Our smartphones are capable of much more than serving as portable communication devices or gaming devices. This is especially true for Samsung phones and tablets, as they offer more functionality that you might not expect.
A great example of this is the ability to use your Samsung Galaxy phone as a second monitor for your computer. You may come across times when you want to keep your chat window open and viewable, but you don’t have enough screen space on your computer. Thanks to some of the extra functions that Samsung phones offer, you can get the extra screen you want.
How to use your Samsung Galaxy phone as a second monitor for your computer
1. Unlock your Samsung Galaxy phone.
2. Swipe down twice for full disclosure quick settings painting.
3. Click on smart view switch.
4. In the upper right corner, click Three vertical points.
5. Press settings.
6. Press About Smart View.
7. From the page that appears, Click Smart View ten times.
8. This will take you to the SmartView developer options.
9. Tap the toggle next to Start SecondScreen to on position.
10. Under the Connection mode section, select either Drawing/Gaming (faster response) or Video (smoother playback).
When you follow the steps to enable Smart View Developer Options, you may be asked to enter a password. For some reason, we didn’t encounter this on the Galaxy Z Fold 4, but it showed up when trying to use the Galaxy S23 Ultra. If this happens to you, try one of the two passwords listed below to gain access.
Connect your Samsung Galaxy phone to your computer
Now that you’ve activated Samsung’s Smart View functionality to use it as a second screen with your computer, there are a few more steps you’ll need to take. That is, you actually need to connect your Samsung phone to your computer, and possibly make some adjustments to the display settings.
1. On your computer, tap on win + k.
2. Select your Galaxy phone from the list of devices.
3. Click the checkbox Allows mouse, keyboard, touch, and stylus input from this device.
4. Decide if you want the phone copyAnd extendsor as a Second screen only.
5. From your computer, open the settings program.
6. In the sidebar, click System.
7. Click an offer.
7. Select your Galaxy phone from show previews. If you have multiple monitors connected, just click the Select button and the corresponding number will appear on all connected monitors.
8. Scroll down to size and layout to divide.
9. Make any adjustments to sizeAnd display resolutionor display direction for your Galaxy phone.
How to use your Samsung tablet as a second monitor for your computer
Before the Galaxy Tab S8, you could use third-party solutions like Super Display or Microsoft’s built-in “Projection” feature. However, these are not always reliable. With the release of the latest crop of Galaxy tablets, there is a new app released by Samsung on the Microsoft Store to make integration with your Windows PC even smoother.
To get started with the Tab S8 and Windows tablet, there are a few requirements:
- A Windows computer running v2004 or higher
- Galaxy Tab S8, S8+, S8 Ultra, S7, S7+, or S7 FE
- Samsung Second Screen app
Provided you have everything you need, let’s dive into how you can use your Samsung tablet as a second monitor for your computer.
1. Open a file second screen app on your Windows PC.
2. Swipe down twice on the Galaxy Tab S8 home screen to reveal the quick settings panel.
3. Swipe to the right To reveal the second page of the quick settings toggle.
4. Press second screen icon.
5. Select either Drawing/Gaming (faster response) or Video (smoother playback) from the list of options.
6. On your Windows PC, Select the name from your tablet.
In a perfect world, this would be the end of this tutorial, and you’d have the perfect secondary monitor to use with your Windows PC. However, you may come across a situation where there are black bars covering the top and bottom of your tablet screen. This can be remedied, but you’ll need to tinker with the Second Screen app on Windows first.
From the Second Screen app, you’ll notice that there are three different options available:
- cast plate – Go to the Cast panel to allow touch or S Pen input on your tablet.
- project panel – Go to the project panel to change the view mode.
- display settings – Go to display setting to change aspect ratio of your tablet to make it full screen.
As you may have guessed by now, you’ll want to go to the display settings on your Windows PC to get rid of those black bars. Clicking this button will take you to your computer’s display settings, and that includes the Galaxy Tab S8.
1. Select your tablet chart view at the top of the page. This can be specified by clicking on identification button in the lower right corner.
2. With your tablet selected, scroll down to size and layout to divide.
3. Click the drop-down menu next to display resolution.
4. He chooses 1920 x 1200.
5. When prompted, tap Saving changes button.
After a moment, the screen on your Samsung tablet will change color, and the black bars will be removed. In case this doesn’t work for you, you can play around with the different options available until the right resolution is selected based on your device.
There’s no such thing as too much screen real estate
Even if you’re someone like me who has more screens than I’ll admit, it wouldn’t hurt to have more screen real estate. This is especially true if you work remotely from a Windows laptop and want to be able to use your phone as an extension of your laptop.
The most obvious device to use as a second monitor with your computer is a Samsung tablet. However, the above methods also work for the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and even the Galaxy S23 Ultra. With the latter, it may not be the most pleasant experience with the smaller screen, but it is technically possible.
Galaxy Z Fold 4 makes a great companion with its 7.6-inch internal display that’s perfect for use as an external monitor alongside your Windows PC.
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 is a productivity powerhouse as it comes, but the larger screen also makes an excellent second screen to go along with on a laptop or even a desktop computer.