Netflix bans streaming from your phone to your TV

Netflix no longer supports the streaming of its shows and movies from phones has Televisions for most subscribers. Instead, people will have to use the official Netflix Smart TV app or connect devices directly to watch the streaming service on their TV.

The streaming company has not yet commented on the reason for this change. However, on a Netflix Help Center page, the company appears to encourage people to use the built-in Netflix apps for TVs and devices.

A Netflix representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Several websites report that casting still works on older versions of the Netflix app and that some devices, such as older Chromecast models, may still appear under the Cast button option. In our own testing, an LG TV that was previously available for casting no longer has this option.

It’s unclear exactly when Netflix made this policy change. The first report of the casting ban appears to come from a Reddit post from November 14.

According to the Netflix Help Center page, only those not on a basic ad-supported plan can still access the feature for older devices, such as Chromecasts. The help page explicitly mentions the few devices that still support streaming with Netflix:

• Chromecast 3rd generation or older (no remote)
• Google Nest Hub smart display
• Some Vizio TVs
• Some Compal televisions

If you’re planning to get around Netflix’s casting ban with screen mirroringyou’re probably out of luck. Netflix’s help page specifically mentions that users on ad-supported plans will not have access to “streaming or mirroring” even for older devices.

When we tried to mirror the screen of an iPhone 17 Pro running iOS 26.1 to a TCL TV, we received the following “E100” error using a Netflix Standard plan (no ads).

Netflix’s decision to end casting comes as movie and TV services (and music services like Spotify) are regularly increasing their pricesleading some viewers to cancel streaming services to save money.