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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
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 ?
Hi I posted this in the cast xbmc from computer to chromecast thread but haven't had a response so sorry for repeating it but I think there a few people who are having the same problem
I've seen youtube video's and people on hear talk about using bluestacks for xbmc and ace player but my bluestacks cant find my chromecast.
I've downloaded the chromecast app on bluestack but i get the message "no chromecast found on bluestacks" it seems it not searching my network which has two chromecast on
I've used bubbleupnp which finds my chromecast but whenever i try to cast anything nothing happens (ive used same links on my phone no problem at all)
any help would be appreciated
Thank you
I think emulators have some sort of AP isolation going on that blocks the network discovery required to detect and control Chromecast. I was not able to cast from the Genymotion emulator either.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
cmstlist said:
I think emulators have some sort of AP isolation going on that blocks the network discovery required to detect and control Chromecast. I was not able to cast from the Genymotion emulator either.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I think it because Blue Stacks operates as a VM and as a result uses a VM Network not actually connected to the real network.
Asphyx said:
Actually I think it because Blue Stacks operates as a VM and as a result uses a VM Network not actually connected to the real network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, unless you have multiple NICs and can bridge a NIC to the VM so it can use it directly, the NAT translation usually stops anything multicast or broadcast, which is what most discovery uses.
bhiga said:
Yes, unless you have multiple NICs and can bridge a NIC to the VM so it can use it directly, the NAT translation usually stops anything multicast or broadcast, which is what most discovery uses.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not even sure that is possible...
There are virtually no network settings inside BluStacks and I see no additional VM Network adapter (in Windows) to bridge to any interface.
I think it is just creating it's own adapter inside the VM and there is no way to change those settings at the moment.
So far, this has been the only intelligent discussion I've found that explains why Google Home does not fully function on emulators. It's a relief, although it doesn't solve the problem. So thanks for that much. I imagine emulator techs are working on that now.
Appletv will have this feature, hope chromecast will have it too in the future. This will be useful for streaming local contents when on a different house or at a hotel.
http://blog.gsmarena.com/ios-8-lets-airplay-apple-tv-without-connecting-wi-fi/
The Chromecast will never operate without an internet connection because it loads its apps from the internet.
If you load an app like Plex that streams local content, you can continue operating without an internet connection until you exit that app.
krizz07 means without an access point so WiFi direct for streaming from device to device (something I'd love to have ). Chromecast does have a WiFi connection that you use during set up so this should be possible but who knows.
Sent from my HTC One X+ using Tapatalk
whitenoise81 said:
krizz07 means without an access point so WiFi direct for streaming from device to device (something I'd love to have ). Chromecast does have a WiFi connection that you use during set up so this should be possible but who knows.
Sent from my HTC One X+ using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't matter....It can not load an app from anywhere but the Internet. All Apps must first be checked against a whitelist kept on Google Servers so until such time as Google gets rid of the whitelist you will need an Internet connection to do anything with the device.
Sounds like something that could.be 'fixed' in firmware ,at least for simple pic/vid playback
Sent from my HTC One X+ using Tapatalk
DJames1 said:
The Chromecast will never operate without an internet connection because it loads its apps from the internet.
If you load an app like Plex that streams local content, you can continue operating without an internet connection until you exit that app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if the chromecast can keep something temporarily, then it should technically just get it from the host device right? and since it can already broadcast an access point so it can function without internet initially.
Then it would be a Roku. Don't hold your breath waiting for Google, buy a Roku.
DJames1 said:
Then it would be a Roku. Don't hold your breath waiting for Google, buy a Roku.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesnt really work for teh way i wanted to use the CC. I Bought an ezcast dongle, its not as slick but its way more flexible
krizz07 said:
Appletv will have this feature, hope chromecast will have it too in the future. This will be useful for streaming local contents when on a different house or at a hotel.
http://blog.gsmarena.com/ios-8-lets-airplay-apple-tv-without-connecting-wi-fi/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems you can do that with your chromecast
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2791313
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I tried what is explined in the link. it still ask for internet. Fyi...i have new chromecast
Hi everyone,
I'm considering buying a chromecast, but I have a quite specific need and I would like to be sure I can actually use it. I teach in teachers education and often go to multiple schools a day. I would like to have my presentations on my smartphone and have the ability to connect my android to the beamer directly using chromecast. Is this possible without having to be on wifi? i.e. Is it enough to connect via my phones hotspot?
(I will always have the presentations on USB as well, but often school computers have extra security. Also, wifi passwords change and having to pass by the administration to get clearance and wifi for each school that I'll visit once or twice a year is such a hassle).
Other tips are of course welcome!
Cheers,
testdjango said:
Hi everyone,
I'm considering buying a chromecast, but I have a quite specific need and I would like to be sure I can actually use it. I teach in teachers education and often go to multiple schools a day. I would like to have my presentations on my smartphone and have the ability to connect my android to the beamer directly using chromecast. Is this possible without having to be on wifi? i.e. Is it enough to connect via my phones hotspot?
(I will always have the presentations on USB as well, but often school computers have extra security. Also, wifi passwords change and having to pass by the administration to get clearance and wifi for each school that I'll visit once or twice a year is such a hassle).
Other tips are of course welcome!
Cheers,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How To Use Chromecast for Presentations.