Facebook Live is a great platform that allows you to watch livestreams by Facebook creators. However, watching these livestreams on a small laptop or phone screen can be a bit annoying. To solve this, you can actually watch Facebook Live on your TV by using a Roku.
Unfortunately, Roku does not have a dedicated app for Facebook and there’s no sign one will be released. This means that in order to watch Facebook Live on your Roku, you will need to connect either a computer or phone to your Roku and then mirror your screen with Facebook open on the device.
Being able to open Facebook on your Roku requires you to mirror your screen from either a phone or laptop, but what if you don’t know how to do that? Let’s go through this process step by step so that you can get Facebook Live on your TV in no time.
Is There a Facebook App on Roku?
Facebook is undoubtedly one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, with over 2.9 billion active users as of January 2023. Unfortunately, despite its popularity, there is no official Facebook app available on Roku. This has left many Facebook and Roku users wondering why this is.
The reason for the absence of the Facebook app on Roku is not entirely clear. It could be due to the fact that Facebook has not yet developed an app for the Roku platform, or it could be a strategic decision by Facebook to prioritize their own platform over others.
Additionally, there may be technical challenges or limitations that prevent Facebook from developing a Roku app. It could also be that there simply isn’t enough demand for a Facebook app on Roku to warrant putting in the time to develop one.
How to Watch Facebook Live on Your Roku
While there is no official Facebook app on Roku, that doesn’t mean it is impossible to watch Facebook Live on the device. All you have to do is mirror your screen from either a mobile device or a laptop to the Roku. The steps to do this will change based on what device you pick, so let’s go through each.
Using an Android
Using an Android phone to stream Facebook Live on your Roku is actually extremely easy. All you have to do is follow these simple steps:
- Make sure that your Roku and your Android are connected to the same WiFi connection. If they are on two different connections, then your Roku will not be able to connect to your phone.
- Next, you need to enable screen mirroring on your Roku. To do this, go to Settings > System > Screen mirroring. You will then see three different options. From these, select either “Prompt” or “Always allow”.
- Open your phone and drag down from the top twice to bring up and expand the quick settings.
- From here, select the option that says “Smart View”.
- This should bring up a list of devices you can screen share to. Select your Roku from the list and your phone should begin mirroring its screen onto your Roku.
- Finally, all you need to do is open Facebook on your phone and it should be displaying on the screen your Roku is connected to.
Using an iPhone
Using an iPhone to mirror Facebook to your Roku’s screen is just as easy as connecting an Android phone. That means that all you have to do is follow these simple steps:
- Make sure your iPhone and Roku device are connected to the same WiFi network. If they are on two different connections, then your Roku will not be able to connect to your phone.
- Next, you need to enable screen mirroring on your Roku. To do this, go to Settings > System > Screen mirroring. You will then see three different options. From these, select either “Prompt” or “Always allow”.
- On your iPhone, open the Control Center by swiping down from the top right corner of the screen on iPhone X and later, or swiping up from the bottom of the screen on earlier models.
- Tap the Screen Mirroring icon, which looks like two overlapping rectangles.
- Your iPhone will search for available devices to mirror to. Tap your Roku device from the list of available devices.
Your iPhone’s screen should now be mirrored on your Roku device. You can now open the Facebook app on your iPhone and it will be displayed on the Roku screen. To stop mirroring, simply tap the Screen Mirroring icon in the Control Center again and select “Stop Mirroring”.
Using a Laptop
If you want to mirror your laptop screen to a Roku device, there are a few simple steps you can follow to get started. Here’s how:
- Make sure your Roku device and your laptop are compatible for screen mirroring. Your Roku device must be a recent model, and your laptop should be running Windows 8.1 or later.
- Next, you need to enable screen mirroring on your Roku device. To do this, go to the Settings menu on your Roku, then select System and finally select Screen Mirroring. From there, choose either Prompt or Always Allow.
- Once you’ve enabled screen mirroring on your Roku, you can connect your laptop to your Roku device. To do this, open the Action Center on your laptop by pressing Windows key + A. From there, select the Connect option and choose your Roku device from the list of available devices.
- Once you’ve connected your laptop to your Roku, you can start screen mirroring by selecting the option to “Duplicate” your screen. You should now see your laptop screen mirrored on your TV via your Roku device.
Once you have gotten your laptop screen successfully mirrored onto your Roku, all you have to do is open Facebook on your laptop and it should be displayed on your TV screen.
What Streaming Devices Support Facebook?
Surprisingly, there are no dedicated streaming devices that support Facebook. This means that for pretty much any streaming device, you will need to use the screen mirroring method if you want to watch Facebook live on your TV.
It is unknown why Facebook has no interest in developing apps to watch their content on any streaming devices, but they haven’t announced they’re even working on any. It’s likely that there just isn’t enough demand for Facebook on streaming devices to warrant developing a whole series of apps.
