SM-T290 Screen Mirroring

[midsomerjambo]

Hi,

I recently purchased a Galaxy Tab A8 2019 (SM-T290) and was surprised to find that the Smart View app wasn't installed nor could I find any other app that provides screen-mirroring functionality. So I was wondering, does this tablet not support WiFi screen mirroring? It seems very strange that such a basic function should be unsupported on a fairly up-to-date tablet, so if anyone has any advice on a possible solution, I'd be grateful to hear it.  Incidentally, I've tried installing Smart View from the Play Store as well as a number of other 3rd-party mirroring apps but they either don't work or report that the device is unsupported. I haven't tried them all as there are dozens, so if anyone knows of one that would work, again I'd be grateful.

Regards, Gerry

[midsomerjambo]

What I suppose I don't understand is WHY Samsung would disable this function. I thought it was simply a software function that only relied on the WiFi hardware which the tablet obviously is equipped with.  Does it require a specific hardware component that Samsung has left out in order to reduce the cost? It's just a bit disappointing and I think they should make it clear in the spec that it isn't supported. What's also disappointing is how unhelpful and offhand the support analysts on the Samsung chat support line are. I was treated like a technophobe (having spent a large proportion of my working life in IT) that just couldn't find Smart View until I sent a screenshot of my Quick Settings and Settings app list to show that the Smart View app was missing. They then said it must not be supported but they didn't sound very confident and wouldn't say that was definitely the case.

[midsomerjambo]

Hmmm...thought I'd have got at least one reply. Hope others have better luck than me. 🙄

[DavidKimInCanada]

Samsung should add this function to our tablet it's a joke we bought 2019 model tablet and it doesn't even have screen mirror?

Come on samsung,apple and google are right next to your tail

[midsomerjambo]

Do you know if this functionality could be included as a software enhancement David? I wondered if it might require some hardware component that wasn't included in this particular model, otherwise I can see no good reason for not including it. I'm amazed at the lack of comment on this issue on the web as I'd have thought people would be mightily pissed off to find out this functional shortfall. Particularly when the spec doesn't specifically exclude it (it doesn't specifically include it in my wife's S8 tablet spec and I'm sure most would expect such basic functionality not needing to be explicitly mentioned). I'm also a tad pissed off that no-one from Samsung has seen fit to reply to this post.

[AndrewL]

@midsomerjambo: Sorry to hear of your disappointment regarding the absence of this feature on your Galaxy Tab A 2019. I have had a look into this for you and there is no reference to Screen Mirroring (both wireless and wired) in the user manual, therefore it does look as though the function isn't available on this particular model. You might wish to try an HDMI to USB adapter to try and establish a wired connection, but I can't guarantee that this will work for you. 

[midsomerjambo]

Any idea why Andrew?

[J_Stomp]

I was just blindsided by this missing feature.  Hey kids, lets cast this storybook to the TV so we can all enjoy it from our brand new Samsung kids tablet.  Hmm, that is strange, no cast button like every other android tablet I've used... maybe I don't have something enabled.... maybe I need to google it.. Oh, Samsung samsung renames standard features to confuse things.. great.  I'll look for the branded feature name... still nothing. 

So I start reading reviews... and yep.  Samsung disabled Mirroring and the ability to save apps to the touted CF card.

Returning the kids tablet, and will be leaving reviews everywhere.  

When you remove standard features to push folks to higher end devices, you should put that in the marketing material for the lower end items.  I'll be looking at other brands.

My guess of why they left the feature off is just for model line segmentation.  Not technical reasons, just to force users to get a more expensive device.

[midsomerjambo]

@J_Stomp so you'd think if it's just a case of a feature being disabled, there may be a means of re-enabling it, it being an Android device and all. Have you found anything out there while you were searching that mentions any such thing (I have to admit I haven't)? I'm not an Android expert by any stretch but I'm pretty au fait with some other operating systems so the thought of doing a bit of hacking on it doesn't really scare me, it's just that with Android, I don't really know where to start.

[cr1138]

Man dude.  Did not want to see this thread.

Unbelievable.  I got this Tab today as part of my preorder of the Note 20 ultra.  I have a TabA from 2016?  And it has smart view.  How does the Tab from 2019 not?  I can cast youtube to my tv though.....but that's it.

I'm coming from iOS.....this is my first Samsung phone.  If it doesn't have smart view...it's going back.