TVs setup and wifi? - Google Chromecast

Just got my chromecast and set it up easily on my living room TV, where it works perfectly...but when I plug it on the TV on my room it asks me to set everything up again. Is this right? Do I have to set everything up EVERYTIME I plug it on a different TV even if I use the same cellphone to control it? I thought you only needed to configure chromecast once and then you could use it everywhere with no need to reconfiguring or wifi use (if I go to a hotel with no wifi and I have to set it up am I dead in the water??). All I need it for is to mirror my cellphone.

rawfa said:
(if I go to a hotel with no wifi and I have to set it up am I dead in the water??).
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Click to collapse
Yes. I wish I was joking.
As far as I know the device needs Internet connectivity for anything, even screen mirroring.

Great...chromecast just became worthless to me

rawfa said:
Just got my chromecast and set it up easily on my living room TV, where it works perfectly...but when I plug it on the TV on my room it asks me to set everything up again. Is this right? Do I have to set everything up EVERYTIME I plug it on a different TV even if I use the same cellphone to control it? I thought you only needed to configure chromecast once and then you could use it everywhere with no need to reconfiguring or wifi use (if I go to a hotel with no wifi and I have to set it up am I dead in the water??). All I need it for is to mirror my cellphone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You only need to setup the CCast whenever you switch from one access point to another....
Switching TVs that are in range of the same router, a new setup is not needed.
What may have happened is you pressed the button on the CCast that put it back to factory default.
That would require you to set up the CCast to connect again as it dumps the memory of the previous setup.
It will also bug you to set it up if it isn't able to make a good connection to the router. If the signal is too weak in the new location it will not be able to connect and tell you that you need to set up the unit.

Related

Chromecast in hotels

The main thing that I was hoping to do with Chromecast was to use it in hotels while travelling. From what I'm reading, there are 2 major problems that would make this not a good option for hotels:
1. Sounds like there's not a way currently to accommodate wi-fi hotspots that require a web page login. This is the situation you find in most hotels.
2. The DNS is hard-coded to Google's DNS servers. This means that if you're travelling away from your home country and you need to use DNS proxies to reach restricted sources, (e.g., Netflix, BBC, Spotify), you're out of luck.
Those two restrictions make the Chromecast not very useful for my purposes. Root access would have been an approach to fix item #2, but now that's gone. So, I'm wondering if anybody knows of any development that's underway to deal with these issues? I took a quick look at the Chromecast API and I didn't see any way to manage the wi-fi connection or to change the DNS settings. I'm hoping some clever developer will figure out a way to deal with this.
Interesting, I was hoping to do the same thing. Some hotels don't require login but most do now. Has anyone tested it?
You could use a laptop and a micro router. I carry a mini tplink router to hotels to use. You can put it and a laptop on that router then stream from the browser to the chromecast. Not perfect but a workaround. Not sure if there is a way to stream directly from a phone or tablet yet.
Virtual Router should work, as (I believe) it supports multicast. Unfortunately, quite a few wifi cards will crash when using it, though. I have an Alfa AWUS036H that I use for... security testing... but that unfortunately can't sustain a connection with the software enabled.
I've used my rooted phone as wifi hotspot/router and then connect tablet or laptop to control chromecast. Unfortunately if a phone is in hotspot mode, chromecasting on same phone won't work so need to use second device to control chromecast.
Using a travel router would work, and maybe using a second Android phone as well, but all of that is defeating the purpose of using the Chromecast device. If I have to go through all of that, I might as well just use an HDMI dongle with my Android phone instead of the Chromecast.
The advantage that the Chromecast would have over phone+dongle is that the Chromecast is small and easy to attach to the TV and I wouldn't have to disconnect it when I was finished. That plus the fact that I would be able to use the phone as a remote control.
But if I've got to pack a travel router and set it up to run Chromecast, the convenience factor is gone. Also, unless there's a wired connection available, putting the 2nd phone or router in the picture would provide only half of the wi-fi bandwidth and slow the connection. Hotel wireless connections are usually pretty slow to begin with.
If somebody comes up with a solution to fix these issues on Chromecast, then I will definitely use it. Otherwise, I'll stick with the phone+hdmi dongle.
One advantage to using the CC is quality. The mhl adapters just don't have the quality and at a hotel with decent speed the router is not an issue. Besides you will not loose speed if you are plugging your router into the LAN.
woody1 said:
Using a travel router would work, and maybe using a second Android phone as well, but all of that is defeating the purpose of using the Chromecast device. If I have to go through all of that, I might as well just use an HDMI dongle with my Android phone instead of the Chromecast.
The advantage that the Chromecast would have over phone+dongle is that the Chromecast is small and easy to attach to the TV and I wouldn't have to disconnect it when I was finished. That plus the fact that I would be able to use the phone as a remote control.
But if I've got to pack a travel router and set it up to run Chromecast, the convenience factor is gone. Also, unless there's a wired connection available, putting the 2nd phone or router in the picture would provide only half of the wi-fi bandwidth and slow the connection. Hotel wireless connections are usually pretty slow to begin with.
If somebody comes up with a solution to fix these issues on Chromecast, then I will definitely use it. Otherwise, I'll stick with the phone+hdmi dongle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
life is better with r00t
willverduzco said:
Virtual Router I have an Alfa AWUS036H that I use for... security testing...
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Click to collapse
Riiiiiiiiight :silly:
willverduzco said:
[I have an Alfa AWUS036H that I use for... security testing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol i have one of those too, and we all know exactly why you have it
http://readwrite.com/2013/08/06/chromecast-hotel-travel-wi-fi-challenges#awesm=~ofCmrzdqug8DvB
http://www.connectify.me/hotspot-chromecast-best-friend/
yeah connectify gives my really inconsistent results. so far only netflix and youtube have worked. music hasn't at all. If I could figure out the cause I'd buy the pro version while its still on sale.
At one point I was planning to get a WL-330NUL mini router. Watch video here. (Supposedly the world's smallest) Given that it's a WiFi router... I believe it could work with the chromecast dongle using a WiFi connected smartphone/tablet/laptop. Looking at the video it appears that in standalone mode it can route using Ethernet on the WAN end and using a laptop it can route using WiFi in the WAN end. In the later scenario the laptop is used to authenticate with the hotel WiFi network and the router dongle appears to act as an AP. Not 100% sure of the second scenario, but it "appears" to be so. The router can be found online for the same price you paid for your chromecast. If I get a chance, before the end of the week, I might stop by B&H Photo-Video and pick one up.
Edit:
Here is another video that shows the features a bit more clearly
I really think that the Chromecast was designed as a way to turn your TV into a "smart" TV... not so much to be a portable device for media streaming. Even bringing it between three houses is annoying as you need to go through the full setup process each time you move between wireless networks since it only stores the most recent network.
Even if you could get it to connect to a hotel's WiFi I would not use it that way, since there's no option to restrict who on the network can cast content to the device.
raptir said:
Even if you could get it to connect to a hotel's WiFi I would not use it that way, since there's no option to restrict who on the network can cast content to the device.
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Click to collapse
In hotels all the WiFi connected devices are segregated. Try it. Connect two devices to "most if not all" hotel WiFi networks and the two devices can not connect to each other even while connecting from the same room. This is done for security purposes. With the set up I mentioned with the mini WiFi router any devices connecting to the wireless network created by the mini router needs to authenticate with the AP function of the router.
I use a tplink micro router. I plug into the ether net and it still requires that I log in. So I'm not sure if that will even work.
Life is better with root.
tamanaco said:
In hotels all the WiFi connected devices are segregated. Try it. Connect two devices to "most if not all" hotel WiFi networks and the two devices can not connect to each other even while connecting from the same room. This is done for security purposes. With the set up I mentioned with the mini WiFi router any devices connecting to the wireless network created by the mini router needs to authenticate with the AP function of the router.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, that would work. You're relying on the hotel having a wired connection in addition to wireless, which I do not see as often unless you're staying in business hotels.
Still, my post was more trying to point out that design decisions like only remembering one wireless hotspot make it seem like they did not intend this to be used for travelling.
raptir said:
Yeah, that would work. You're relying on the hotel having a wired connection in addition to wireless, which I do not see as often unless you're staying in business hotels.
Still, my post was more trying to point out that design decisions like only remembering one wireless hotspot make it seem like they did not intend this to be used for travelling.
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Click to collapse
Maybe I was not clear enough in my previous post... when "combined" with a laptop the mini router-laptop setup can act as WiFi LAN to WiFi WAN router. The "Laptop's" WiFi adapter links and authenticates with the hotel's WiFi AP and acts as a bridge to the USB connected mini WiFi router. The mini router then acts as a wireless AP for the wireless nodes in your room. Your chromecast and smartphone/tablet would then link and authenticate to the AP in the mini router and talk to each other as they would be in the same WiFi LAN segment. Both of them will then go out to the Internet using the WiFi connection of the laptop WiFi adapter. Take a look at the second video that I added at the end of my initial post.
tamanaco said:
Maybe I was not clear enough in my previous post... when "combined" with a laptop the mini router setup can act as WiFi LAN to WiFi WAN router. The "Laptop's" WiFi adapter links and authenticates with the hotel's WiFi AP and acts as a bridge to the USB connected mini WiFi router. The mini router then acts as a wireless AP for the wireless nodes in your room. Your chromecast and smartphone/tablet would then link and authenticate to the AP in the mini router and talk to each other as they would be in the same WiFi LAN segment. Both of them will then go out to the Internet using the WiFi connection of the laptop WiFi adapter. Take a look at the second video that I added at the end of my initial post.
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Ah. I guess I'm just not seeing why you would go through all of that hassle when an HDMI cable would do the same thing. The Chromecast is great for convenience, when you remove that it just doesn't seem like a good solution to me.
raptir said:
Ah. I guess I'm just not seeing why you would go through all of that hassle when an HDMI cable would do the same thing. The Chromecast is great for convenience, when you remove that it just doesn't seem like a good solution to me.
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Click to collapse
It might not be a good solution for you, but for those of us that carry a laptop when we travel having two extra dongles would not be much of a hassle. Remember, even if the chromecast had its own browser to authenticate to the hotels WiFi and access the Internet your smartphone/tablet would not be able see it. You need to create your own wireless LAN segment in your hotel room for both devices to connect and a way for both to have access to the Internet via a router in order for the chromecast to work You need to replicate an environment similar to your home wireless network for the chromecast to work as designed.
Edit: Btw, I agree that having a laptop or tablet with separate HDMI port an HDMI cable is a better solution, but since this thread was about chromecast in hotels I was trying to keep the discussion relevant while exploring a "possible" solution.
tamanaco said:
It might not be a good solution for you, but for those of us that carry a laptop when we travel having two extra dongles would not be much of a hassle. Remember, even if the chromecast had its own browser to authenticate to the hotels WiFi and access the Internet your smartphone/tablet would not be able see it. You need to create your own wireless LAN segment in your hotel room for both devices to connect and a way for both to have access to the Internet via a router in order for the chromecast to work You need to replicate an environment similar to your home wireless network for the chromecast to work as designed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess it just comes down to a matter of opinion. I do carry a laptop when I travel and I still think that plugging it into the TV with an HDMI cable would be easier than going through all that. The chromecast is less capable but more convenient than an HDMI cable, but if you've got a setup that causes the chromecast to be the less convenient option I just don't see why you'd go with it.
raptir said:
I guess it just comes down to a matter of opinion. I do carry a laptop when I travel and I still think that plugging it into the TV with an HDMI cable would be easier than going through all that. The chromecast is less capable but more convenient than an HDMI cable, but if you've got a setup that causes the chromecast to be the less convenient option I just don't see why you'd go with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had updated my post before your reply. In essence we're in agreement about having an HDMI cable, but I believe that the possibility exist for making this work with just a smartphone with bluetooth and the chromecast dongle. My understanding is that the chromecast also has bluetooth capabilities. So a firmware update and basic browser in the chromecast can be use to authenticate with the hotel's WiFi network while the smartphone can act as a remote via Bluetooth. Just speculating here... but who knows.

ErrorMsg: "Make sure your chromecast is nearby"

I got my Chromecast today, I'm not sure why i bought it already as i live in Sweden and i couldn't even get the app from Playstore.
But to my problem. My Chromecast is plugged in the TV. I get the bootscreen on the TV and I see my chromecast id.
In the app on my phone, I see the Chromecast and I can click it to connect to it. It disables the Wifi for a second or two and then turns it on again. I wait for a few seconds and then this pops up:
"Could not connect to your Chromecast. Make sure your Chromecast is nearby." - It's barely a meter behind me.. and I've tried to have the phone just next to it, no difference.
I've tried to factory reset it. Unplug and replug. Reconnected to the wifi on my phone.
The router is brand new and a good one at that. I have a hard time believing that the issue lies within the Router. It's a Asus RT-N65U.
It's kind of dumb as well that one has to go to random forums to get help. Google doesn't even put a contact form anywhere on their Chromecast page.
Pics:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71410276/Screenshot_2013-10-07-21-38-18.png
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71410276/Screenshot_2013-10-07-21-40-17.png
gurkburk92 said:
I got my Chromecast today, I'm not sure why i bought it already as i live in Sweden and i couldn't even get the app from Playstore.
But to my problem. My Chromecast is plugged in the TV. I get the bootscreen on the TV and I see my chromecast id.
In the app on my phone, I see the Chromecast and I can click it to connect to it. It disables the Wifi for a second or two and then turns it on again. I wait for a few seconds and then this pops up:
"Could not connect to your Chromecast. Make sure your Chromecast is nearby." - It's barely a meter behind me.. and I've tried to have the phone just next to it, no difference.
I've tried to factory reset it. Unplug and replug. Reconnected to the wifi on my phone.
The router is brand new and a good one at that. I have a hard time believing that the issue lies within the Router. It's a Asus RT-N65U.
It's kind of dumb as well that one has to go to random forums to get help. Google doesn't even put a contact form anywhere on their Chromecast page.
Pics:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71410276/Screenshot_2013-10-07-21-38-18.png
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71410276/Screenshot_2013-10-07-21-40-17.png
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The setup process doesn't involve your router or home network at all. The issue is either with your phone or the Chromecast itself. Try running the setup from a different device (I believe you can do it from a computer). If that doesn't work, the Chromecast is probably faulty.
tchebb said:
The setup process doesn't involve your router or home network at all. The issue is either with your phone or the Chromecast itself. Try running the setup from a different device (I believe you can do it from a computer). If that doesn't work, the Chromecast is probably faulty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have connected the Chromecast to my stationary PC, would that work? or should i try plugging it into a laptop ?
gurkburk92 said:
I have connected the Chromecast to my stationary PC, would that work? or should i try plugging it into a laptop ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any computer with Wi-Fi will work. Just visit this page from within Chrome and follow its instructions.
tchebb said:
Any computer with Wi-Fi will work. Just visit this page from within Chrome and follow its instructions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it set up now. Used a laptop to set it up. Thanks for the help.

cast Flashing White, won't connect to Siemens SE572

Hi,
I've just bought a Chromecast this week and plugged it into my amp via the HDMI.
I got the correct screen on my TV, but I couldn't connect using the app, or manually. It said 'No Chromecasts found on ***'
It is plugged into the mains, not USB.
We have an Orange Siemens SE572 router. It is not on the list of supported routers. I've played with the settings a little bit, but no joy.
I've also taken the Chromecast away from the TV and just plugged it into the mains to see if the flashing white light becomes solid as I assume that I won't be able to connect until it becomes solid?
Any suggestions please?
Cheers
PoshCat1 said:
Hi,
I've just bought a Chromecast this week and plugged it into my amp via the HDMI.
I got the correct screen on my TV, but I couldn't connect using the app, or manually. It said 'No Chromecasts found on ***'
It is plugged into the mains, not USB.
We have an Orange Siemens SE572 router. It is not on the list of supported routers. I've played with the settings a little bit, but no joy.
I've also taken the Chromecast away from the TV and just plugged it into the mains to see if the flashing white light becomes solid as I assume that I won't be able to connect until it becomes solid?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing white light and either "Set me up" or "Reconnect me" on the TV means Chromecast is either not configured to connect to a wireless AP yet, or it cannot connect to the configured wireless AP.
In this mode, Chromecast becomes its own open wireless AP (with no access to anything else, obviously) broadcasting as Chromecast####. The device running the Chromecast app or accessing the manual setup then connects to the Chromecast#### network to configure Chromecast, providing the wireless AP SSID and credentials that it will eventually connect to.
Since you're getting "No Chromecasts found" it shouldn't have anything to do with your router, as the blinking white light means Chromecast isn't connected to your router anyway.
What device are you running the Chromecast app on? It automatically scans for nearby wireless networks named Chromecast#### but in some cases you may need to manually connect to the Chromecast#### network beforehand.
bhiga said:
Flashing white light and either "Set me up" or "Reconnect me" on the TV means Chromecast is either not configured to connect to a wireless AP yet, or it cannot connect to the configured wireless AP.
In this mode, Chromecast becomes its own open wireless AP (with no access to anything else, obviously) broadcasting as Chromecast####. The device running the Chromecast app or accessing the manual setup then connects to the Chromecast#### network to configure Chromecast, providing the wireless AP SSID and credentials that it will eventually connect to.
Since you're getting "No Chromecasts found" it shouldn't have anything to do with your router, as the blinking white light means Chromecast isn't connected to your router anyway.
What device are you running the Chromecast app on? It automatically scans for nearby wireless networks named Chromecast#### but in some cases you may need to manually connect to the Chromecast#### network beforehand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers, found this reply in my spam.
I'm going to exchange it, hopefully that will sort it, but I've tried with an app on my tablet and phone as well as my Chrome browser.
PoshCat1 said:
Cheers, found this reply in my spam.
I'm going to exchange it, hopefully that will sort it, but I've tried with an app on my tablet and phone as well as my Chrome browser.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stranger things have happened. Check back in when you get the replacement.
Replacement turned up today, all works perfectly.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Secure connection to Chromecast from PC .

Hello.
What I want?
I want to be able to stream my PC/laptop desktop. I want to have few installations like that in one wifi network( 3x Chromecast + 3x projectors)
Laptop--> Chrome+Gogle Cast Beta(extension)-->Chromecast-->Projector
I can do it and it works but.... any one who connects to same wifi network can disconnect me and overtake projector streaming.
Question:
Is there any option to secure connection to specific chromecast? For example pin code displayed on specific projector view which I must type or any other option to lock specific chromecast with specific laptop/desktop.
Thank you for any idea/information.
Best Regards.
Anyone can not take over unless they have gone through the setup process. If I was to come over, I can't access your Chromecast. I can use the guest option (which you can turn off in the settings) to stream certain apps for a limited time. It doesn't give access to the settings.
Note 4 using Taptalk

Cast without wifi or internet?

Trying to set up something in my camper so that I can watch downloaded movies or shows from my phones. I have a Note 3 with android 5.0.2 and miracast seems to be broken? When the Note 3 had 4.4 it worked fine and I used a Sony dvd player that it worked with just fine. It "sees" the player but won't cast to it.
I have a Google Pixel XL that does not see the dvd player for some reason. I brought a wifi router into the camper and tried to set up a chromecast (Gen 1). I can get it set up but then neither device, when connected to same wifi, see the device so that I can cast to it. I am going to grab a Gen 2 model from home and see if this will work.
Is there a simpler way to make this work? It was so easy just using miracast and now this has turned into a massive headache.
If you have the Stock FW on the CC, please ensure, that guest mode is enabled (via Google home). In this case the CC provided an own Wifi net if needed.
Mad07 said:
If you have the Stock FW on the CC, please ensure, that guest mode is enabled (via Google home). In this case the CC provided an own Wifi net if needed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never been able to get the guest mode to work. It seems like no matter what the chromecast still needs an actual internet connection, even if only casting a movie/picture right from device.
So far what works for me but it's annoying. I have my actual Verizon phone turned on as hotspot, Set up the chromecast to connect to hotspot. I leave it up and running. My Note 3 has my movies on it so I connect to same hotspot and cast using Allcast app...I think. That's the only app that even seems to find the chromecast. Yes I have Google Home installed on both devices. If I turn off the hotspot Chromecast stops working. Neither device finds the chromecast after that unless I turn hotspot back on. Yes guest mode is turned on. A pin is never displayed but since devices don't see it it won't help anyway.
I had a spare wifi router and did the same test. Still need an actual data connection. If no data connection the devices do not see the Chromecast.
Technology is really frustrating at times. Miracast worked just fine until Google didn't like it and made the Chromecast. The Note 3 is old and close to being dead so I am not buying a MHL adapter for it nor will I buy a new tv that has something built in that does not seems to work either. Many other camping people are starting to run into this issue as well.
if you go in Google Home under your device, Settings, there is a possibility to switch the guest mode on. This means the CC works like a hot spot. Its written also on the screen. Every device, which is not in your network, could get an access. I don't know, at which time the guest mode will be disabled automatically. Maybe at this time, if you stream something over your own network to the CC.
Hi,
I bought a cheap "MiraCast" dongle from eBay that works great. Less than $14 with shipping included from China. They list them as a "2nd Generation Chromecast 2" screen mirroring devices, a little misleading, but I'm happy with the unit, as it was brand new, in a very nice box I might add. If you need a link, then PM me, or reply here.
PS, they picture a Chromecast shape, but the lead with a Wi-Fi antenna is a giveaway. Here is a link to get you started, and actually is titled better than the one I bought, which is sold out. There are lots more like it at varying prices. https://m.ebay.com/itm/2-Digital-HD...d=202018167243&_trksid=p2349624.c100408.m2460
Motorhome option to cast from phone or tablet or TV without Wi-Fi or hotspot connecti
I was looking at a thread that discuss different connectivity options without Wi-Fi but could not figure it out. Are there any updates to this? Right now the only results that I have is to hardwire an iPhone to the TV using the HDMI connection and Apple Adapter device. The Mira cast Dongle works most of the time but is intermittent at best.
My son upgraded to an iphone so I got his old S7. Using it and the sony dvd player I can use miracast again.
I have also set up my main phone as a wifi hotspot and connected a chromecast and my S7 to it as well and been able to cast. This method ties up both devices and then they also both need to be plugged in. My wifes Iphone can also cast to the chromecast when connected to my hotspot.
Best I can come up with for now.

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