With only 27 minutes before a family slideshow, I tried sending an MP4 from my iPad to Chromecast, but the cast control never appeared and screen mirroring seemed unavailable. Is there a built-in way to stream it, or am I mixing up casting with mirroring and need a different setup?
How I compared the two options
I tested my options two times, first – using video applications that natively support casting to TV, and second – using local media and screen mirroring. I placed both devices on the same Wi-Fi network and checked which content was playing while the tablet was unlocked, what had to be opened on the cast receiver, and what content was supported by each method.
In itself, Chromecast is not compatible with AirPlay, so it cannot be used directly from the iPad. However, there are two methods for using Chromecast with an Apple device. The first method is to use those apps that have a Google Cast button or icon.
Such apps for iPad include YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, Max, Spotify, and Google Photos. In this case, if the Chromecast device is not connected to the TV, this must be done through the Google Home app. Then, to begin casting, the user only has to choose the desired content in the app, press the Google Cast logo, select the device on which they want to cast the screen, and return to the app.
Where the regular Cast button fails
One of the best parts about casting normally is the fact that the Chromecast pulls the media directly from the internet after you start it up. This means that I could stop interacting with the iPad and go do something else, like switching the device to portrait mode or switching over to another app. It would keep playing whatever it was casting.
The catch is that it only works within apps that have a Google Cast. It can’t pull videos from the Photos or Files apps, music from your personal library, or any of the aforementioned stuff from an app that doesn’t have a Cast button. It can’t mirror what’s going on in Safari, games, presentations, notes, or the rest of the iPad’s interface either.
That’s where the second method comes in. The DoCast guide covers an app that can send personal media or mirror the whole display. It supports every Chromecast generation, the Google TV Streamer, and TVs with Chromecast built in from Sony, Hisense, Vizio, and Sharp.
For local videos, photos, or music, start by downloading the DoCast app from the App Store. It requires iPadOS 15 or later. Once installed, confirm that the iPad and receiving device are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, open the app, and choose the Chromecast from the available-device list.
The main screen offers separate options for Videos, Photos, and Music. Simply tap the desired category and choose the file or album that you want to cast – it should appear on your TV. That way, you can bypass the major limitation of the standard Cast feature and gain access to all the media files and personal music stored on your iPad.
Mirroring everything on the iPad
In a similar way, you can also enjoy full-screen mirroring with just a few additional taps. In the DoCast app, navigate to the Screen option in the main screen menu. Remember to tweak the quality option to your liking and then tap Start mirroring. Now, your iPad’s display will be shown on your TV instead of individual media items.
This includes Safari pages, games, presentations, notes, and other apps that do not have a Cast button. This is handy if the content cannot be sent directly, but mirroring naturally works differently from internet casting in that the iPad is transmitting its display in real-time.
On a good Wi-Fi connection, the app provides low-latency mirroring that has less than one second of lag. The video quality is adjustable and auto-rotation maintains the correct image orientation when rotating the iPad from portrait to landscape.
Photo streaming is free and unlimited but screen mirroring, unlimited video streaming, and unlimited music streaming require a Premium plan which also has an option to buy it once for a lifetime.
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The MP4 format does not generate a Cast button — the capability is provided by the application in which the file is being played, and neither Apple Photos nor Files apps allows casting videos to Chromecast devices. The Screen Mirroring submenu in the Control Center is also reserved for AirPlay receivers, so the Chromecast will not appear in the list.
To prepare a slideshow for a public show that is set to start shortly, first, ensure that the TV is not AirPlay-compatible; if it is, use it directly instead of the Chromecast. Otherwise, launch the video in a third-party “cast-enabled” application that has the required receiver built into its code, such as Google Photos, if the file has already been uploaded to the application or can be transferred within the available time frame. Another potential solution is a local-media casting utility, but the setup process, permission requests, and possible codec issues make it a less desirable option when a deadline is approaching.
Thus, it should be noted that iPad OS does not provide native casting functionality; the ability to cast videos must always be provided by a third-party application. If the TV is also AirPlay-incompatible and none of the available applications have the required functionality, the best option is to use an HDMI cable and a compatible adapter.
Realistically, Google Home only sets up the Chromecast; there’s no global Cast button on the iPad. To cast a local MP4, you need a casting app. If you’re going to use screen mirroring, turn on Do Not Disturb and make sure the iPad doesn’t sleep to avoid interruptions to the slideshow. Control Center’s built-in mirroring is AirPlay-only.
The easy-to-miss snag is that iPadOS can block a cast-enabled app from seeing Chromecast unless Local Network access is enabled under Settings > Privacy & Security. That won’t add casting to Photos or Files, though, so a local MP4 still needs a casting app or a wired adapter.
No, because the iPad’s Screen Mirroring controls can’t be used to send stuff to the Chromecast, only the AirPlay receivers. Google Home can’t do that, it’ll manage your Chromecast, not turn your Photos and Files into casting-apps.
An alternative would be to upload the MP4 into YouTube as an unlisted video and cast that via the YouTube-app, instead of trying to install some random screen-mirroring utility five minutes before some people arrive at your house. The obvious catches are your upload-speed, YouTube’s processing-time and your distaste of having a family-video uploaded onto some Google-server.
The .mp4 extension is not a guarantee either. It is a container, and the video and audio codecs inside still have to be supported. If a casting app sees the Chromecast but refuses to play the file, that may be the reason rather than Wi-Fi.
@adminmaster’s Local Network setting matters after you have a Cast-enabled app. It cannot create a Cast button where the app never had one. For a deadline, use YouTube if the upload completes quickly; otherwise stop debugging wireless and play it directly on the TV from whatever input or storage option it accepts.
Realistically, iPadOS will not be able to send a local MP4 to Chromecast itself. If the player does not have a Cast icon, there is no hidden setting that will make one appear. Control Center mirroring is for AirPlay, however, Chromecast support has to come from the app playing the file.
A useful distinction to make here in a time pressure situation is where it fails. If no Cast icon appears, then you need a different player. If a Cast icon is there, but there is no Chromecast listed, it is likely a discovery trouble. Besides Local Network permission, make sure neither device is on guest Wi-Fi, as many routers isolate guest devices even with the network names looking similar. A VPN can interfere too, so make sure to disconnect from it, hook up to the main Wi-Fi network and reopen the casting app.
If the Chromecast appears and connects, but the MP4 still will not play, this is most likely the file’s video or audio codecs are the problem. Converting an MP4 at the last minute is rarely worth the delay. At this point, just play the file through a TV input, or another device with the proper decoding rather than continue to troubleshoot wireless casting.
Twenty-odd minutes is not enough time to bet on wireless working. That’s the real issue in this thread, not which app has a Cast button.
The codec point from @novageek891prime is the one I’d take most seriously here. A lot of ‘it connected but won’t play’ cases come down to the audio track, not the video. Chromecast is fine with H.264 video but chokes on stuff like AC3 or DTS audio inside the MP4, and you won’t find that out until the file is already on screen and silent. No amount of Wi-Fi tweaking fixes that.
I would temper enthusiasm about the YouTube upload idea. While unlisted uploads of a home video for a family would work in theory, the amount of time on Google’s processing queue is a variable not under your control. If it’s a long or large file, the processing could well take longer than the length of your clip, leaving your guests sitting on the couch waiting for a movie reel. It works fine for a short clip and a quick upload, but I wouldn’t bank on it.
Here’s another option that not mentioned: if your iPad has a USB-C connection, you can simply copy the MP4 file from the camera roll to a standard flash drive using the Files app and insert the drive into the TV’s USB port (most modern sets support MP4 playback from a connected flash drive via USB). This method doesn’t require any cast apps with permissions or fiddling with codecs on the tablet, just an HDMI adapter dongle if your TV doesn’t have a USB port.
The local-media casting applications are great for someone who has time to mess around and wants to share photos, but for a slideshow later that night I’d avoid the first-time install and configuration in favor of a wired connection.