Samsung Tab A 10.5 to an HDMI TV?

[SailorJerrys]

Howdy folks, so my mother recently purchased a Samsung Tab A 10.5 to replace her broken Tab S (the screens been broken for at least two years, and I don't have the guts to try to replace it myself), but she purchased it to watch TV shows and such.

Then we recently bought a SmartTV (RCA), and she told me the purpose she got it was to use her tablet to watch on it. Unfortunately, I don't think the resolution of the Tab A is anywhere near 4k, but to be fair her streaming sources aren't 4k either, so shouldn't be a concern.

So, to get started, I purchased a 4K USB-C to HDMI adapter. Just received it today and it works with NO issues at all for my phone (S9), it connects to the tablet, and says 'HDMI connected' on the tablet, however the TV itself won't pick it up. Is there something I'm doing wrong, or have to enable on the tablet, or is it just not capable to do with the Tab A 10.5?

Cheers for the help in advance, if the question is un-answerable, I understand!

(PS: If all else fails, will a Chromecast stream the tablet screen, or does it only stream certain applications? That's my next step, if the cables wont work!)

 

[SpookDroid]

Unfortunately while the Tab S does support MHL (HDMI output via USB), the Tab A does not, so your only option is wireless mirroring.

A Chromecast will do that but if the RCA is a Smart TV and it has mirroring input, then you can skip the Chromecast. It's worth noting that mirroring to a Chromecast, while possible, is not the best way to use it. From sources that support Chromecast (like Netflix, Hulu, etc.) it's better to let the Chromecast do the streaming (leaving the tablet to act as a remote and able to do other things since it's not really streaming anything). If you want to view local files, most smart TVs also support opening files remotely, so the tablet will serve up the data, but will not actually be playing the video, letting you use the tablet for other things or just not having to have the screen on all the time.