What is Screen Mirroring?

Screen mirroring an Android device to a Windows PC is useful for a remarkably wide range of tasks: app testing on a large screen, giving a demo without passing your phone around, playing mobile games on a monitor, recording gameplay, or simply having your phone's display visible while you work at your desk.

The method you use matters enormously, because different technologies have very different latency, setup requirements, and quality trade-offs. This guide breaks down every option so you can choose the right one for your use case.

How Screen Mirroring Works

At a fundamental level, all screen mirroring involves three steps: capturing frames from the device's display, encoding them, transmitting them to the PC, and rendering them. The differences between methods come down to how each of those steps is implemented and what transport layer is used.

Wireless casting (Miracast, Chromecast, AirPlay-style)

Wireless casting protocols like Miracast work by having the device broadcast a compressed video stream over WiFi Direct (a peer-to-peer WiFi connection) to a compatible receiver. The receiver can be a smart TV, a Chromecast dongle, or a Windows PC with Miracast support (most Windows 10/11 PCs support receiving Miracast via the Connect app).

The downside is latency. Wireless casting encodes video in real-time and transmits it over WiFi, which introduces 100–300ms of delay. For watching videos or presenting slides this is fine. For gaming or precise touch interaction it is not.

ADB-based mirroring (USB or wireless ADB)

ADB-based mirroring is technically different. The PC uses ADB to invoke Android's MediaProjection API — the same API any screen recording app uses — directly on the device, capture each frame, compress it, and pipe the stream back over the ADB connection to the PC. The PC then renders it locally.

Because the transport is a direct USB or wireless ADB connection rather than a WiFi broadcast, latency is dramatically lower. Over USB it typically sits between 30–70ms. Over wireless ADB on a good 5GHz network it is usually 50–120ms.

Capture card (hardware)

A capture card connects to the phone's HDMI output (via a USB-C to HDMI adapter) and feeds the video signal into a capture card that your PC sees as a camera or video device. This gives very low latency and works with DRM-protected content since it captures the HDMI signal, not a software screenshot. It is also the most expensive and most wired approach.

Latency Comparison

Method	Typical Latency	Setup Complexity	Works Without Network
ADB over USB (e.g. Andora Pro)	30–70ms	Low	Yes
ADB over WiFi (wireless ADB)	50–120ms	Low	No (needs WiFi)
Miracast (wireless cast)	100–300ms	Medium	WiFi Direct (no router needed)
Capture card (HDMI)	15–50ms	High	Yes

Use Cases for Screen Mirroring Android to PC

App development and testing

Developers and QA testers regularly mirror their test device to a PC monitor to observe UI behavior at full scale without hunching over a small phone screen. Combined with ADB logcat, you can see the device screen and log output side by side in real-time.

Presentations and demos

When you need to show a mobile app to a client, investor, or classroom, mirroring to a PC connected to a projector or large monitor is far more practical than passing the phone around or holding it up to a camera.

Mobile gaming on a big screen

ADB-based mirroring has low enough latency for most mobile games. Combined with Andora's touch control feature, you can play using your mouse and keyboard or connect a gamepad to your PC and have the inputs forwarded to the device.

Gameplay recording and streaming

With your Android screen mirrored to a PC window, you can capture it with OBS, Shadowplay, or any screen recording tool. This gives you a clean, high-quality recording of your gameplay or app interaction without needing a separate capture device.

Monitoring devices remotely

IT professionals and support teams use mirroring to see exactly what is happening on a user's device. With touch control enabled, you can walk someone through a problem while controlling the device from your PC.

How Andora's Screen Mirroring Works

Andora Pro includes a built-in screen mirroring feature that uses ADB to capture and stream your Android device's display directly to a window on your Windows PC. It does not use Miracast, does not require your phone and PC to be on the same WiFi network (over USB), and does not require any app installed on the Android device.

Key things that make it different from other solutions:

• No app on the phone required — everything runs through ADB, so there is nothing to install on the Android side.
• Low latency — ADB transport over USB gives 30–70ms typical latency, suitable for gaming and interactive use.
• Touch control — click, scroll, swipe, pinch-to-zoom, and type using your PC's mouse and keyboard. Input is converted to touch events and sent back to the device via ADB.
• Works over wireless ADB — pair once over USB, then go cable-free. The wireless ADB connection handles both the mirror stream and touch input over WiFi.
• No network dependency over USB — the USB ADB connection is entirely local. Your phone and PC do not need to be on the same network.

Setting Up Screen Mirroring With Andora

1. Enable USB debugging on your Android device (Developer Options).
2. Download and install Andora on your Windows PC.
3. Connect your device via USB.
4. Authorize the ADB connection on your device (tap "Always allow from this computer").
5. Open Andora Pro and click "Start Mirroring."

For wireless use, see the wireless ADB on Windows tutorial — Andora Pro handles the TCP/IP pairing process in a single click once you have connected once over USB.