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Can I control Chromecast with my phone without a wifi router?

Can I control Chromecast with my phone without a wifi router? I would like to be able to use just a tv, chromecast, and my phone to stream from my phone. Does anyone know if this is possible or if it will be? I tried downloading a rented movie from Google movie and turn the router off at my house. I tried to stream, but it failed for two reasons. Google movies won't let you stream downloaded movies and Chromecast won't work without my router on. Did I do something wrong here or am I missing something? I would prefer to be able to rely on my phone's data and downloaded files. Doesn't anyone think this would be possible with Chromecast? I guess I'm ultimately looking for portability without the internet.

choosetoride said:
Can I control Chromcast with my phone without a wifi router? I would like to be able to use just a tv, chromecast, and my phone to stream from my phone. Does anyone know if this is possible or if it will be? I tried downloading a rented movie from Google movie and turn the router off at my house. I tried to stream, but it failed for two reasons. Google movies won't let you stream downloaded movies and Chromecast won't work without my router on. Did I do something wrong here or am I missing something? I would prefer to be able to rely on my phone's data and downloaded files. Doesn't anyone think this would be possible with Chromecast? I guess I'm ultimately looking for portability without the internet.
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I'm pretty sure your phone/tablet/laptop need to be on the same subnet as the device so it can be found to cast to, hence the need to have everything on the same wifi router.

I think that you can tether it to your phone. You select which wi-fi network the Chromecast joins using the Chromecast app, so no reason that you couldn't enter your phone's wi-fi network.

I think the salient point from the above answers is that Chromecast seems to need an Internet connection for some things (like youtube). For Web pages the Windows chrome browser sends the content to Chromecast but other times (YouTube) it's pulling content itself from the Internet.
Once Koush's app is out hopefully you'll be able to stream more content right to your phone, so a peer to peer network might work better
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium

Jason_V said:
I think that you can tether it to your phone. You select which wi-fi network the Chromecast joins using the Chromecast app, so no reason that you couldn't enter your phone's wi-fi network.
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You could, but remember that Casting from your phone, computer, etc removes that device from being in the middle, and the Chromecast does the heavy lifting of grabbing the requested stream from the internet and playing it on-screen. Your phone's WiFi may be sufficient, but remember you're going to be pulling HD data over the cellular connection, and that'll probably be jerky and buffer a lot. It was neat to cast a netflix item from my phone and turn my phone OFF while it was still playing (and didn't skip a beat) to verify it wasn't using my phone for anything.

FractalSphere said:
You could, but remember that Casting from your phone, computer, etc removes that device from being in the middle, and the Chromecast does the heavy lifting of grabbing the requested stream from the internet and playing it on-screen. Your phone's WiFi may be sufficient, but remember you're going to be pulling HD data over the cellular connection, and that'll probably be jerky and buffer a lot. It was neat to cast a netflix item from my phone and turn my phone OFF while it was still playing (and didn't skip a beat) to verify it wasn't using my phone for anything.
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Click to collapse
Good point. The handoff is amazing. I just would like the option for when I'm somewhere with no internet. In my opinion, this could be a huge deal breaker for a lot of people. Why make it so small, if it's not meant to be taken everywhere? But, who knows. From my perspective, it goes right back to the DRM issue with Xbox. I buy or rent all of the media I watch, but forcing me to be online anytime I want to view it is just controlling. It removes value.

choosetoride said:
Good point. The handoff is amazing. I just would like the option for when I'm somewhere with no internet. In my opinion, this could be a huge deal breaker for a lot of people. Why make it so small, if it's not meant to be taken everywhere? But, who knows. From my perspective, it goes right back to the DRM issue with Xbox. I buy or rent all of the media I watch, but forcing me to be online anytime I want to view it is just controlling. It removes value.
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I would tether or use one of those mobile hotspots (I don't have one, but might if I traveled extensively) and stream that way at a hotel or even someone elses house.
Ohh, which begs the question, can the Chromecast store more than one Wifi configuration? I don't think the software can do that at the moment.. Would be VERY convenient to travel to known locations back and forth.
As for direct streaming of local video, i was able to stream MP4 files no problem using a Chrome browser tab. The computer doing the rendering needs to be a higher-end PC, though - right now I have a older 'media PC' set up that my Xbox plays DLNA from and it's just a glorified storage device, it didn't want to render those videos well at all. So if you have a decent laptop, and get Connectify (free PC software that makes your laptop a hotspot) you can stream to the Chromecast directly while out at a remote location.

I believe the ad-hoc wireless functionality was only meant to facilitate initial setup, not to be a content streaming solution.
Plus, I doubt your phone would be able to handle the computing stress required to cast content directly to the Chromecast.

Roberek said:
I believe the ad-hoc wireless functionality was only meant to facilitate initial setup, not to be a content streaming solution.
Plus, I doubt your phone would be able to handle the computing stress required to cast content directly to the Chromecast.
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Click to collapse
I stream HD Netflix from my phone's hotspot, perfect. I play my xbox online with parties using my hotpsot...perfect.
My down speeds are better than most peoples ISP down speeds so I don't see this being an issue.
The Xbox Smartglass app works from my phone while my phone is giving my Xbox internet so I don't see why the Chromecast wouldn't be able to work either.
I emailed Google about this because I honestly don't see the problem.

iTreezy said:
I stream HD Netflix from my phone's hotspot, perfect. I play my xbox online with parties using my hotpsot...perfect.
My down speeds are better than most peoples ISP down speeds so I don't see this being an issue.
The Xbox Smartglass app works from my phone while my phone is giving my Xbox internet so I don't see why the Chromecast wouldn't be able to work either.
I emailed Google about this because I honestly don't see the problem.
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Click to collapse
let me know if you get a reply because i want to do the same thing but apparently this is the reason why it doesn't work
http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...android-phone-hotspot-ap-isolation-issue.html
seems like if you can disable ap isolation then it would fix it but i'm not sure how you'd do that

Jason_V said:
I think that you can tether it to your phone. You select which wi-fi network the Chromecast joins using the Chromecast app, so no reason that you couldn't enter your phone's wi-fi network.
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Click to collapse
I tried doing this on my Galaxy Note II (Sprint) using WiFi tether. I was able to get it an IP and connect to the network, but it wasn't pushing the DNS info (ie wasn't getting an internet connection). Unfortunately, WiFi tether can be limited in the it's settings and CC has only a few.
Unfortunately, from what I've seen, you are unable to store multiple networks on the CC. I don't believe it was designed for that much portability. I happen to have a laptop with me and was able to do the setup. Since I wasn't able to get an internet connect, I wasn't able to test if I could cast from the GN2. My expectation is most likely not. But I had a tablet with me too, and would have tested it with that.
As for how it would preform, I assume for Netflix and application with CC extension built in, no problem. Trying to cast a Chrome tab, that could be iffy since it would depend on well WiFi tether can handle the that much traffic and the PC.
I haven't fiddled with it since then. But it's definitely possible with some tweaks.

colonelcack said:
let me know if you get a reply because i want to do the same thing but apparently this is the reason why it doesn't work
http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...android-phone-hotspot-ap-isolation-issue.html
seems like if you can disable ap isolation then it would fix it but i'm not sure how you'd do that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there is a way to disable AP isolation. I'm no network wiz or anything but I rally think it would be an easy update on their side to grant access to using our phones hot spot.
I also noticed that the Chromecast itself generates its own hotspot...I'm assuming to let other devices connect to it and cast to it.
I'm not mad that it doesn't work ($35 isn't a wallet breaker) but I am mad that I jumped the gun and used my 3 months free promo for Netflix =(

Well, here it is guys
Hello Troy,
Thank you for contacting Google Play! It was a pleasure getting to speak with you today. Unfortunately you will need an ISP to hook up your chromecast it will not work off of a hotspot connection.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to reply directly to this email. Also, you can visit our help center at:
https://support.google.com/chromecast/
Regards,
Tracy
The Google Play Support Team!
On 08/10/13 00:10:27 ********** wrote:
first_name_req: Troy
last_name_req: Wisniewski
email_req: **********
Chromekey_serial:
description_req: I don't have an ISP at my residence, I use my Galaxy Nexus
hotspot for everything which always works out well. I was hoping that the
Chromecast would work connected to my hotpot but it seems to have issues.
People have stated that it won't work because your phone has to be
connected to wifi as well but my rebuttal to this is that
Microsoft's "SmartGlass" app is used to control my Xbox, through wifi. I
use my hotspot to give internet access to my Xbox and my phone can control
it even though it is technically not on a wifi network, instead it is
providing the wifi. To me it seems this is the same concept and should work
with a bit of back end support on your end. I would appreciate an email
back stating whether this is going to be possible or not. If it isn't
possible I understand. For $35 ($15 with the Netflix promo) it's not
exactly killing me. The reason I don't have an ISP is because I would
rather not be raped (for lack of better words)
P.S. Google Fiber Metro Detroit please
static_subject_line: Chromecast technical question
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I guess the the next step is for everyone to quote this and spread the word throughout the other posts here at XDA and any other forums related to this topic.

iTreezy said:
I guess the the next step is for everyone to quote this and spread the word throughout the other posts here at XDA and any other forums related to this topic.
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Click to collapse
bull****. they're just too lazy to do it. there has to be some hotspot app that has this feature or some kind of workaround that will be figured out eventually...this was the whole reason i bought the device, this would be the ultimate portable media center. i bet that kouch guy could do it...

colonelcack said:
bull****. they're just too lazy to do it. there has to be some hotspot app that has this feature or some kind of workaround that will be figured out eventually...this was the whole reason i bought the device, this would be the ultimate portable media center. i bet that kouch guy could do it...
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Click to collapse
Listen.. I'm with you man. I meant spread the official word of google so we can move on to focusing on developers trying to help us out
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

iTreezy said:
Listen.. I'm with you man. I meant spread the official word of google so we can move on to focusing on developers trying to help us out
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
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lol i know man i wasn't saying bull**** to you just in general. i already linked to this to the other post on androidcentral....hopefully this helps spread the word.

Kinda late to the party here, but just FYI I have my CC tethered to my Sprint SGS4 using the native hotspot app. Did the set up using my N10, using the chromecast app.

Bump - Any new developments?
So, Ive been scouring the internet looking for some sort of simple, portable, wireless method to stream content from my Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 to a TV... with the most obvious thought of HDMI adapters and dongles. Obviously one of the leading search results and hype is "Chromecast" which led me here. I was hoping I could confirm the following and see if any progress has been made:
1. Can the Chromecast be used to stream content on a mobile device? Or is it still based strictly on app based media?
2. I doubt much progress has been made in this area, so I really doubt "screencasting" from a mobile device (tablet/phone) is possible, especially without internet connection.
3. Can Chromecast be supported by a portable wifi hotspot yet? or is it still strictly dependent on a ISP to router WiFi connection?
4. If Chromecast doesn't do it, then has any one found any devices that allows you to stream your tablet/phone to a tv wirelessly the same way that you can do if you have the MHL to HDMI cables?

varxtis said:
So, Ive been scouring the internet looking for some sort of simple, portable, wireless method to stream content from my Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 to a TV... with the most obvious thought of HDMI adapters and dongles. Obviously one of the leading search results and hype is "Chromecast" which led me here. I was hoping I could confirm the following and see if any progress has been made:
1. Can the Chromecast be used to stream content on a mobile device? Or is it still based strictly on app based media?
2. I doubt much progress has been made in this area, so I really doubt "screencasting" from a mobile device (tablet/phone) is possible, especially without internet connection.
3. Can Chromecast be supported by a portable wifi hotspot yet? or is it still strictly dependent on a ISP to router WiFi connection?
4. If Chromecast doesn't do it, then has any one found any devices that allows you to stream your tablet/phone to a tv wirelessly the same way that you can do if you have the MHL to HDMI cables?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read the Stickies first.

3. As long as your hotspot does not isolates clients or the AP itself, does not block or mangle multicast, and has sufficient bitrate to get the Internet-based media you want, it should work.
4. Wireless HDMI transmitter/receiver, but those cost in the $150+ range for good reason - latency is the biggest enemy. That's why applying the same mechanism that desktop Chrome tab casting won't work. It'll overload the CPU of the phone/tablet with compression and it will still have lag.

Chromecast somehow interacting with PS3?

So last night I noticed some odd behavior (I think?) from my Chromecast. I turned on my TV and my tablet and for whatever reason the Chromecast icon wasn't available on my Netflix app. I didn't think much of it and didn't have time to mess around with it since I just wanted to watch a quick show before bed, so I turned on my PS3 and started watching via the Netflix app. About halfway through the show I look at my tablet and it shows Chromecast in the notification bar as if the show is playing via Chromecast and not my PS3... so I hit the stop button because I thought the app was just misbehaving or something... and it actually stopped the video I was watching via PS3. I was pretty confused at this point and forget if I resumed the video using the Chromecast app or my PS3 remote but in any case it resumed on the PS3 (didn't switch inputs and start playing on Chromecast or anything). Has anyone else experienced this? Could CEC allow the Chromecast app on my tablet to "talk" to my PS3 or something?

I noticed this too. I can control Netflix on my ps3, on my tablet.
I guess it just detects other instances of Netflix across your network. It doesn't matter what device it's on.
I almost don't need to buy a chromecast now.

Apparently, this has been a feature for nearly a year:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/25/netflix-ios-android-ps3-second-screen-remote-control/
I just discovered it recently as well!

dave__ said:
Apparently, this has been a feature for nearly a year:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/25/netflix-ios-android-ps3-second-screen-remote-control/
I just discovered it recently as well!
Click to expand...
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Thanks for the info! I don't know how I didn't know about that since I try to keep up with news on cool features like this.

This also works for the YouTube app on the PS3.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Yeah, the YouTube app has for over a year had a similar button for smart TVs and Google TV. If you walk into a store like Future Shop that has a bunch of smart TVs, phones and tablets on the same wireless network you can actually load up the YouTube app and push video to their TVs. Much to their bemusement

I'm streaming from my phone with my WiFi disabled... anyone else manage to do this?

Hey all,
Really weird thing is happening right now with my Chromecast. I started streaming a YouTube playlist of all 82 episodes of Dr. Katz, and when I longpressed home to clear my recent apps, I just clicked the "clear all" button like always. This took the Chromecast icon away from the notification bar and killed my YouTube session, but the video was still streaming. My curiosity piqued, I turned my WiFi off to see what would happen. Lo and behold, the videos are still playing. Anyone have an explanation for this? I'm not complaining, just curious as to how this is even possible.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

This is perfectly normal and how it's supposed work. You are not streaming from your device but rather your device is the remote. Once the link or signal has been sent to the cc you can go as far as pulling the battery on your device and the video will still play.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app

45ACP1911 said:
This is perfectly normal and how it's supposed work. You are not streaming from your device but rather your device is the remote.
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Click to collapse
Exactly this. It's also in the FAQ Part 1, 1.d

45ACP1911 said:
This is perfectly normal and how it's supposed work. You are not streaming from your device but rather your device is the remote. Once the link or signal has been sent to the cc you can go as far as pulling the battery on your device and the video will still play.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Oh...huh. Well, I sure do feel stupid. I knew CC doesn't "stream" in the traditional sense but for some reason I thought it required the device of origin to always be connected to the same WiFi network as the CC. Anyway, thanks for the heads up guys!
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

In the Plex thread we also tested and verified that the Chromecast does not need an internet connection during local streaming from Plex media server on your PC.
It does need an internet connection to phone home to Google when you first connect to the Plex media server on your local network. But after that it will keep on interacting with the controller and playing new selections from the server over the local wifi network even with the internet disconnected. It only needs to connect to the internet again if you disconnect the controller from the Chromecast and then try to reconnect it. At that point the Chromecast goes to black screen and freezes in a wait state if there is no internet connection. But it resumes the local connection seamlessly if you restore the internet connection.

cmb3497 said:
I knew CC doesn't "stream" in the traditional sense but for some reason I thought it required the device of origin to always be connected to the same WiFi network as the CC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's only the case (that the device of origin needs to stay connected) when "forwarding" video from another source and when the source data exists on the origin device. For example, Avia can pull from a DLNA source and push that to Chromecast, and both Avia and RealPlayer Cloud can cast local files to Chromecast.
If Chromecast is using its regular "optimized" playback from a streaming provider (HBO GO, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Viki, Pandora, etc) then the origin device is not needed after the cast starts. That's one of the things I like about Chromecast - you can start playback on one device then move to another device to control playback if you want or need to (for example, your kid decides they really want to play Angry Birds on your phone).

A few hiccups with Chromecast?

Hey there,
I recently transitioned from an AppleTV to a ChromeCast. However, I seem to be having a small problem with Chromecast.
I have Chromecast running perfectly, it streams as it needs to stream from my phone on Youtube, Viki, and Netflix. However, when I go back to my homescreen or I lock my device, the streaming stops altogether.
If i'm not mistaken, wasn't Chromecast the device that allowed phone users to minimize the app and then proceed to browse the net using their phone?
Is anyone having this problem? I'm currently using an iPhone 5S , I also tested this on the S3 and it was the same problem.

I have three running in my household all phones and tablets work as remotes. Try updating your app on the phone. Never tried with apple
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using xda app-developers app

SirPoola said:
I have Chromecast running perfectly, it streams as it needs to stream from my phone on Youtube, Viki, and Netflix. However, when I go back to my homescreen or I lock my device, the streaming stops altogether.
If i'm not mistaken, wasn't Chromecast the device that allowed phone users to minimize the app and then proceed to browse the net using their phone?
Is anyone having this problem? I'm currently using an iPhone 5S , I also tested this on the S3 and it was the same problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your understanding is correct - normal (optimized) playback of content from the Internet should not require the casting device. You should be able to reboot or turn off the casting device without interrupting the stream.
What applications are you casting from?

How to cast local videos without lag/stutter?

[Apologies if this is not the correct forum]
I'm unable to cast videos taken on my Note 3 to my Chromecast without lots of lag and buffering. Various casting apps (AllCast, LocalCast, etc) yield the same results. My wireless router is a Linksys WRT160Nv3. Where is the bottleneck? Is it even possible to cast videos from my phone to my Chromecast or is that asking too much?
Also, even casting pictures seems to take forever. Well, not forever, but it will take several seconds just to load one photo.
I'm wondering if upgrading my router would make a difference?

The Chromecast has a lot of trouble cast 1080p video from a device. New apps it a new router won't help. Its the limited processing power of the Chromecast. Maybe try uploading to Dropbox and casting from there. Or put it on your PC and cast with plex. Other than that unless you turn your video camera down to 720p there isn't a whole lot that would help you.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Cuzz1369 said:
The Chromecast has a lot of trouble cast 1080p video from a device. New apps it a new router won't help. Its the limited processing power of the Chromecast. Maybe try uploading to Dropbox and casting from there. Or put it on your PC and cast with plex. Other than that unless you turn your video camera down to 720p there isn't a whole lot that would help you.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Plex is a good suggestion, I'll try that. Does it also do photos?

hfuizo said:
[Apologies if this is not the correct forum]
I'm unable to cast videos taken on my Note 3 to my Chromecast without lots of lag and buffering. Various casting apps (AllCast, LocalCast, etc) yield the same results. My wireless router is a Linksys WRT160Nv3. Where is the bottleneck? Is it even possible to cast videos from my phone to my Chromecast or is that asking too much?
Also, even casting pictures seems to take forever. Well, not forever, but it will take several seconds just to load one photo.
I'm wondering if upgrading my router would make a difference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lots of potential bottlenecks, but mostly 1080p video on phones/tablets tend to be too high a bitrate to successfully cast. Combine that with the potential bottlenecks of
Poor WiFi reception at Chromecast (try the extender and/or move Chromecast - side ports tend to have less blocked/interference from the TV)
Phone/Tablet WiFi interface bottleneck
Router inability to cope with traffic (doubt this is the case for you, as you have a high-performance router)
I'd try one of the PC-based file-casting apps on a wired PC. If that works, then it's probably your phone/tablet not being able to pump an adequate data rate out of its WiFi. A radio update might help.
But overall, the real solution is to reduce the bitrate of the video by compressing it. Plex can do this on-the-fly, if your Plex server is fast enough. Otherwise you can recompress to a new file with Handbrake or a variety of other compression utilities.

hfuizo said:
Plex is a good suggestion, I'll try that. Does it also do photos?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Movies, photos, music and internet channels. I set plex up 2 weeks ago and have to say I barely use anything else now.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Cuzz1369 said:
Movies, photos, music and internet channels. I set plex up 2 weeks ago and have to say I barely use anything else now.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give it a try tonight. That would work great for me since my phone dumps all my photos/videos to my PC every night anyway while I sleep.

hfuizo said:
I'll give it a try tonight. That would work great for me since my phone dumps all my photos/videos to my PC every night anyway while I sleep.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. I was going g to mention that it is not as convenient as cast directly from your device. But if you have automatic backup that's a moot point.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

How fast is your internet connection? 1080p requires high bandwidth. I have no problem with downloaded content but videos filmed with my phone are a known issue. I have 30/5 Comcast cable so that's plenty of speed. Obviously most people have slower than this, my guess is 10mb down would be the minimum for streaming. Your router is decent but a bit old and newer ones could support a boost in speed. What modem/service are you using.

I have used Avia to cast from my Nexus 7 and have not experienced any issues at all.
Sent from my Amiga 500 using Workbench

xlxcrossing said:
How fast is your internet connection? 1080p requires high bandwidth. I have no problem with downloaded content but videos filmed with my phone are a known issue. I have 30/5 Comcast cable so that's plenty of speed. Obviously most people have slower than this, my guess is 10mb down would be the minimum for streaming. Your router is decent but a bit old and newer ones could support a boost in speed. What modem/service are you using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OP is talking about local streaming, which can be done without internet at all. It could be WiFi interference, poor router performance, or the simple fact that Chromecast just doesnt have the processing power to stream local 1080p video. Plex is the easy solution, seeing as it processes the video on the machine where the server is. Thus eliminating the Chromecast to doing all the work.
My Chromecast is coming tonight and I will be trying this as well. Hopefully I'll be able to get Plex server working on my Ubuntu machine. My Windows box died last week.

xlxcrossing said:
How fast is your internet connection? 1080p requires high bandwidth. I have no problem with downloaded content but videos filmed with my phone are a known issue. I have 30/5 Comcast cable so that's plenty of speed. Obviously most people have slower than this, my guess is 10mb down would be the minimum for streaming. Your router is decent but a bit old and newer ones could support a boost in speed. What modem/service are you using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My connection is 50/10 but I'm with g2tegg, I don't think in this particular situation it matters.

If you are experiencing Stuttering...Something I want you to try.
Shut off security on your router and then try again to stream the same file.
If the stuttering stops then try turning security back on but using TKIP instead of AES.

Yes I have found Avia to be the best so far, well worth the price
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app