OS and frequent tales of Android devices never doing what their manufacturers said they would. As here, with this 2016 Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1" Android. (Purchased because I happen to like a widescreen tablet, and didn't like being dictated to by Apple about 4:3,)

I suspect that OH would be up and running within moments were he to want to mirror his iPad Pro 9.7.

As yet, I have still to find a single, solitary Internet post, or YouTube video, demonstrating that the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1" can mirror to an Amazon Firestick. Verbiage and video aplenty . . . but nothing of specific relevance to the specific intercommunication of the two products I'm using. Grr.

Geodark

Have to say I am not keen on mirroring using the firestick, I ended up getting a miracast device from amazon for about £12

almillar

Could you let us know what steps you're going through, OP? Are you getting to the screen mirroring page on the tablet, where it looks for a 'TV', and on the other side, are you getting to the page on the Amazon device where it is waiting for a device to connect? I've experience of the Android side, but to a Sony TV with mirroring built in.
Alternative - throw money at the problem and buy a Google Chromecast.