How to Use a Laptop as an External Display (Without HDMI)

Open Projection Settings. You can use the search field in the bottom-left corner of the Windows taskbar or press the key combination ⊞ Win+K and then click on "Projection Settings" in the pop-up.

• "Miracast" is the software used for projection settings on older versions of Windows. However, starting from Windows 8, this feature is called "Projection Settings".

Activate the Wireless Display feature. To use any projection settings, you first need to add "Wireless Display" as a feature. The "Projection Settings" homepage will prompt you to do this. Once added, you’ll be redirected back to the homepage.

• If Windows doesn’t prompt you to activate "Wireless Display," you can manually add it by navigating to "Add or remove programs" in your computer settings, clicking Optional features, selecting Add a feature, and searching for "Wireless Display." To complete the process, simply click on the feature and choose Install.
• If you’ve previously used your PC’s projection settings, the "Wireless Display" feature might already be enabled. If unsure, check if you can interact with any options on the "Projection Settings" page. If the feature isn’t activated, all options will appear grayed out and unclickable.

Set your PC to Available to allow projection from other devices. You can choose from the first dropdown menu on the "Projection Settings" page. There are two options here:

• Available everywhere. This setting allows you to project to your PC from any location on any network.
• Available everywhere on secure networks. This setting only allows projection when connected to a secure or trusted network, such as your home network.

Adjust other settings if necessary. The "Projection Settings" page includes a few additional options. While not mandatory, you can review them to understand how they work:

• Ask to project to this PC. In the second dropdown menu, you can choose to require approval each time someone wants to project to your PC or only the first time.
• Require PIN for pairing. For added security, you can require a PIN each time a device attempts to project to your PC. We recommend keeping this off since you’ll need to prepare the second device beforehand.
• Near the bottom of the page, you can decide whether projection is allowed when your PC is unplugged. You can also rename your PC for easier identification on other devices.

Open the Connect app. When projecting to your PC, Windows will prompt you to use the "Connect" app at the top of the "Projection Settings" page. Click this prompt to launch the app.

• Later, you can launch the app from anywhere on your PC by pressing the key combination ⊞ Win+P.

Prepare the second device (phone/laptop) for projection. The process of projecting to your laptop varies slightly depending on whether you’re streaming content from a PC or a phone:

• On a PC, right-click the notification center or Notifications Center at the bottom-right corner of the screen. Then, select Connect from the notification menu at the bottom of the panel that appears.
• On an Android or Windows device, simply choose Cast from the notification panel, then find your laptop’s name in the list of available options. You can also find "Cast" in the settings on Android devices.

Connect to the laptop's display. Select the laptop from the list of available options in the PC’s projection control panel or the "Cast" section on your phone.

• If the laptop doesn’t appear, it might be an older model or lack an Intel HD graphics card. You can still connect to the laptop from your PC by navigating to Display Settings on the PC and clicking Detect to allow the PC to search for other wireless displays.

Confirm the connection. On the laptop you want to use as a second screen, approve the connection from the PC or smartphone.

• Depending on your settings, this step might not be necessary.

Right-click on the PC’s desktop and select Display Settings. This is a crucial step to perform on the PC containing the content you want to project onto the laptop.

Choose Extend desktop to this display under the Multiple Displays section. The "Multiple Displays" section in the display settings contains various options, which only appear when the computer is connected to another screen. During the connection, the desktop needs to be extended to the second display to ensure seamless coordination between the two screens. Now, you can use the laptop as a second display, similar to connecting via HDMI.