A tablet is an incredibly useful device that can boost your productivity, keep you in touch with family and friends or entertain you with movies and games. Although tablets are not a complete replacement for a laptop, they can do more with a little help.

Wouldn’t it be nice to connect your tablet to a large screen computer monitor? How about using a TV as a monitor? You can do all of these things by using the video port on your tablet. But to do so requires a little homework—chances are your tablet doesn’t have an HDMI or DisplayPort video port you can connect to your monitor, TV or projector.

connect tablet to monitor using usb-c port

Take a Closer Look at Your Tablet’s Ports

Newer tablets typically have a USB-C (also known as USB Type-C) port in place of a traditional video port. For example, this small, versatile port can be found on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S7 and Google’s Pixel Slate. You’ll also find USB 2.0 micro-B ports on some older tablets, like Lenovo’s Yoga Tab 3 and Amazon’s Fire HD 8. Another popular device, Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4, features a mini DisplayPort. Although it's unusual, some older tablets do have an HDMI port (micro-HDMI, mini-HDMI or full-size HDMI).

do tablets have hdmi ports

Find the Video Input on Your Monitor, TV or Projector

Monitors, TVs and projectors typically have standard HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI or VGA (HD15) connections. To send video from your tablet, you’ll most likely have to use an adapter cable or adapter. (Note: Of these technologies, only HDMI and DisplayPort support audio.)

tablet to monitor
Next Steps

Select a Cable or Adapter
If the connections on your tablet don’t match your monitor, TV or projector, you have two basic options:

Buy an adapter cable. Choose a commercially available cable with the correct connectors on both ends. Here’s an example: You want to connect a tablet with a USB 2.0 micro-B connector (like Acer’s Iconia Tab 10) to an HDMI monitor. Choose a cable with a micro-B connector (male) on one end and an HDMI connector (male) on the other. USB 3.0 micro-B connectors are backwards compatible with USB 2.0 devices.

Buy an adapter. Connect an adapter (male/female) to an A/V cable you already have. For example: You want to connect a tablet with a mini DisplayPort (like the Surface Pro 4) to your monitor’s DVI-D cable. Choose a mini DisplayPort (male) to DVI (female) adapter. The mini DisplayPort end plugs into the tablet; the DVI cable connects to the adapter’s DVI port.

If you have questions about how to connect your tablet to monitor, please email cables@tripplite.com