How I turned my outdated TV right into a monitor totally free

Samsung DeX is probably essentially the most under-utilized built-in Galaxy smartphone characteristic. By merely plugging a Samsung telephone into a TV or a monitor, you may unlock a tailored desktop expertise, outputted instantly onto the bigger panel.

Samsung has been slowly however steadily iterating on its desktop-like interface for quite a few years, leading to what’s in the present day a reasonably sturdy PC expertise.

For the longest time, I have been fascinated with DeX and it is implications for the way forward for cellular computing, and but I’ve struggled to discover a use case that matches into my private workflow.

Then, the proper alternative arose — a family TV improve left me with an outdated, small, flatscreen panel with none cable field or sensible performance to name its personal. Unwilling to let my outdated TV accumulate mud or turn out to be e-waste, I turned to DeX.

Here is how I did it.

What’s wanted for DeX to work

To get Samsung DeX up and operating, you may want a vacant show of your individual — this could possibly be an outdated, small flatpanel, or a pc monitor with both HDMI or USB-C help.

Then there’s the telephone consideration: Samsung has a handy support website that lists any and all DeX-compatible Galaxy units. Older telephones just like the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S9 each require bespoke DeX docking hardware, whereas all newer fashions operate with out this constraint.

Remember the dongle

My Galaxy S20 has a USB-C port with help for HDMI output, and my outdated TV has an HDMI enter port. To sq. this circle, I merely used one of many many USB-C hub equipment presently obtainable available on the market.

I occur to have a Satechi hub, which options ports starting from USB-A, Ethernet, microSD, and, after all, HDMI. You too can go for a easy USB-C to HDMI dongle from any obtainable retailer.

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Getting DeX up and operating

As soon as you have gathered the required {hardware}, the setup itself is close to easy. Samsung has completed good work in making the complete course of a plug-and-play expertise:

1. Plug your Galaxy into your TV, utilizing a dongle or hub to transform from USB-C to HDMI.
2. Ensure your TV’s on-screen enter mode matches the bodily port that you’ve got plugged your telephone and dongle into.
3. Unlock your Galaxy and settle for the immediate asking for permission to entry DeX mode.

In case you plug your telephone into your TV and easily see a mirrored model of the telephone display screen, swipe down in your notification panel, and faucet on the DeX fast setting tile.

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From right here, you can too head to Settings –> Connections –> Bluetooth to wirelessly pair a keyboard and mouse to your setup. You too can use your Galaxy’s show as a makeshift trackpad, which could be enabled by way of your notification panel.

In case you’re completed taking part in round with DeX, or just wish to untether your telephone out of your flatpanel, observe these steps:

1. Press the Apps button, which could be discovered within the decrease left nook of the interface.
2. Faucet on Exit DeX.
3. Unplug your Galaxy.

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So, can a TV DeX setup actually substitute a PC?

Nearly, however not fairly

As a proof of idea, operating Samsung DeX on my outdated, small flatpanel largely hit the mark. All of the hallmarks of an interface geared in direction of productiveness are current and accounted for — an utility drawer analogous to a PC Begin Menu, a taskbar, a number of floating and cascading home windows, and so forth.

In case your workflow consists of utilizing web-based companies, looking the web, and phrase processing, you may completely get by with simply DeX. Nevertheless, the Android ecosystem nonetheless does not help sufficient optimized large-screen functions. Lots of the in-app experiences nonetheless give off that unshakable feeling of constraint, such as you’re being shackled to the inherent rules of cellular software program.

TVs are designed to be mounted on the wall or positioned in an leisure heart

Placing apart the necessity for a considerably ugly dongle or USB-C hub, the largest DeX downside I bumped into from a {hardware} perspective has to do with the TV show itself.

Not like normal laptop screens, which provide adjustable viewing angles, TVs merely aren’t designed with desktop utilization in thoughts. My outdated flatpanel is sufficiently small to make it an excellent measurement for a desk, nevertheless it presents nothing in the way in which of adjustability. Mileage varies primarily based on TV mannequin and desk setup, however if you happen to decide to retool an outdated flatscreen panel, you may count on to ask undesirable neck pressure into the equation.

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Wanting in direction of the longer term

Flagship telephones throughout the board lean in

The sheer quantity of processing energy a contemporary flagship telephone incorporates is nothing in need of exceptional. Different Android OEMs are fortunately starting to take the plug-and-play idea significantly, which merely wasn’t the case a couple of quick years in the past.

Motorola is one such OEM main the pack with its ‘Ready For‘ PC interface, and Google itself has been internally twiddling with a local desktop mode since at least 2016.

​​​​​​I loved my experiment of operating DeX on my outdated TV, and the novelty issue by no means wore off throughout the check interval. I streamed YouTube movies, I browsed the online, and I typed up segments of this text throughout my transient stint. For all of those duties, the expertise was not solely a serviceable one, however a nice one.

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That being mentioned, DeX nonetheless lacks a lot of the specialised software program that many PC customers depend upon to get work completed. In my case, the shortage of full-fat Adobe apps is a reasonably important roadblock to take care of.

Throwing within the accompanying ergonomic challenges, I in the end pulled the plug on DeX and went again to my trusty M1 iMac setup. I is probably not a full-time convert fairly but, however I can safely say that this would possibly not be the final time I experiment with utilizing my outdated TV as a DeX PC.

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FAQ

Q: Which Samsung units help DeX?

Here is the present lineup of units that help DeX.

Q: What’s Samsung DeX?

Inititally launched in 2017 as a puck-like hub with USB, Ethernet, and HDMI ports to hook up with the Samsung Galaxy S8 sequence, DeX means that you can connect with an even bigger platform to view smaller cellular apps. Basically, it permits for a laptop computer show of a cellular app model. You’ll be able to join to indicate Samsung DeX on a monitor, pill, TV, or laptop computer show. Along with utilizing the apps already put in in your telephone and exhibiting them on an even bigger display screen, you can too reply and make calls whereas utilizing DeX.