Category Archives: Troubleshoot

Setup Chromecast on your Windows 10 or Mac

Setting up your Chromecast on Windows 10 has changed recently and we will go step by step on how to download and setup your Chromecast. When Chromecast initially rolled out, most of us still had Windows 8 or even Windows XP. At that time, you were to download a setup file to install a Chromecast application onto your Windows machine. However, when Google re-branded Chromecast to just Cast, things have changed. You know no longer need to download a Chromecast app to use Chromecast or to setup. As a matter of fact, if you go to

https://www.google.com/chromecast/setup/

you are only given option to download the Google Cast app for Android Play store and Apple App Store.

chromecast-windows-download

To use Chromecast on your Windows 10 machine, all you need is the Google Chrome browser which you can download here.



Once you have installed your Chrome browser, go to this link -> chromecast.com/setup
If the link doesn’t work, copy and paste (chrome://cast/#devices) into your url.

From here, it will search for Chromecast in your WiFi. If it doesn’t detect your Chromecast, make sure your TV is on and the input it set to the HDMI port, the USB power is plugged in, and your Windows PC is connected on the same WiFi as your Chromecast.

Walk through the setup Wizard per below. chromecast-windows-setup-1

chromecast-windows-setup-2chromecast-windows-setup-3chromecast-windows-setup-5chromecast-windows-setup-4 Once you see the below screen, you are ready to cast! You can click on the upper right icon for more settings.

chromecast-windows-setup-5-5

Under settings, you may change the name of your Chromecast, forget or reset your WiFi network, change the timezone and see what firmware version you are on. You may also perform remote reboot or even factory reset.

chromecast-windows-setup-6

To start casting your Chrome tab, click on the Google cast icon which will be next to your Chrome extension add ons on the upper right of your screen. In the middle of your screen, you should find the name of the Chromecast you assigned at setup.

cast-iconI named mine, Digital 1.

chromecast-windows-setup-7

And here I am Watching Amazon Prime using my Chromecast. chromecast-amazon-primechromecast-windows-setup-8

 

Chromecast not disconnecting

A few users have reported on the Google Forums that their Chromecast is not disconnecting after you are done using it or want to switch to another source. I have experience this when I am using Netflix and when I am done, I want to switch to another source and no longer want the Chromecast connected to Netflix. However, nothing I do to disconnect works! I try clicking the Cast icon to unlink it but that didn’t work.

Here are some suggestions on how to force your Chromecast to disconnect after casting from an app or screen.

  1. Force stop the app – After you are done casting to your Chromecast from the app you are using and if Chromecast doesn’t disconnect, force stop the app. For Android, you can do this by going to the home screen, navigate to the app icon you were using the Chromecast, then hold on to the app to go to ‘info’. From there, you can click ‘stop application’. For Apple iOS, you can double click your home button and swipe the app to force quit it.
  2. Disconnect the device from your Google Cast app – Another way to force close your Chromecast is to disconnect the device using your Google Cast app.
  3. Force reboot the device from your Google Cast app – If it still doesn’t disconnect, you can force a reboot remotely from your Google Cast app.
  4. Power cycle your Chromecast – If there is no response when you try to remotely reboot your Chromecast, go and physically remove the usb power source from your Chromecast. When you do this, make sure you leave the power cable off for at least 30 seconds to make sure there is no residual memory stored in the RAM.

If this issue still persists, I would recommend you do two things. First, is to perform a factory reset. After you reboot your Chromecast, do not connect to any apps or cast any content. Simply, go to your Google Cast app and connect to your device. Next, go to settings and perform a factory reset to default settings. Once you do this, just perform setup again.

The 2nd thing to do is to report your issue to the Google Cast Help Forum. You can report your issue and someone from Google will ask you some questions. It is monitored pretty regularly and the response from other users are quite helpful.

 

Chromecast Audio Rebooting Routers

router-rebootIn a weird twist, the latest Chromecast update is causing routers, which are connected to Chromecast Audio, to reboot. User Keith DD posted on the Google Cast Help Forum on Sept 26 that he has 3 Chromecast Audios and noticed his ISP router kept rebooting. Thinking the router became defective, the ISP sent a replacement but as soon as he plugged in his Chromecast Audio, the router rebooted. He tested it with another router and again, it worked find when the Chromecast Audio was not plugged in but as soon as it was plugged in, the routers rebooted.

Factory reset did not fix the issue. Neither than amending various settings on his router.

Google employee, Christina Pham, who is super helpful on the help forums responded and acknoweldged this is isolated to Chromecast Audio users running firmware 1.21.72444 on select wifi routers. A fix should be released soon.

Are you impacted by this? If so, help the community out by filling the following details using this form:

  1. Summary of the issue
  2. ISP
  3. Router Make and model
  4. The keywords “1.21.72444 – Router Reboot“

Euro Cup 2016 Live Streaming

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How to stream Eurocup online. I just encountered an outage on my cable TV and had to result to live streaming to watch the quarter finals of the EuroCup. I wasn’t about to sit behind my 19″ computer screen or my 5″ phone to watch the epic battle between Italy vs. Germany. Once I gave up on watching this on my cable provider, I used my Chromecast. Follow these instructions to watch the EuroCup using the ESPN app.

There are two ways of casting the live stream to your TV.

To cast from an app through your phone or tablet:

  1. Open WatchESPN app
  2. Sign into your cable or satellite TV provider
  3. Change your TV input to your Chromecast
  4. Once your app detects the Chromecast powered on, you will see the cast icon.
  5. Click play and cast to your Chromecast device

2016-07-02 22.28.25 2016-07-02 22.30.04

 

 

 

 

 

 

To cast from your Chrome browser:

  1. Navigate fro your Chrome browser to http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index
  2. Sign into your cable or satellite TV provider
  3. Click the Eurocup game you are interested. France and Iceland are playing on Sun. July 3rd.
  4. You will likely see a video player launch in a different window. This pop up will not have your Chromecast extension icon at the upper right of your screen.
  5. Copy the url of the video player and paste it to where you clicked the game you are interested in.
  6. The video player should now load in the window where you have your cast icon.

watchespn eurocup

No Cast Devices Found – Solution

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Imagine if you got off work, made dinner, ate, and cleaned up. You sit down and relax hoping to catch up on Netflix exclusive TV show and you get the “No Cast Devices Found” error. You just watched it the day prior. You try to power cycle the Chromecast and reboot your phone just in case. Same. Here are some things you can try according to Google’s Device Discovery troubleshooter:

-Make sure TV is on and source input is set to HDMI connected to Chromecast

-Reboot Chromecast using the Chromecast app or by unplugging the USB power cable

-Make sure you are on the same WiFi network. Your source cannot be on different WiFi networks including 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

-Check to make sure your device triggering the cast is in sync. If not sync the clock.

-Check other devices if it can see the Chromecast

-Reboot your router

-Ensure AP isolation is disabled on your router’s settings

-Last resort, perform a factory reset on your Chromecast

If it still doesn’t work, contact Google support

https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/6025971

Chromecast Unable to Connect to 5Ghz Wifi – Solution

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wifi_5ghz

Many users are having issues connecting their Chromecast 2 to their 5ghz WiFi network. One of the major selling point for the next generation Chromecast is that it supports both 2.4 and 5GHz. If you mix up the two during setup or streaming, you will not be able to connect. Google has several recommendations. First, make sure you are on the same network from the device you are using to setup through the Chromecast App. This is essential if you want to setup your Chromecast through 5GHz but say you are using a device that can only support 2.4Ghz.

Next, make sure your router’s WiFi setting is set to mixed mode. Do not set to exclusively to a single band.

If you are still having issues, make sure your WiFi network name does not have any special characters in it. There have been reports that Chromecast doesn’t work well with special characters.

If you are running DD-WRT, make sure you are updated to the latest firmware and reboot the router. If you are still having issues, leave a comment!

Poor Video Quality When Casting Tab

Your Chromecast may have poor video quality when casting a Chrome tab to your TV. This is usually due to two things which can cause freezing, stuttering, or pixelating on your TV. Here are some things you can try to fix poor video quality on your Chromecast.

Computer performance causing video issues with Chromecast:
Check the power settings on your computer which you are casting the tab from Chrome. Check to make sure your computer does not go to sleep or go into power saving mode which is set by default on most laptops. Close down any unused applications, programs, or windows. Temporarily reduce it from the default high definition 720p to 480p through the Options Menu on the Cast icon.

720p chromecast options

 

Network Issue causing poor video quality Chromecast:

The performance of Chromecast highly depends on your WiFi connection. Your WiFi connection in turn depends on the speed of your Internet. In my experience, you should have at least 3mb Internet speed and faster. WiFi routers varies but your TV and Chromecast should not have too many walls in between. For example, if you have your WiFi router located one end of the room, you will likely experience issues trying to connect it to a Chromecast at the opposite side of your house or basement. You can try to move your router or purchase an extender or repeater to extend the range of your WiFi network. You can also try to use the HDMI extender to distance the Chromecast device from your TV. If you are casting a tab from a PC / Laptop, make sure it has good strength indicating on the WiFi connection. You can also check if the WiFi channel is overlapping with another device through WiFi manager apps available on Play Store and App Store. If you have multiple users streaming through Youtube or other services, it may hamper the performance.

How to factory reset a Chromecast:

If you tried all of the above and still have video quality issues regardless of casting from a tab or casting from an app, as a last resort, you can try to do a reset on your Chromecast to see if clearing the cache will resolve your issue. In order to reset, you can do it two ways.

 

How to Reboot Remotely and Factory Reset

Here is how you can reboot and do a factory data rest on your Chromecast remotely. You may run into an issue where video quality isn’t great and you want to do a simple reboot. In order to reboot, you simply go to your Chromecast App, click onto your device in question, go to menu and you will see the below options. You can do the same to factory data reset a Chromecast. Whether you want to return the device or give it to your cousin Vinny, you will want to perform a factory data reset on your Chromecast before you do so.
data reset data reset data reset

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to physically reboot or do a factory reset, you can do the following. To do a reboot, simply power cycle it. Remove the power source (usb) and plug it back in. To do a factory data reset, hold down the power button on your Chromecast while is is powered for at least 25 seconds until the led light starts to flash.
chromecast reset

 

 

 

 

 

You can also do a reset and factory reset through the app on your PC. Go to the app and open your Chromecast device. You should see the below in the options menu. Click reboot to quickly clear the cache to see if it resolves your issue and click factory reset if you want to clear all personal data.
chromecast reboot menu

How to cast any website to TV using Chromecast

Casting any website to the TV through Chromecast. One of the best feature of Chromeast is the ability to cast any website to the TV from your computer. This is handy when you want to display a particular website to your TV. Example may be a a website which doesn’t support Chromecast. For example, I can watch the Los Angeles Lakers through casting a tab on Google Chrome browser with no problems. I get audio and the video quality is decent at HD. It helps that I have a fast Internet connection and within range of my WiFi router. Here are some requirements:

-PC or Laptop that is WiFi enabled
-Google Chrome browser (version 28 or later)
-Chromecast extention on your Chrome browser
-May have issues if the website uses a plugin such as Silverlight, Quicktime, or VLC.

For the time being, you may only cast from Google Chrome browser from PC and not from iOS or Android.

sportsnet lakers