Cannot find cast option/icon when I click on the Network, Volume, and Battery icons in the Taskbar open Action Center.

1-27-24

I am a new member and very happy to be part of this great forum. First I have a Dell i5-8250U CPU 1.60GHZ. The Dell is an Inspiron 15 5000 series. My Graphics is an Intel UHD Graphics 620. I have Windows 11 Home.

They way this issue I am having started is when I mirrored my laptop to my 2023 Samsung 65” Smart TV QLED. Well I was successful to see my Dell desktop on the Samsung and started to play a slideshow I created. The slideshow played but not the sound. In my research to find the problem I discovered that the problem may be that my Dell does not support Miracast. But I found out that Windows 11 should support Miracast.

Anyway. I proceeded to follow the steps I found online required to see if my Dell supports Miracast. Well the first thing I noticed is that when I click on the Network, Volume, and Battery icons in the Taskbar I do not see the icon/option button named CAST. So this is why I am requesting some assistance from this forum to determine if my Dell has Miracast or how I can determine if, it in fact does, and why I did not have sound during playback on the Samsung. I would think that my Samsung Smart TV should not be having a problem recognizing my Dell.

I appreciate your comments and suggestions in advance.

Thanks

Welcome to the forums

Clearly, your TV does not have an issue connecting to the Dell, if you are able to see the video aspect of your slideshow or your desktop on the TV.

I would not expect to see the CAST button, if you are already connected to the TV, I imagine that would only be shown if you were NOT connected to the TV or any other monitor.

Some TV's will not play all formats of audio, it all depends on what audio codecs they include in their firmware.

You don't mention the model of your TV, but you can go to the Samsung website and look up the technical specifications for your model of TV and see which codecs are supported for both audio and video. Then make sure your slideshow is using the supported codecs.

Is the audio on your TV muted?
Have you tried playing different formats of audio on the TV?
Does your slideshow play as expected with audio on your PC?
Does the slideshow software you used offer any setting to change the audio output codec?
Have you tried using a different software to create your slideshow?

mountdes said:

the first thing I noticed is that when I click on the Network, Volume, and Battery icons in the Taskbar I do not see the icon/option button named CAST.

Click to expand...

Try editing the Quick Settings.....
...you may be able to add Cast, as I can. You should also be able to open Cast by pressing +C

Hello trumpy81 and Bree. Thanks so much for your comments....I do have a bit of work to do based on your comments. So far I have discovered that if I use an HDMI cable from my PC to my Samsung TV all is well. PC appears on the TV and I have sound and video and photos located on my slide show. But still no sound connected wirelessly. I was able to add the CAST icon to my task bar. But when I clicked on the cast button the message says that no displays are available...whatever that means? Audio is not muted, slideshow plays as expected on PC, I will need to do a little bit more research on the audio codecs. My Dell is an Dell Inspiron 15 5000 series (5570) Windows 11 Home....Intel core i5-8250U CPU @1.60 GHZMemory8GB. Also please note that my CAST icon on the task bar is not highlighted as a couple of my other icons which are the name of my wireless system and an icon with the Bluetooth symbol which are highlighted in Blue. So slideshow sound, etc., is working wired to TV but no sound wireless. Still not sure why but thanks for your assistance. Any further comments are appreciated.

mountdes said:

Hello trumpy81 and Bree. Thanks so much for your comments....I do have a bit of work to do based on your comments. So far I have discovered that if I use an HDMI cable from my PC to my Samsung TV all is well. PC appears on the TV and I have sound and video and photos located on my slide show. But still no sound connected wirelessly. I was able to add the CAST icon to my task bar. But when I clicked on the cast button the message says that no displays are available...whatever that means?

Click to expand...

To be able to use Miracast both your PC and the device you are projecting to must support Miracast. For a device to be found by Cast that device has to be Miracast-capable. My TV isn't, so to use it as a second screen I too need to use an HDMI cable.

However, Miracast isn't the only casting protocol Windows supports. The older DLNA standard is available too. This can cast media file(s) (video, audio, photos) to any DLNA-capable device on your network. DLNA cannot be used to cast your desktop to a 2nd screen, for that you need Miracast (or an HDMI cable). My Panasonic Viera supports DLNA, so I can right-click on an .mp4 file and cast it to my TV.

You can connect a wireless display with Win+K. If the sound doesn't play, check the speaker icon at the bottom right near the clock. Make sure the output device is set to TV or similar, not your laptop speakers. If Miracast is not connecting at all, you may consider updating both your graphics and wireless drivers. The best is to download and install them directly from Dell, use the Service Tag (serial) to detect your exact model on their support site. You may also try latest graphics drivers directly from Intel:

Since you have a Samsung TV (as I do), the best video & audio casting to your TV comes from Samsung's PC on TV Easy Connection.

PC on TV

Thanks Bree and spapakons for your assistance. I have determined that my DEll, version 23H 64 bit Inspiron 15 5000 series (5570) Windows 11 HomeCPUIntel core i5-8250U CPU @1.60 GHZMemory8GBGraphics Card(s)Intel UHD Graphics 620Monitor(s) Displays15.6 Full HD Display does support Miracast. So since I can project a slideshow with sound and graphic slides from my Dell to my Samsung Smart TV wired but not wirelessly, does this mean that my Samsung does not support Miracast? And that as you said Bree, that the only way I can project my slideshow to my TV is wired? Also, when I click on the Task Bar, I see the Cast icon but it is not highlighted. So I do not have the option to click on the Cast icon and then follow any selection options like setting the output device to TV or similar. I am thinking that since my Dell supports Miracast that the Cast icon/button should be highlighted so that I can make selections and enable my Dell to project my slideshow onto my TV wirelessly.

Please note that I just dwnloaded the latest graphics and wireless drivers from Dell and do not see an y differences. Should I check with Samsung to see if my TV supports Miracast or something similar so that I can cast the slideshow on my TV wirelessly with graphoics and sound.

Again thanks for your assistance and continuing thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

Hi San Martino. Thanks for your reply. I have also connected my Dell laptop to my 2023 Samsung 65" QLED Smart TV using the Easy Connection wireless connection. My desktop does appear on my TV screen. However, when I choose my slideshow to play, I see the slide graphics but no sound...and this is the problem I am having. So do you hear sound on your TV connecting your computer with Easy Connection? Please note that I have no problem connecting with an HDMI cable from my Dell to TV. Graphics and sound are both seen and heard on my TV. I appreciate your continuing reply and assistance.

If you select Cast do you see a list of devices to cast to? I see my two 2019 43" Samsung TVs. Note the first time I cast to a particular TV I have to use the TV remote to select to give permission to cast to it.



When I cast to a TV the sound still comes out of the PCs speakers. To have the sound come out of the TV I have to select Digital Output on the PC.

mountdes said:

Hi San Martino. Thanks for your reply. I have also connected my Dell laptop to my 2023 Samsung 65" QLED Smart TV using the Easy Connection wireless connection. My desktop does appear on my TV screen. However, when I choose my slideshow to play, I see the slide graphics but no sound...and this is the problem I am having. So do you hear sound on your TV connecting your computer with Easy Connection? Please note that I have no problem connecting with an HDMI cable from my Dell to TV. Graphics and sound are both seen and heard on my TV. I appreciate your continuing reply and assistance.

Click to expand...

Yes, I do have sound when I use PC On TV Easy Connection. Do you have your TV set to do automatic software updates? If not you might have to manually update your TV's software. Also, scroll down to the bottom of the app on your PC & check for updates there as well.

Samsung has been updating their software recently & in addition to Easy Connection they now have a Your PC selection that has Music, Playlists, Pictures & Video folders. I have never tried it, but it recently appeared my the TV's input selections.

I used to use the Windows+K to cast to my TV & that worked fine. But when I saw the Easy Connect appear as one of the TV inputs I gave it a try.
I found it to be superior in both Sound & Picture quality to the Windows Cast option.

It's rather late, so I didn't read all the replies, but if you try to cast a video (DLNA mode), it depends on your TV to play the video and sound. Your TV might not support the specific audio format and that's why you have image but not sound. If you mirror all the desktop (Miracast mode), then it is up to the computer, hence you have both image and sound. Prefer Miracast to be able to play everything except Netflix and Disney plus. To play these you can use the Firefox browser. Is the only one that doesn't give you the dreaded black screen when playing Netflix, Disney plus and other similar streaming sites.

Hi MisterEd. Thanks for your assistance. On my windows 11 computer, when I go to settings, then system, then sound, I do not have the same options as you sent me. So I do not have the option to select Digital Output on my PC. Please advise.

mountdes said:

On my windows 11 computer, when I go to settings, then system, then sound, I do not have the same options as you sent me. So I do not have the option to select Digital Output on my PC.

Click to expand...

Does your TV appear in the list of output devices? When I plug in the HDMI cable mine does. If I click on the > to the right of its name all my digital settings are there.



If it's not in the list, and you are using Miracast to connect, then you may first need to click the 'Add device' button and pair it as a new device before you can access its sound settings.

mountdes said:

Hi MisterEd. Thanks for your assistance. On my windows 11 computer, when I go to settings, then system, then sound, I do not have the same options as you sent me. So I do not have the option to select Digital Output on my PC. Please advise.

Click to expand...

It is important to know that alternate Audio Output options are only offered when there is a wired or wireless external display connected. What these options are called depends upon the laptops display adapter driver and the external display used. In any case there should be alternate Sound Output options when needed. Here are some examples:

1. Normally the only choice is the laptops internal speakers
2. When the display is cast to a TV I have to change the Sound Output to Digital Output.
3. When an external monitor is connected using an HDMI cable I have to change the Sound Output to Display.

If you haven't manually changed the default output, it should automatically switch to TV when you connect either by HDMI or Miracast. If you have overrode this (such as manually changing to laptop speakers), then Windows remember this choice and switch to that until you manually change it again to the TV. Once change again to the TV it should switch automatically once connected.

Hi folks. Thanks for your continued assistance. When I open System then Sound and then click on Add a Device and choose Wireless Display and Dock , I see in the Add a Device window the words " Make sure your device is turned on and discoverable. Select a Device below to connect", and a blue connect line moves across the top of this window I guess showing that the devise is trying to become discoverable to connect. I assume this is my Samsung TV. But my TV does not show up to select or connect and I wait at least 5 minutes to see if there is a connection. It appears that my TV is not discoverable...Why? So without my TV not being able to be added as a new device, I cannot change the Sound Output to Digital Output. And so I cannot see the ability to Wireless Cast to TV and choose Digital Output or the HDMI Output to Monitor.

Your instructions are quite straight forward but my computer is not doing what your instructions are showing what should be happening. Again I have a Dell Windows Home version 23H2 64 bit operating system. I do not know why my Dell is not allowing me to Add a Device in the System and then Sound section. I cannot select the options you show on your photos.

Again your continuing is greatly appreciated.

Some TVs require to run the Screen Mirroring (or similar) application to turn on Miracast and become discoverable. Try loading the application before connecting. Also check if the TV is connected to the Wi-Fi just in case.

Hi folks. Sorry for not gettig back to you all. You are all so kind to assist me with this issue. To San Martino, Yes my TV software is up to date. Still when I connect using Easy Connection on my Samsung 65" smart TV. You said that you do have sound coming from a sound source selected on your PC that you hear on your TV speakers. In my case it is a slideshow on my PC. I do see my desktop when connecting via Easy Connection. But when I select my slideshow on my PC, again, I only see the slideshow slides with graphics but no sound coming from the TV. I only have sound coming from my PC speakers wirelessly.

Would it be possible for you to provide some details as to how you have prepared your PC and TV to enable you to have sound coming from your PC to your TV speakers? I must be missing a step or setting.

Generally speaking, I have determined that my Samsung supports Miracast and is discoverable. All of my drivers are up to date and TV and PC are connected to the same wireless network. I am still exploring suggestions given to me by Mister ED as well as Bree and all of your great suggestions and comments. I am giving it my best shot but still cannot get the sound from my PC to be comimg from my TV speakers and not my PC speakers wirelessly.

Thanks for your assistance in advance. Your continued comments are greatly appreciated.

In my LG TV there is an Application called Screen Mirroring. If I remember correctly in Samsung this is called Smart Share or something. Sometimes I can connect without first loading the application, but it doesn't harm to load it anyway. Then from my laptop I press Win+K to open the "Connect to wireless display" dialog and I clicked to search for my TV, if it isn't already on the list. Once in the list click on it to connect. If it has difficulty connecting or doesn't connect at all, reinstall the official display and Wi-Fi drivers from manufacturer, chances are they are replaced by Windows Update.