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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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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...
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

After 3 weeks my pros and cons

It's been almost 3 weeks since I purchased 4 Chromecasts. I have some Pros and Cons about my experience. I encourage you to add your own Pro/Con list.
Pros:
- Cheap. At $35 it's an impulse buy. I expect to see it at the checkout aisle of the supermarket next to the gift cards.
- Cheap will make it ubiquitous. Every app developer will rush to make their app Chromecastable.
- Extremely easy to set up. Some have had troubles as we've seen on this forum but my daughter set hers up without a single phone call to me. And she has absolutely no tech skills.
- I absolutely, positively love the ability to queue YouTube videos. I wish Netflix had that and I hope other app developers pick up on that. I wish there was one central queue where I could queue up Netflix, YouTube, Google Music, et all in one big queue. I could plan a whole night's viewing and then just sit back and watch.
- Shared control. It's nice that I can start a video and leave the room and my wife can take over control of it on her device. Very clever.
- Doesn't tie up my device. I can do other things while watching a video. Multitasking as it were.
- I can start a video on my phone then cast it to my family room TV, then pause it and start playing it on my bedroom PC, then pause it and finish it on my tablet. Very versitile.
- Video quality is superb. 1080p is very nice from the Chromecast. As good as cable TV.
- Audio is also superb. 5.1 is a nice surprise.
- If you have multiple wifi routers with multiple SSIDs you can control a Chromecast across SSIDs. And you see all the Chromecasts no matter which SSID you're currently using.
CONS
- Using the phone/tablet as a remote is not as convenient as a real remote. We have an unwritten rule in our house that when someone starts a conversation we pause the TV. With a real remote I can do this in a split second without looking at the remote. Using Chromecast I can't. Not only do I have to look at the phone, thus ignoring the person that is talking to me, I have to find the app that cast the video and start it up again to be able to pause it. This has made for an awkward situation more than once.
- It's not a perfect device, lots of app tweaking needs to be done.
- Sometimes I get spinning circle on my phone and it never casts.
- Sometimes I get spinning circle on my phone but the cast actually starts. This is not good at all as I have no way of pausing or stopping it from my phone. Same thing happens to my tablet so it's not a device specific issue.
- There's no ability to reduce picture quality. If I'm in a hotel using my phone's hot spot capability I could easily eat up 5gb of data watching a 1080p movie when 480p, or even less, would have been satisfactory.
- It has connectivity issues with some routers, especially Verizon FIOS' Actiontec router. There's not much in the way of documentation to help with this. The help information refers to turning off a feature that the router doesn't have.
BOTTOM LINE
The Chromecast is not a perfect device, like all devices, but the low cost and ease use make up for a lot of its misgivings. Almost all of the Cons I have listed can be corrected by software updates. I only see this product as getting better and better. The only fear is that it becomes another Google castoff like Google TV or Google Reader or Google Q or Buzz. But at $35 there's not much risk.
This product is a sign of the future and the future is bright. With many devices battling for this space, Apple TV, Roku, etc. we will all be the winners. Just as many people have multiple game consoles so will many people have multiple streaming devices. This is going to be a fun ride.

TabGuy said:
There's no ability to reduce picture quality. If I'm in a hotel using my phone's hot spot capability I could easily eat up 5gb of data watching a 1080p movie when 480p, or even less, would have been satisfactory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, what? Have you been able to get it to work using a hotspot? Everything I've read says it's not currently possible.

We need more app's....

TabGuy said:
- Extremely easy to set up. Some have had troubles as we've seen on this forum but my daughter set hers up without a single phone call to me. And she has absolutely no tech skills.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I was setting it up, I had no idea I needed a WiFi device for first time set up. I was using my desktop connected to my router with the WiFi turned off. So quickly I assumed it was because of that. (I have a WAP broadcasting another SSID so i turned off my router) After I turned on my router, I was still getting the same problem stating my WiFi was off. Then I feared that my desktop needed to be a WiFi device to work with the Chromecast. After some quick searches I found that the WiFi device was just for setup which I did on my phone and got it up and running smoothly.
TabGuy said:
- If you have multiple wifi routers with multiple SSIDs you can control a Chromecast across SSIDs. And you see all the Chromecasts no matter which SSID you're currently using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So my setup was kind of like this, and i feared that it would not work. After the setup, I just installed the extension on Chrome for all my computers in the family and it showed up on all of them. Relieved and happy that it was simpler than I was dreading.

andrewhchiu said:
As I was setting it up, I had no idea I needed a WiFi device for first time set up. I was using my desktop connected to my router with the WiFi turned off. So quickly I assumed it was because of that. (I have a WAP broadcasting another SSID so i turned off my router) After I turned on my router, I was still getting the same problem stating my WiFi was off. Then I feared that my desktop needed to be a WiFi device to work with the Chromecast. After some quick searches I found that the WiFi device was just for setup which I did on my phone and got it up and running smoothly.
So my setup was kind of like this, and i feared that it would not work. After the setup, I just installed the extension on Chrome for all my computers in the family and it showed up on all of them. Relieved and happy that it was simpler than I was dreading.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Common sense should tell you that you can't connect to the Chromecast through your wireless network before it get connected to your wireless network. Assuming it's protected with a password how do you suppose Chromecast would connect to it? And for open networks I think it's illegal to just auto connect to open networks. I would think that most people buying a Chromecast would have a smartphone or tablet.

rkirmeier said:
Common sense should tell you that you can't connect to the Chromecast through your wireless network before it get connected to your wireless network. Assuming it's protected with a password how do you suppose Chromecast would connect to it? And for open networks I think it's illegal to just auto connect to open networks. I would think that most people buying a Chromecast would have a smartphone or tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured it was going to be something like connecting a bluetooth device where it would broadcast its own signal and then you can connect to it. but i guess i wasn't thinking.

Echo the majority of the above comments, still too early to be overly concerned that Google hasn't yet released their chrome cast API.
I'm in UK so had to wait slightly longer than others for my US bought one (first day purchase) to arrive here in the UK, but its here I love Google play , Google movies and YouTube integration
Waiting for CM casting to go live and hopefully be implemented into aokp.
Not tried casting chrome tabs from my laptop yet or my hard wired pc workstation, is it true that sounds cabled PC's can have issues connecting to chromecast
Am I meant to be able to cast from chrome browser tabs on my N4 ?

ChromeCast Audio Only, No Video

Hi All,
Just got my chromecast a week ago, initially working fine casting my chrome tab via twitch and etc.. currently only able to get static display with audio running, or totally black screen with audio only if casting from chrome tab.. tried mirror phone, works fine.. any idea what went wrong? didn't do any setting changes or etc..
Update: Even via youtube, Click cast via the youtube tab will trigger my TV to the youtube app, but not playing anything, it just says "play youtube from android or laptop to view it on TV", even tried mirroring a webpage with text, either it goes full black screen, or just a static "screenshot" of the page.. tried with my phone, working like normal such as youtube, screen mirror and etc. Is my ChromeCast broken?

- JaY - said:
Hi All,
Just got my chromecast a week ago, initially working fine casting my chrome tab via twitch and etc.. currently only able to get static display with audio running, or totally black screen with audio only if casting from chrome tab.. tried mirror phone, works fine.. any idea what went wrong? didn't do any setting changes or etc..
Update: Even via youtube, Click cast via the youtube tab will trigger my TV to the youtube app, but not playing anything, it just says "play youtube from android or laptop to view it on TV", even tried mirroring a webpage with text, either it goes full black screen, or just a static "screenshot" of the page.. tried with my phone, working like normal such as youtube, screen mirror and etc. Is my ChromeCast broken?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyone kind to help?

You aren't using any VPN or DNS masquerading services to access content from outside of your country, are you?
It could also be your WiFi signal isn't as good as it used to be. Check for nearby APs on same/neighboring channels and try switching.

bhiga said:
You aren't using any VPN or DNS masquerading services to access content from outside of your country, are you?
It could also be your WiFi signal isn't as good as it used to be. Check for nearby APs on same/neighboring channels and try switching.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
definitely no.. as i've used another much lower spec (Intel Celeron) laptop to try casting on the same network and it works flawlessly.. on the other hand, my much powerful PC just stuck there. Tried updating GC (ATI Radeon without switchable graphics), and even reinstalled chrome and the extension. Still doesn't work..

- JaY - said:
definitely no.. as i've used another much lower spec (Intel Celeron) laptop to try casting on the same network and it works flawlessly.. on the other hand, my much powerful PC just stuck there. Tried updating GC (ATI Radeon without switchable graphics), and even reinstalled chrome and the extension. Still doesn't work..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is your more-powerful PC on a wired or wireless connection? It's possible there's some fault in your router's wired-wireless bridging that's causing issue.
Mine still works, but casting the entire desktop seems not to mute the audio on the PC side now, so there's a delayed echo. Casting the tab does mute the PC audio. Weird.

bhiga said:
Is your more-powerful PC on a wired or wireless connection? It's possible there's some fault in your router's wired-wireless bridging that's causing issue.
Mine still works, but casting the entire desktop seems not to mute the audio on the PC side now, so there's a delayed echo. Casting the tab does mute the PC audio. Weird.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wired connection, don't think that is a problem as my connection works fine, internet and etc all works fine, even the "weaker" laptop is connecting to the same router.
i know mirroring the entire desktop is more taxing, but I just could not get it work even just casting tab.. casting everything will just appear static on the TV and whatever u do next "typing, moving mouse cursor and etc" will not appear on TV and just stays on as a "picture" instead of mirroring what is happening on the tab but audio cast through flawlessly..

- JaY - said:
wired connection, don't think that is a problem as my connection works fine, internet and etc all works fine, even the "weaker" laptop is connecting to the same router.
i know mirroring the entire desktop is more taxing, but I just could not get it work even just casting tab.. casting everything will just appear static on the TV and whatever u do next "typing, moving mouse cursor and etc" will not appear on TV and just stays on as a "picture" instead of mirroring what is happening on the tab but audio cast through flawlessly..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely sounds like an issue getting the picture compressed and sent over.
If you drop your desktop resolution to to 1280x720 or lower does it get better?
Have to admit, while things were smooth with my 1920x1200 monitor, now that I upgraded to 3440x1440 (LG 34UM95 - it kicks butt!) I can't cast the entire desktop smoothly anymore either, heh. I still get a picture, just not as smooth...
What router do you have?

bhiga said:
Definitely sounds like an issue getting the picture compressed and sent over.
If you drop your desktop resolution to to 1280x720 or lower does it get better?
Have to admit, while things were smooth with my 1920x1200 monitor, now that I upgraded to 3440x1440 (LG 34UM95 - it kicks butt!) I can't cast the entire desktop smoothly anymore either, heh. I still get a picture, just not as smooth...
What router do you have?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have not tried dropping resolution as previously working perfectly.. never tried casting entire desktop before because I am using the non-beta CC extension, tried before the beta CC to cast tab, same problem. Router is a D-Link, but i am quite certain that is not the issue... btw.. Thanks alot for troubleshooting.. spent nearly a week googling and it seems most ppl had the audio issues rather than video. :good:

Chromecast : worst experience ever !

Hi guys,
Is it just me, or is the Chromecast about the most ridiculous device ever made ?
It does not only need a Wi-Fi connection (which is normal : the wireless signal has to come from somewhere) but it also needs an internet connection.
I would like to cast the screen of my smartphone when I'm not at home.
So I got me a wireless router.
I activate it.
The Chromecast can connect to it.
The Smartphone can connect to it.
And so the smartphone can connect to the Chromecast.
But that's it...
I can't cast anything because I have no internet connection.
OK.
So I turned on my phone as an access point.
I then configured the travel router to get the internet connection from the phone.
Cool... now the Chromecast says it's ready to cast.
But now I'm stuck because as soon as I want to cast something from my phone to the Chromecast, I have to turn Wi-Fi on...
But turning on Wi-Fi on my phone disables the AP.
And so the Chromecast refuses to display anything because it's not connected to the internet anymore !
Isn't that about the most stupid thing ever designed ?
Frankly, I then see only really little use to it...
And I think I am not the only one : there are about 10 apps that are Cast capable...
And that after more than a year the dongle has been released !
Will look for something that is able to cast without an internet connection.
Will probably be much easier... and maybe even cheaper !
If you have an advice on how to get this POS to work without an internet connection, I'll gladly take your advice.
If that is not easily achieved, if you have an alternative, I'll gladly consider it...
regards.

What are you trying to send to your Chromecast? Netflix, YouTube, and other services that have the cast button basically act as remote controls for the Chromecast, but it needs its own Internet connection to stream the content as your phone is just inputting commands for it.
You could try (albeit I've never done this) connecting the Chromecast to your hotspot access point, and then just using the built-in screen mirroring feature of the Chromecast app. Granted, that would mean you'd have to leave your phone's screen on...but it would show the same thing that's on the phone, on the TV. And I'm not sure if that would even work since you still don't have WiFi on and your phone is acting as the modem and not as a device on the same network.
The only other things I could suggest, would be to buy additional hardware. You could go through your carrier to purchase one of those hotspot devices, then connect your phone and your Chromecast to that, and that will work. Though with that option you'll most likely have to pay an extra fee for the data line for the hotspot device. The other route you could take, would be to buy a cheap tablet or another phone and use it as the controller when your primary phone is in hotspot mode. The latter option is what my friend does as he uses his phone's unlimited data plan to provide Internet through his entire house when he's at home...and just uses his tablet to stream Netflix to the Chromecast.

If you have no internet connection, you'll be streaming everything over your mobile data connection anyway. That's going to get expensive, but whatever...
So why are you using the router if you can't get a wired or WiFi internet connection? Just turn on the WiFi access point mode on your phone, and have the Chromecast connect to it. Then both your phone and the Chromecast will be on the same LAN.

You even need an Internet connection when streaming local media because (1) the device has to constantly authenticate with Google, which I swear Google isn't going to be logging or abusing, and (b) the Chromecast is relatively stupid by streaming and spec standards, and you can't just give it a file and expect it to work.
That's why so many apps will take forever to load large pictures (slower than a picture CD) or even to unpause media... it throws its buffer away on pause.
Why not just try an HDMI cable? No WiFi needed, all local codecs are supported, etc.

I recommend you do basic research on a product before purchasing it next time. You should look into cheap miracast dongles.

I like my chromecast, but my android stick gets about 10x more usage. Chromecast seriously needs some more streaming services. If you don't have Netflix, in the UK it has about two widely used apps (youtube and iplayer), and that's it, not great this far on.

Ridiculous device ever made? Get yourself an internet connection for your house and then try the showbox app and allcast app to send the media to the Chromecast. I have 2 Chromecast in my house and I use it daily. If you simply want to cast your screen without internet. Get a slimport to HDMI cable.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

NexusPenguin said:
Is it just me, or is the Chromecast about the most ridiculous device ever made ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's just you... Everyone else have internet connection at home, which is normal these days...

Hi Srandista,
Yes, everyboby has an internet connection at home.
But then again, everybody probably also has :
- a Blu-Ray player with Wi-Fi and/or Ethernet ;
- a television that is Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Ethernet enabled ;
- a media player/streamer that is Ethernet and Wi-Fi enabled...
So we're saying the same thing :
- at home everyone has an internet connection AND connected devices => the Chromecast is useless ;
- when you're not at home, the Chromecast is useless until you're somewhere where you can get an internet connection...
And even then : if I want to cast a Video to my Chromecast, I have to upload my video to the cloud BEFORE I start to stream...
Isn't that ridiculous ? Especially as using other software allows to stream directly ?
Just for your information : there are other devices like the Chromecast (they even look like the Chromecast) that can be used without an internet connection.
Sorry, but despite your answer, I persist saying that the Chromecast conception lacks some common sense and some analysis of the customer needs.
Regards.

DJames1 said:
If you have no internet connection, you'll be streaming everything over your mobile data connection anyway. That's going to get expensive, but whatever...
So why are you using the router if you can't get a wired or WiFi internet connection? Just turn on the WiFi access point mode on your phone, and have the Chromecast connect to it. Then both your phone and the Chromecast will be on the same LAN.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Thanks for your answer.
But that won't work. As I wrote in my post : if I turn on my phone as an AP, that disables the Wi-Fi. So I can't stream to my Chromecast that way.
Regards.

xFuGiToiDx said:
Ridiculous device ever made? Get yourself an internet connection for your house and then try the showbox app and allcast app to send the media to the Chromecast. I have 2 Chromecast in my house and I use it daily. If you simply want to cast your screen without internet. Get a slimport to HDMI cable.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Many thanks for your kind reply.
I would recommend you read posts before flaming people.
If you would have, you would have noticed that I was saying I was trying to use it WHEN I AM NOT at home.
I have a 100Mbps line at home. But also a networked TV, a networked Blu-Ray player and a networked Media player /streamer.
So I don't really have the use of a Chromecast at home...
Regards.

alton987 said:
I recommend you do basic research on a product before purchasing it next time. You should look into cheap miracast dongles.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
That is what I usually do.
BUT : honestly :
1°) the need for an active internet connection for the thing to even work does not appear clearly ;
2°) I don't spend 5 hours researching for a 35 bucks device... my time is somewhat more precious than that.
I'll look into cheap Miracast devices. I only need to mirror my screen, so I guess that more than enough.
Regards.

primetechv2 said:
You even need an Internet connection when streaming local media because (1) the device has to constantly authenticate with Google, which I swear Google isn't going to be logging or abusing, and (b) the Chromecast is relatively stupid by streaming and spec standards, and you can't just give it a file and expect it to work.
That's why so many apps will take forever to load large pictures (slower than a picture CD) or even to unpause media... it throws its buffer away on pause.
Why not just try an HDMI cable? No WiFi needed, all local codecs are supported, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Thanks...
Yes, that's what I am doing right now. Phone with a MHL adpator and HDMI plugged into the projector.
But that implies that I have a cable lying around my class and me or my student are likely to stumble on it...
That is why I wanted to use the Chromecast...
Regards.

Hi,
OK, to make things clear, here's what I would like to do.
I am a teacher.
During my class I pass .ppt slides on a VP.
During my class, I don't sit behind my desk : I walk among the students.
So what I would like to do is following :
- 1°) connect my phone to the VP with the Chromecast ;
- 2°) have my phone displaying the slides => a simple mirror of the screen will do ;
- 3°) use a tablet in "Presentation mode" as a remote for the phone so I can go the next slide when I want to.
I can achieve everything using a MHL adaptor to connect the phone to the VP.
But I would like to be able to make that wirelessly...
Chromecast is a no go... unless of course I add another device in the whole bunch : smartphone + 2 tablets. Phone as access point, tablet 1 as caster ; tablet 2 as remote. then of course, I will need some chargers, an external battery pack... Not really the simplification I was looking for.
Regards.

Goodness, the supporters of Google Cast are rather quick to throw down the gauntlet today. =( As somebody who is constantly critiquing devices, I can say with certainty that there are many things that even reading reviews will not disclose, and even if the information is available, it might be hard to find.
Telling somebody they should get internet access in the snobbish manner seen here really doesn't help matters at all either.... less bile equals a greater percentage of useful content, right? Talking about MHL or Miracast or discussing manufacturer specific options or suggesting different CC compatible devices (Matchstick anyone? It's coming in 2015) might be more helpful.
For example, as it stands, I can't believe using a phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot would knock out its data functionality... or at least that it would make it impossible to connect to a CC. That seems like a fundamental problem there.

Here is the best possible solution for you nexus....
You will have to give up on the Phone showing the slides because you are attempting to stream to two devices which doesn't work.
You really shouldn't need the phone to display...
Plug the CCast into the Projector....
Turn on the Hotspot feature of your phone, It will still get it's data and email and tweets ect ect ....
Set up the CCast to get it's internet from the Phone WiFi Hotspot and then connect the tablet to the Hotspot as well.
You should then be able to cast the screen of the tablet to the Projector and run your slideshow.
You might even be able to use some other powerpoint viewer app that supports CCast (I think VBU kit does that) but you can just as easily screen cast the tablet to the projector if your tablet supports it.
You should be good to go the only thing that you will be missing is the display of the slides on the phone and since you are manipulating the slides on the tablet there really is no reason to see them on the phone as well.

I was pretty much going to recommend a similar fix. I have an old crap phone with no data plan that I play movies on while traveling. I just setup my actual phone as the hotspot and have my crap phone and CC connect to it. I have heard :? that the app that shall remain nameless thing works pretty good. I use Avia to throw those shows to my CC.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

hell yeah!

NexusPenguin said:
Hi Srandista,
But then again, everybody probably also has :
- a Blu-Ray player with Wi-Fi and/or Ethernet ;
- a television that is Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Ethernet enabled ;
- a media player/streamer that is Ethernet and Wi-Fi enabled...
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love my Chromecast. Prior to buying it, I had:
- A Blu-Ray player with internet connectivity... with a slow, horrible interface, and poor streaming services support.... that also didn't stream from local devices.
- An HDTV with no network support
- A "media player" that didn't work with most/any of the pay-for streaming services, that I had to constantly troubleshoot, with a low Wife Acceptance Factor.
With the Chromecast I can stream locally (from a Plex Server), watch most of the pay-for streaming services I want (so I can "cut the cord"), and it "just works" as far as the Wife is concerned, so she's happy. Even my kiddos can use it. Given that the Chromecast remains the top seller in the Electronics category at Amazon, I think Google hit the nail on the head with this one. Far from a "stupid", "useless", "ridiculous", concept that "lacks some common sense and some analysis of the customer needs" that results in the "worst experience ever".
Just because you're pissed that the square peg you bought won't fit in a round hole doesn't mean the device is stupid or useless. It's like the saying goes that "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail". Go get yourself a screwdriver, because you have the wrong tool for your particular job. I mentioned Plex once already: If you're looking for a simple, offline streaming experience with that works like the Chromecast does get yourself a Raspberry Pi, and install RaspPlex on it. If you're trying to playback from a local disk, put XBMC on it instead. I plan on putting a media center in my kid-hauler, and one of these two will probably end up being what I use. There are many options out there for offline playback, but the Chromecast it not one of them.

Well said. I have two chromecast and they are exactly what I need. Very useful.
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app

Possible to use a Chromecast to turn my HDTV into a Wireless Screen for Windows?

What I Have -
HDTV + Chromecast
Windows PC
Keyboard and Mouse/X360 Controller
Is it possible to sit in my living room on my couch with a controller wirelessly hooked up to my PC, which is in the next room and play a game, running on my PC with its video streamed to my TV?
Its a simple matter of Screen Casting from Windows to Chromecast, but I cant seem to find a clear cut method of doing this
Any help would be very much appreciated
Cheers

JoshAraujo said:
What I Have -
HDTV + Chromecast
Windows PC
Keyboard and Mouse/X360 Controller
Is it possible to sit in my living room on my couch with a controller wirelessly hooked up to my PC, which is in the next room and play a game, running on my PC with its video streamed to my TV?
Its a simple matter of Screen Casting from Windows to Chromecast, but I cant seem to find a clear cut method of doing this
Any help would be very much appreciated
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://allaboutchromecast.com/chrom...cast-to-share-desktop-screen-and-audio-to-tv/

I've done it with Minecraft, but the result is incredibly... slow. Not slow enough to totally ruin many demonstrations of Windows, but slow enough to distract heavily from movies and trouble game streaming.
All you need to do is download Google Chrome, install the Google Cast extension, and then tap the Cast button like you're about to cast the current Chrome tab.
In the screen that appears, tap the arrow by Current Tab and switch it to Entire Screen.

You could try vnc2cast.

primetechv2 said:
I've done it with Minecraft, but the result is incredibly... slow. Not slow enough to totally ruin many demonstrations of Windows, but slow enough to distract heavily from movies and trouble game streaming.
All you need to do is download Google Chrome, install the Google Cast extension, and then tap the Cast button like you're about to cast the current Chrome tab.
In the screen that appears, tap the arrow by Current Tab and switch it to Entire Screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That thing is terrible, Google marks it as an experimental piece of software and it has such high latency, gaming on it is hit and miss, sometimes its okay, sometimes its terrible
I was hoping there was some other way? perhaps a seperate Chromecast app that hooks up with windows over wireless and directly casts its screen
Ive heard Microsoft's Wireless display adapter does a great job of this, but I dont want to buy something just for one bit of functionality

mimepp said:
You could try vnc2cast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesnt that only pass on Video, and no audio?
I havent tried it though, will give it a shot

JoshAraujo said:
I was hoping there was some other way? perhaps a seperate Chromecast app that hooks up with windows over wireless and directly casts its screen
Ive heard Microsoft's Wireless display adapter does a great job of this, but I dont want to buy something just for one bit of functionality
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a couple of people working on alternatives; some of them request a local computer server to help steam phone media, but none are ad-hoc yet. Seriously, that's one of the things Matchstick is looking to overcome.

Getting through the IP network involves some kind of compression at the very least, and compression at the source and decompression at the target results in delay. Direct connections are the way to go, but given the fact that most Chromecasts are sitting right behind the radio-blocking TV and getting poor signal, it's a poor experience.
speed4cast can help measure Chromecast connection speed. In ideal conditions both Chromecast and Miracast will still have about a half-second delay. I've tested them both as I also have a Samsung AllShare Cast Hub.

mimepp said:
You could try vnc2cast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bhiga said:
Getting through the IP network involves some kind of compression at the very least, and compression at the source and decompression at the target results in delay. Direct connections are the way to go, but given the fact that most Chromecasts are sitting right behind the radio-blocking TV and getting poor signal, it's a poor experience.
speed4cast can help measure Chromecast connection speed. In ideal conditions both Chromecast and Miracast will still have about a half-second delay. I've tested them both as I also have a Samsung AllShare Cast Hub.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a simple solution for that. Use an HDMI extender cable and simply place it in a place that receives better WiFi signal.
So seriously? No one does uncompressed video casting? It's not a big deal when all the traffic is going around locally and doesnt get added to your data cap/download limits

primetechv2 said:
There are a couple of people working on alternatives; some of them request a local computer server to help steam phone media, but none are ad-hoc yet. Seriously, that's one of the things Matchstick is looking to overcome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got a link to the media server method?

JoshAraujo said:
So seriously? No one does uncompressed video casting? It's not a big deal when all the traffic is going around locally and doesnt get added to your data cap/download limits
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1920x1080 at 60 fps is nearly 3 Gbps.
Even dropping down to 4:2:2 color sampling you're still well over a gigabit.

JoshAraujo said:
Got a link to the media server method?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BubbleUPNP has its server here
http://bubblesoftapps.com/bubbleupnpserver/
And this is Plex, my go-to media steamer
https://plex.tv/
Be forewarned, I might have needed to mention that neither of these are designed to stream the current computer screen.

bhiga said:
1920x1080 at 60 fps is nearly 3 Gbps.
Even dropping down to 4:2:2 color sampling you're still well over a gigabit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats what? 300 MB every second? Even Lossless FHD content doesnt have a bitrate THAT high
Most routers can do a 100MbPS, thats 10 MB every second, should be much more than enough for uncompressed 1080p streaming at 30 or 40fps

primetechv2 said:
BubbleUPNP has its server here
http://bubblesoftapps.com/bubbleupnpserver/
And this is Plex, my go-to media steamer
https://plex.tv/
Be forewarned, I might have needed to mention that neither of these are designed to stream the current computer screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, ive used both for media streaming, but neither do Screencasting

Yes, you can do it with Google desktop casting. It's am option in the Google Cast extension for Chrome. Chrome has to be running, but can be minimized in the background.
No, it won't accomplish what you want. Performance is poor, with jerky video and too much latency for action games. The performance problems may be insurmountable for games, but the video streaming problems are more due to crappy code by Google - other apps manage the job of transcoding and relaying internet video to the Chromecast in real time without as much difficulty (like Plex and PlayOn). WiFi is not the issue.

JoshAraujo said:
Thats what? 300 MB every second? Even Lossless FHD content doesnt have a bitrate THAT high
Most routers can do a 100MbPS, thats 10 MB every second, should be much more than enough for uncompressed 1080p streaming at 30 or 40fps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No thats more like 3000 Megabits every second. LOL

Asphyx said:
No thats more like 3000 Megabits every second. LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3000 megabits is around 300 megabytes