Yoosee TV: How to Watch Your Camera on a Television

There is no separate Yoosee TV app that every television can install, so getting your camera onto a big screen means borrowing a device that already runs the app. The three realistic routes are: mirror or cast your phone to the TV, run the Android app on an Android TV box or Android-based smart TV, or plug a computer into the TV with an HDMI cable. All three show live video; they differ in how much lag they add, whether they keep working when you put the phone down, and how comfortable they are to leave on all day.

Before you start: three things to check

A TV only displays what another device sends it, so most "it doesn't work on the TV" problems are really problems further up the chain. Check these first:

1. Live view works on your phone. Open the app, tap the camera, and confirm the picture loads. If it shows offline or spins forever on the phone, it will not do better on a TV. Fix that first with the offline troubleshooting steps.
2. Your TV and the sending device are on the same home network. Casting and mirroring look for the TV on the local Wi-Fi. A phone on mobile data, or on a guest network, usually cannot see the TV at all.
3. You know what your TV actually is. Look at the TV's settings menu or the label on the back. Is it an Android-based smart TV? Does it support screen mirroring, and under which name? Does it have a free HDMI input? The answer decides which route is open to you.

A note on expectations: every extra hop — phone to TV, box to TV — can add a little delay, and a TV makes the image bigger, not sharper. If the picture looks soft at night on your phone, it will look softer on a large screen; night blur has its own causes.

Route 1 — Mirror or cast your phone to the TV

This is the quickest route and needs no new hardware if your TV supports it. You keep using the app on your phone exactly as normal, and the phone sends its screen to the television.

On an Android phone

1. Make sure the phone and TV are on the same Wi-Fi network.
2. Swipe down from the top of the screen to open quick settings.
3. Look for a tile called Cast, Screen cast, Smart View, Screen mirroring or similar. The name differs by phone maker; if you cannot see it, edit the quick-settings panel and add it.
4. Tap it and choose your TV from the list. Some TVs ask you to accept the connection on screen with the remote.
5. Open the Yoosee app, tap your camera, and turn the phone sideways for full-screen live view.

On an iPhone

1. Connect the iPhone and the TV (or a streaming box that supports Apple's mirroring) to the same Wi-Fi.
2. Open Control Center and tap Screen Mirroring.
3. Choose the TV. If a code appears on the TV, type it on the phone.
4. Open the app, open the camera, and rotate to landscape.

What to expect from mirroring

• Lag adds up. You see the camera's own delay plus the mirroring delay. For checking who is at the gate this is fine; for watching a child in real time it may feel a beat behind.
• The phone must stay awake and in the app. If the screen locks, a call comes in, or you switch apps, the TV shows that instead — or goes black. Set the screen timeout longer while mirroring, and remember notifications from other apps will also appear on the TV.
• Battery and heat. Mirroring live video is heavy work. Keep the phone plugged in if you plan to watch for more than a short while.
• Audio follows the screen. Camera sound usually plays through the TV speakers once mirroring is active. If you use two-way talk, your voice still goes through the phone's microphone, so hold the phone, not the remote.

Mirroring suits a quick look, not a screen that should stay on all day.

Showing recordings on the TV

Mirroring works for playback too: open the playback screen, pick the date and scrub the timeline as usual. If the timeline is unfamiliar, playback and saving clips are explained here. Detail is limited by the recording quality, not the size of the TV.

Route 2 — Run the app on an Android TV box or Android smart TV

If your TV runs Android, or you plug in an Android-based streaming box, the TV itself can run the camera app. This route keeps working when your phone leaves the room, which makes it a practical choice for a permanent "camera screen" in a shop or a living room.

Getting the app onto the TV

1. On the TV or box, open the built-in app store and search for the Yoosee app.
2. If it appears, install it from there. That is the safest source.
3. If it does not appear, the store may hide phone apps that are not designed for TV remotes. Some people install the phone version from a file instead. Only do this with a file you are confident came from an official source; installation files passed around on forums or chat groups are a common way to spread tampered software. If you are unsure, use Route 1 or Route 3 instead.
4. Open the app and sign in with the same account you use on your phone — the same phone number or email. An empty camera list after sign-in often means you have signed in to a different account, for example one created by accident.

The remote-control problem

The app was designed for a touchscreen, not a TV remote. Depending on the box, some buttons may be hard to reach with the arrow keys, and pinch-to-zoom will not work at all. Practical fixes:

• Plug in a USB or wireless mouse if the box has a free port; many Android boxes then show a pointer you can click like a tap.
• Set things up once, then leave live view open. You rarely need to navigate after that.

Limits of a TV box

• Performance varies a lot between boxes. A low-cost box with little memory may stutter or overheat with live video running for hours. If the picture freezes after a while, restart the box and try the lower-quality stream setting in the app.
• Two-way audio usually does not work unless the box has a microphone and grants the app permission to use it. Treat the TV as a viewing screen.
• Push alerts are unreliable on TV devices. Keep your phone as the device that tells you when motion is detected; if alerts are not arriving there, see the notification troubleshooting guide.
• Screen savers and sleep. Many boxes dim or switch off after a period without input. Turn off the screen saver or extend the sleep timer in the box's display settings, otherwise your "always-on" screen goes dark.
• Shared rooms need a shared account. If the box sits in a shop or waiting area, do not sign it in with the owner account. Share the camera to a separate account and sign the box in with that. Shared users generally cannot delete or reset the camera, though exactly which controls they get varies by model and app version, so test it from the shared account first.

Route 3 — A computer connected to the TV by HDMI

If you already watch your cameras on a computer, the TV can simply become that computer's monitor. This is the most stable route for long viewing, and the best option if you want several cameras on screen at once.

1. Get the cameras working on the computer first — either through the desktop client on Windows or the phone app inside an Android emulator. The guide to watching Yoosee on a PC covers both, including how to download safely.
2. Connect an HDMI cable from the computer to a free HDMI input on the TV. Laptops without a full-size HDMI port may need an adapter for the port they do have; check the laptop's documentation.
3. Select that HDMI input on the TV with the remote's Input or Source button.
4. Choose how the computer uses the TV. On Windows, press the Windows key and P together and pick Duplicate (same picture on both) or Extend (TV as a second screen). On a Mac, use the display settings.
5. Set the computer not to sleep while you are watching, in its power settings.
6. Open the multi-camera view in your software and drag the window onto the TV.

Why people choose this route

• No mirroring delay. HDMI adds no noticeable lag of its own.
• Several cameras at once. A grid view lets you watch the entrance, the till and the back door together; if it stutters, switch extra panes to the lower-quality stream.
• Mouse and keyboard. Scrubbing playback is far easier than with a TV remote.

The cost: a computer has to stay on and awake near the TV.

Can I connect the camera directly to the TV?

Usually not. Most Yoosee cameras are wireless network cameras: they send video over the network to the app, and standalone models generally have no video output socket for a TV. People searching for a wireless camera to TV connection are often thinking of older analogue systems, where a recorder box had an HDMI output. With a network camera, the TV always needs a device in the middle — a phone, a box or a computer. Some recorder kits do include an HDMI output, so if you have a recorder rather than standalone cameras, check its manual for the ports on your model.

Which route should you choose?

• Occasional quick look, or showing a recording to family: mirror or cast from your phone.
• A permanent camera screen in the living room or shop: an Android TV box running the app, signed in with a shared account.
• Watching several cameras for long periods, or reviewing footage carefully: a computer connected by HDMI.
• Smart TV that is not Android-based and has no mirroring: HDMI from a computer or an Android box is your realistic option.

Common problems and what they mean

1. The TV does not appear in the cast list. The phone and TV are on different networks, mirroring is switched off in the TV's settings, or the router isolates devices from each other. Put both on the same main network and restart the TV.
2. The TV shows the picture, then goes black. The phone locked, switched apps, or the box went to sleep. Extend the screen timeout or screen saver delay.
3. Black video but the app's buttons are visible. Some apps or phones block video content from being mirrored. Try the other route, or open live view after mirroring has started rather than before.
4. Video freezes every few minutes on a TV box. The box is struggling. Restart it, close other apps, and use the lower-quality stream.
5. Sound plays on the phone, not the TV. Check the phone's audio output while mirroring and the TV's volume. Some devices keep audio on the phone unless you choose otherwise.
6. Works on the phone, nothing on the computer or box. Different account, or a camera shared to you that the second device's account does not have. Compare camera lists.

When to get help

If live view fails on the phone as well as the TV, the problem is the camera or its connection, not the TV — start with the camera offline guide. If a TV box cannot install the app at all and you are not comfortable with alternative sources, ask the shop that sold you the box or the TV what it supports. For questions about what your specific camera model can output, the manual and your seller are the reliable sources, since features and menus vary by model and app version.

If you need to move the camera closer to the router to improve the stream, and that involves ladders or wiring, switch off the power first and use a qualified electrician for any work on mains wiring.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a Yoosee app for smart TVs?

There is no app that runs on every smart TV. On Android-based TVs and boxes you may find the app in the built-in store, or the phone app may run there with some limits on remote-control navigation. On other smart TV systems, use screen mirroring from your phone or connect a computer by HDMI.

Why is the picture on my TV delayed compared with my phone?

When you mirror, the phone first receives the stream from the camera, then re-sends its own screen to the TV, and each step adds a little delay. A box running the app directly, or a computer on HDMI, removes that second step. Some delay always remains, because the camera has to encode the video and send it over the network before any screen can show it.

Can I leave Yoosee running on the TV all day?

Yes, if you use a TV box or a computer and turn off its screen saver and sleep settings. Mirroring from a phone is not suited to all-day viewing because the phone has to stay awake, in the app and usually plugged in.

Will I still get motion alerts if I watch on the TV?

Keep relying on your phone for alerts. TVs and streaming boxes often do not show push notifications from camera apps, and a mirrored screen only shows what the phone is doing. Watching on the TV does not stop alerts reaching your phone, as long as the app there is still signed in.

Can I talk through the camera from the TV?

Usually only when mirroring, and then you speak into the phone, not the TV. Most TV boxes have no microphone, so the talk button does nothing even if it appears. If two-way talk matters, use the phone or a computer with a microphone.