Help - Chromecast not working

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Rikkitic

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#248986 18-Apr-2019 13:21

My Chromecast has stopped working. The other day I could cast, now it says no devices found. I don’t know what has changed. I have two devices, both with built-in Chromecast. One is an Nvidia Shield, the other a semi-clone (Mycool). They are on wired connection.

My networking know-how is minimal, but I have done all the usual checks. No conflicting IP addresses and that sort of thing. Both devices show up as Chromecast on the Windows network folder on the laptop I am using so that part is working. They also both have Internet connectivity. The laptop is Win 7. I also have tested with Chrome browser on others, including Win 10, wired and wi-fi. I am testing on actual Chrome browsers, not Chrome-based, and they are up to date. They all give the same result.

I don’t see any network errors and the laptop sees both Chromecast devices as well as a share on the network, so all that seems to be working okay. Everything seems to be working correctly, except Chrome keeps insisting it can’t find any Chromecast devices.

Can anyone help me diagnose this? I haven’t a clue what to try next. I don’t know what has caused this. I can’t think of any changes I might have made. To recap, I have two separate Android devices with built-in Chromecast. Both were working up to a few days ago. Both show up on the Windows network folder. But all attempts to cast using latest Chrome Browser on multiple computers fail with no devices found. What could cause this? The lack of any diagnostic information is very frustrating.

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#2220665 18-Apr-2019 15:19

open the google home app and what do you see?

nitro

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#2220672 18-Apr-2019 15:30

has your wifi changed channels?

i seem to remember having had an issue on the first-gen chromecast with ch 13.

robjg63

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#2220676 18-Apr-2019 15:42

Turn your PC, router, media boxes, chromecasts off.

Turn the router back on.

Wait until it connects to the internet.

Switch the other devices back on one at a time.

Any joy?

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

Rikkitic

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#2220701 18-Apr-2019 16:31

Thanks for the tips everyone. I will work through them and let you know.

Not sure about Google Home. I can't find it anywhere and I can't seem to install it except as a sideloaded apk.

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BlakJak

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#2222886 23-Apr-2019 21:43

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.chromecast.app

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Rikkitic

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#2222985 24-Apr-2019 07:15

BlakJak: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.chromecast.app

Thanks but I can't find it when I search from the Shield. I tried several times. I do see it with my pc. I figured the Shield was filtering it as it does with other apps it doesn't like. I have requested support from Nvidia but Easter has got in the way. I hope to hear from them soon.

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Jase2985

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#2222995 24-Apr-2019 07:40

can android tv get the google home app?

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Rikkitic

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#2222998 24-Apr-2019 07:48

Not as far as I can see. It doesn't appear on any search. I can probably download the apk from an 'alternative' site and sideload it, but I haven't tried that yet. Still waiting for a response from Nvidia support.

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richms

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#2223001 24-Apr-2019 08:02

It's a phone app, the idea is you run it on your phone to set up the chromecast devices and connect them to your google account etc, its not designed to run on the device that you are casting to.

Richard rich.ms

Rikkitic

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#2223041 24-Apr-2019 08:31

Thank you for that clarification. It makes perfect sense. It is just surprising that such a simple, straightforward explanation of it is nowhere else to be found. As some may know, I have no phone or other 'smart' device so could not make use of this anyway. For me the Chromecast always just worked out of the box. I never had to set anything up on the Shield. Then it suddenly stopped working and I can't figure out why. It may actually be a fault with the Shield but I don't know how to diagnose that. The Chromecast device shows up on the Windows network folder but when I try to cast from Chrome browser I get 'no cast device found'. This always just worked until it stopped working. I am not aware of any changes I might have made that would affect this. I have got nowhere with Chrome support. I hope Nvidia support can tel me more.

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grimwulf

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#2223042 24-Apr-2019 08:43

Edited after re-reading original post ;).

The Shield built-in Chromecast emulation should 'just work' but if not it's likely an update might have messed with it - although I haven't had a Shield update recently - so I'd discount that for now.

The main thing is that both the devices need to be on the same network, which I imagine they are given it's been working and has stopped.

The other thing is that the Chromecast device (and/or emulation) still needs to connect out to the internet to stream the content - has anything changed with your internet settings or DNS?

If Chrome can't 'see' the Shield Chromecast service - that may be a number of things. Have you changed your firewall settings recently? Installed or used a new VPN service?

Rikkitic

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#2223049 24-Apr-2019 09:15

As others have pointed out to me, I probably bought the wrong device when I bought the Shield, but these days simple, clear information seems hard to come by. I bought the Shield as a streaming device and I bought it because it kept turning up in reviews as the best streaming device. At the time I thought it was just a superior Android box. Names like 'Android' and 'Android TV' are easy to confuse unless you already know the distinctions.

After I bought it, I set out to make it work the way I wanted, which was an enormous hassle. Most Android apps turned out not to work on it, or not work correctly. Eventually I got things pretty much the way I wanted with the help of judicious sideloading and a Flirc for IR control. The lack of a mouse function is a real pain but I found an app for that and also added an air mouse. Eventually I had things pretty much the way I wanted. Then the Shield auto-updated and broke half of what had cost me so much effort to get working. So I went through it all again and eventually I got it working the way I wanted. I also learned from experience and turned off the updates. There has been another major one but I have not allowed it because I'm afraid it will screw everything up again and the Shield, being what it is, does not allow updates to be rolled back as far as I can tell, which is just another major pain.

What this means is my Shield has not been updated for some time, maybe as long as a year or so. I don't remember exactly. During that period the Chromecast has always worked perfectly. It only stopped working two or three weeks ago. So I don't think any update would have affected it. I am inclined to suspect some problem with my network rather than the Shield, but I don't know and I don't know enough to diagnose it. I have tried various things, like rebooting the router and trying different computers and temporarily connecting a laptop to the same LAN switch as the Shield. Normally the Shield always has a wired connection and the laptop is on wi-fi, but even putting them both on the same LAN switch makes no difference. I don't have a phone or any smart device and I only use the Chrome browser on Windows computers for casting. I have confirmed that I have the latest version of Google Chrome browser, not a Chrome-based alternative. I have different computers, desktop, laptop, notebook, Win 7, 8 and 10, and I get the same result with all of them. I don't know what else to try.

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BlakJak

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#2223125 24-Apr-2019 11:08

Rikkitic:
Thank you for that clarification. It makes perfect sense. It is just surprising that such a simple, straightforward explanation of it is nowhere else to be found. As some may know, I have no phone or other 'smart' device so could not make use of this anyway. For me the Chromecast always just worked out of the box. I never had to set anything up on the Shield. Then it suddenly stopped working and I can't figure out why. It may actually be a fault with the Shield but I don't know how to diagnose that. The Chromecast device shows up on the Windows network folder but when I try to cast from Chrome browser I get 'no cast device found'. This always just worked until it stopped working. I am not aware of any changes I might have made that would affect this. I have got nowhere with Chrome support. I hope Nvidia support can tel me more.

I hadn't picked up that you have no smartphone.

Chromecast is relatively inexpensive in part because it assumes the user has a device to control it with. Perhaps pick up a cheap Android from the supermarket and solve your problem that way? Seems easier than trying to jump through hoops that were never intended.

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Rikkitic

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#2223478 25-Apr-2019 09:39

BlakJak:

Chromecast is relatively inexpensive in part because it assumes the user has a device to control it with. Perhaps pick up a cheap Android from the supermarket and solve your problem that way? Seems easier than trying to jump through hoops that were never intended.

I do have a couple of Android tablets. I tried sideloading the Google Home app on one of them but it seems to think I have a Google Home device I am trying to set up. This just confuses me. I don't have any Google Home device, just Chromecast on the Shield. I am an old person and maybe I just get confused easily, but I really hate it when everything has the same name and you are just supposed to know what the differences are. So how is the Google Home app supposed to help me set up the Chromecast when it seems to think I should have a Google Home hardware device (whatever that is), which I don't have? I feel like I am slipping into a morass that is just getting deeper.

And to return to the original complaint, why should I have to set up Chromecast at all? Isn't that supposed to be taken care of by the Shield?

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richms

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#2224519 25-Apr-2019 12:06

Usually it is, I have had no end of problems with the cast compaitble stuff on my speakers and android TV boxes. Just dont work with some things, yet my dinosaur old crap first gen chromecast will play them fine.

Richard rich.ms

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