One of the aspects that I loved about iOS was the ability to quickly and easily share my iPhone or iPad display on a projector via a USB or VGA cable. As one who regularly is showing mobile apps for the day job, it was handy and efficient. Since moving to Windows Phone I’ve been looking for away to do the same thing it actually was right under my nose the whole time. In fact, in some ways, it’s a little bit easier. In this How To I’m going to show you how to project your Windows Phone screen to your Windows PC via a USB cable. There is no special cable required – your phone’s charging cable will do the trick – and only requires a free download from Microsoft to do it.
For this How To you will need to have a Windows Phone running v8 or v8.1 and a Windows PC running Windows 7, 8 or 8.1. You will also need your USB-to-MicroUSB charging cable that comes with your Windows Phone. Finally, you will need the Project My Screen for Windows Phone app from Microsoft which is a free download.
First, download the Project My Screen for Windows Phone app from Microsoft. This is a small install for your Windows PC. It is a small install, less than 1MB, so you won’t need to worry about a lot of storage space being consumed. Once the app is installed, double-click it to start it.
Next, connect your Windows Phone to your PC via your phone’s USB cable. You can use the same one that came with your
Confirmation To Share Your Windows Phone Screen
Windows Phone so there is no special cable required. This is a big plus over iOS devices which require a special and expensive connector. Once you connect your Windows Phone to your PC, you will receive a notification on your Windows Phone asking you if you want to allow your screen to be projected. Tap yes.
At this point you should see your Windows Phone screen on your Windows PC in the Project My Windows Phone app.
As you interact with your Windows Phone you will see that action on your PC. It is a real-time connected app so you can run apps and use your Windows Phone normally to see those on your PC. In my screenshot to the left you see that I have this windowed on my PC but you can easily make it
Project My Windows Phone App for Windows
full screen by tapping the F key on your PC (to return to windowed screen tap the ESC key). Likewise you can change the screen’s orientation by tapping the left or right arrows on your keyboard and to return it to portrait mode, tap the up arrow key.
The beauty of this free app to Project your Windows Phone to your PC is that it literally is start, connect and accept away from working: Start the app, connect your Windows Phone and Accept permission to project it to your PC. There is no complicated configuration required.
For more How To’s and tips for Windows Phone and Windows, be sure to check out my How To pages for both. You can find the Windows Phone page here and the Windows page here. Have a tip or trick? Be sure to use the Contact page to let me know. I’ll be sure to give you the proper credit for the find if I post it.
