You get Facebook on a smart TV today by sending it there from another device, not by installing an app on the TV. Meta has ended service for the Facebook Watch app for TVs, so the practical routes are casting a video from the Facebook app on your phone, mirroring your phone or computer screen, opening Facebook in the TV's own web browser, or plugging in a laptop with an HDMI cable. Which one suits you depends on your TV and on whether you want to watch videos or use the whole site.
Why the old instructions no longer work
Many guides still tell you to open your TV's app store, search for Facebook or Facebook Watch, and install it. That no longer works. Meta's help center states that the service for the Facebook Watch app for TVs has ended and that you can no longer use it. If an old copy of the app is still sitting on your TV's home screen, it will not bring back your feed or your videos.
Meta's own list of where Facebook video still works is short: the Facebook website, the Facebook mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android, and Facebook Lite for Android. The same page says you can still stream Facebook videos to your TV with the Facebook app. In other words, the phone or computer does the work and the TV is the screen.
The options at a glance
| Method | What you need | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Cast a video from the Facebook app | Phone or tablet and a TV or streaming device on the same Wi-Fi | Watching videos and reels |
| Mirror your whole screen | AirPlay, Google Cast, Smart View or Miracast support on the TV | Scrolling your feed, photos and groups |
| TV web browser | A smart TV with a built-in browser | Using Facebook with no second device |
| Laptop and HDMI cable | A laptop with a video output and a cable | The full desktop site with a keyboard |
Cast a video from the Facebook app
This is the route Meta documents. Facebook now treats posted videos as reels, and its instructions are for streaming a reel from your Feed or the Reels tab.
- Make sure your TV has built-in streaming, or is connected to a streaming device such as Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV or Android TV. Meta also lists Samsung TVs.
- Connect your phone and the TV to the same Wi-Fi network.
- Open the Facebook app and find the reel you want to watch.
- Tap the reel to open the video player.
- Tap Options, then tap Cast video.
- Choose your TV from the list of available devices.
On a recent iPhone, Facebook needs permission to see devices on your local network. Tap OK when asked, and if you declined earlier, open your phone's settings, find Facebook and turn on Local network. Meta also notes that Chromecast is not available to cast from Apple iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad, so an iPhone owner with a Chromecast should use a different route.
You can do the same from a computer. Open Facebook in a browser, click the reel so it plays full screen, click Options in the top right corner of the player, then Cast video, and pick your TV. Meta adds that not all smart TVs support streaming reels from a computer.
Mirror your whole phone screen
Casting sends one video. Mirroring copies everything on your screen, so it is the way to scroll your feed, read comments or show photos on the big screen.
- iPhone or iPad to an AirPlay TV. Apple's steps are to open Control Center, tap Screen Mirroring, and choose your TV. If a passcode appears on the TV, enter it on your phone. Apple TV and AirPlay-compatible smart TVs can receive it.
- Android to Chromecast or Google TV. Google's route is to swipe down from the top to open Quick Settings, tap Cast or Screen Cast, and select your TV. Alternatively, open the Google Home app, press and hold your device's tile, tap Cast, then Cast my screen, and choose to cast the whole screen or one app. Google says this needs Android 8.0 or later.
- Samsung Galaxy to a Samsung TV. Swipe down to open the Quick settings panel, tap Smart View, pick your TV and tap Start now.
Mirroring shows notifications and anything else that pops up on your phone, so silence alerts before you share the screen with a room.
Use the TV's web browser
If your TV has a browser, you can go to the Facebook website with no phone involved. Open the browser, enter the Facebook address in the address bar, and log in. Expect it to be slower than a computer. Typing a password with a remote takes patience, and if you use two-factor authentication you will need your phone nearby for the code anyway.
Log out when you finish, especially on a shared TV. Anyone who picks up the remote later can otherwise open your account.
Connect a laptop with HDMI
The most dependable option is also the oldest. Plug a laptop into the TV with an HDMI cable, switch the TV to that HDMI input, and open Facebook in the laptop's browser. You get the full desktop site, a real keyboard, and no dependence on Wi-Fi discovery or app permissions. Some thin laptops only have USB-C ports, in which case you need a USB-C to HDMI adapter or cable that supports video.
Notes for each platform
Samsung. Samsung smart TVs have a built-in web browser that you open from the apps on the Smart Hub home screen. Many models also accept AirPlay from an iPhone; Samsung puts the switch under Settings, All Settings, Connection, Apple AirPlay Settings. Galaxy phones can use Smart View, and Meta lists Samsung TVs as a casting target.
LG. LG's webOS TVs include a web browser: press Home on the remote and select Web browser, then type the address. LG notes that browsing speed depends on your network and that the browser is more limited than one on a computer. Many LG TVs from the webOS 4.0 generation onward support AirPlay 2, which covers mirroring from an iPhone, but LG's compatibility list goes by model series, so check yours before you rely on it.
Roku. Roku says most current Roku players and Roku TV models support screen mirroring from Android and Windows devices, with some exceptions among older Express models. Apple devices use AirPlay instead, on compatible Roku devices. Roku does not support Google Cast, so the Chromecast route does not apply.
Amazon Fire TV. Fire TV has Amazon's Silk web browser and a screen mirroring feature, and Meta lists Fire TV as a place to cast Facebook reels. The exact settings menu for turning on mirroring varies by device, so check your Fire TV's display settings if your phone cannot find it.
Android TV and Google TV. These have Google Cast built in, which makes them the easiest target from an Android phone or a computer running Chrome. From an iPhone, use AirPlay on a different device or mirror through another method, because Meta says Chromecast casting is not available from iOS.
Apple TV. Apple TV is an AirPlay receiver, so an iPhone or iPad can cast a Facebook reel to it or mirror its whole screen through Control Center. There is no Facebook app to install on it.
Picking the right route
Start with what you have. If you mostly want videos, cast from the Facebook app and keep your phone as the remote. If you want to browse like you do on a computer, a laptop on HDMI beats every wireless option for reliability. Put the TV and your phone on the same Wi-Fi network before you try anything else, because that one mismatch causes most failed connections, and skip any TV app store listing that claims to be Facebook for your TV.
