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In Windows Phone 8.1 there is a new feature called Project my screen. I've not been able to make it work.

How do I use it?

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In Windows Phone 8.1, there are two ways to project your screen.

Wireless

Projecting your screen wirelessly uses Miracast technology. This requires a compatible receiver (e.g. a Smart TV, or something like the Netgear PTV3000), and will only be supported on newer WP 8.1 handsets. Paul Thurrott reports in his Windows Phone 8.1 review:

But as you might expect, Miracast is limited to newer devices that support it, including the Nokia Lumia 1520, Icon, and 930.

This was also alluded to by Microsoft's Joe Belfiore on Twitter:

WP8.1 supports Miracast but it will require new HW. MAYBE 1520 is new enough, I'm not sure. most WP8 hw won't be.

The Lumia 630 also supports Miracast, as evidenced by this video demonstration (or this one).

Supposedly some older devices like the 820, 920 and 1020 also have a SoC that can support Miracast with a firmware update, but that's yet to be confirmed.

To use Miracast, assuming your receiver is hooked up to your TV (or other display) and the same WiFi network as your phone, simply open the "Project my screen" app and tap on your receiver to connect to it (you may have to wait a bit for your phone to find it).

USB

To project your screen via USB, you need a PC running the Project My Screen app. Simply install the app on your PC and launch it, then connect your phone and it should pop up a prompt asking you if you want to allow screen projection:

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Going through a PC is required, you can't just hook up directly to a TV. From this post at Microsoft Answers:

Note that the USB capability is going to be supported by an app on a PC. It is not just a cable to HDMI in on a TV/Projector. You need that intermediate PC if you are going for a big screen.

If screen projection over USB doesn't work, try the following steps:

  1. Disconnect your phone and exit the Project My Screen app on your PC.
  2. Open Device Manager.
  3. Open the View menu and select "Show hidden devices".
  4. Expand the "Portable Devices" and "Universal Serial Bus devices" categories and uninstall all devices relating to your phone.
  5. Restart your computer if prompted.
  6. Open the Project My Screen app again and connect your phone with USB. The prompt should show up on your phone now.

To stop projecting over USB, you can do any of the following:

  • Disconnect your phone from the computer.
  • Close the Project My Screen app.
  • Go to Settings → Project my screen and tap on the text that says "tap to disconnect".
  • If you have this feature set as one of the quick actions in the action centre, simply swipe down from the top of the screen to open action centre, then tap on the respective quick action button.
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Using wireless device needs to support Miracast and the receiver also supporting Miracast. If via USB, you will have to wait until the desktop App is released by MS.

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  • Can you expand upon this answer? For instance, which Windows Phone devices support Miracast? How to tell if the receiving device supports it?
    – Indrek ♦
    Apr 15 '14 at 12:20
  • Lumia 930/1520 with updated firmware. I read that 820/920/1020 also has SOC which comes with Miracast but needs to be enabled by firmware update. Smart TV with Miracast or something like the Netgear PTV3000
    – Raghu
    Apr 15 '14 at 14:25
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    Can you add reference where you found a special app is needed to broadcast to a PC?
    – caschw
    Apr 15 '14 at 14:33
  • Said app is now available, per other answers
    – Rowland Shaw ♦
    Jun 5 '14 at 11:37
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Under settings > notifications+actions you can manage the quick actions - one of those is "project my screen", and if allocated to a quick action slot, simply swiping the screen down and choosing the project my screen option then searches for compatible displays that it can project to.

On a Nokia Lumia 820, the "project my screen" settings page states:

This phone can't project your screen with a wireless connection. Connect with USB.

To project via USB, you need to download and install the "Project my Screen" application, available free from the Microsoft website.

Once that is installed, and running, connecting your phone will prompt on the phone to allow the projection.

If it doesn't (and mine didn't at first), you may need to go to Control Panel -> Device Manager, and uninstall the drivers for the phone under both under "Portable Devices" and "Universal Serial Bus devices" - in my case a reboot was required, but then it just worked.

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  • What is really meant by compatible displays? Special tvs? monitors?
    – caschw
    Apr 15 '14 at 14:32
  • @caschw I'm trying to find a compatible display myself; A tethered PC with the current Windows Phone app doesn't suffice, and an old DLNA TV doesn't seem to work. I would expect it to work with anything that a Windows 8.1 PC can use with its "Project To" functionality, but I'll experiment/research some more...
    – Rowland Shaw ♦
    Apr 15 '14 at 16:10
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Scott Hanselman has posted a link to the Project My Screen App that you need to install on your Windows PC to project your WP 8.1 screen to it via USB.

Direct download link: http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/2/7/A271EFFF-6C9E-4E9B-9259-0F72FDEDD153/ProjectMyScreenApp.msi

Scott's blog entry: http://www.hanselman.com/blog/WindowsPhone81HasMyAttentionNow.aspx

Or if you have Nokia phone, you can use the Nokia Beamer app. It's tuned more to an over-the-Internet or cellular type of bandwidth though.

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