Chromecast audio built-in relies on mDNS discovery to find devices in the network. Unfortunately some routers don't have forwarding of this traffic between WiFi and Ethernet enabled by default. This is odd because there is no security risk, that could be caused by doing this. Anyway, usually there's a setting to activate that in the router. Please review your router manual to make sure mDNS is turned on.
You can verify this by using a bonjour browser if you are so inclined:
- Connect the device and your PC to the same Ethernet network
- On the PC run a Bonjour / mDNS browser
- The device should appear in the following domains:
- googlezone._tcp and / or googlecast._tcp
- _sueS800Device._tcp
If you find the device on these domains it is working fine and it is a router / NW issue.
https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/discovery
App/ Radio / Chromecast Discovery Troubleshooting
The Cast SDK performs device discovery, as described for Android, Chrome, and iOS, to provide the user with a list of available Cast receiver devices. The sender app can then connect to a receiver device and begin casting. When device discovery fails, the issue may be with the app (sender or receiver), the Cast device, or the network.
This document describes ways to trouble-shoot for device discovery problems: the receiver does not appear in the list of connected Cast devices or, worse, the Cast button does not appear when you run the sender app. Because there are so many potential factors, and so many variables in the discovery process, these measures may not definitively prove any one cause, but they help you narrow down the possible causes.
Before investigating your device discovery problem, be sure the following conditions are established:
- The sender device is running a Cast app that you can use for testing.
Do not use the Netflix or YouTube apps to test discovery, as these use some specialized discovery mechanisms.
- The receiever device is an official Google Cast device.
- The sender device must have WiFi enabled and running.
- The sender device and the receiver device must be connected to the same WiFi network.
Do not attempt to resolve discovery issues while in guest mode.
Also, see Debugging for more information about debugging your Cast receiver application.
To get further assistance with your issue, gather all available information such as debugging logs, ping response data, and network service data, and use one of the support options described in Google Cast Support.
Check the sender app
- Connect both the sender and the receiver to the same WiFi network.
- Restart the sender app.
- On Android, force the app to stop by using the Android system settings. Then re-launch the app.
- On iOS, double-click the home button, select the sender app, and swipe it away to shut it down. Then re-launch the app.
- In the sender app, touch the Cast button to view Cast devices on the network.
If the receiver device is now listed (discovered), there may still be a problem with the sender app. Observe the sender app and note the conditions under which it loses its ability to discover your receiver: what is happpening in the app? Is the time to connection loss consistent over several restarts?
- Run a different sender app (not Netflix or YouTube), and touch the Cast button to view Cast devices on the network.
If other apps are consistently discovering your receiver, and your sender app isn't, the problem is probably in your sender app. On the other hand, if all apps have problems discovering your receiver, the problem may be with your receiver or the network.
- Run your sender app on a different platform (if possible).
When running your sender app on other platforms, is the discovery behavior the same?
- Run any app (not Netflix or YouTube) on a different platform than that of your sender app.
If your sender app is on the Android platform, run a different app on iOS, and vice versa. If all apps of a certain platform fail consistently, while those of another do not, the problem may be with the platform.
Synchronize the devices
The authentication handshake between the sender and receiver can fail if there is a significant disparity between the system time on the sender device and that on the receiver device. A disparity of as little as 10 minutes may cause authentication to fail.
The system time on a Cast device is immutable and the device can maintain the correct time if connected to the internet. The system time on most sender devices (such as a phone) is mutable, but you should allow the device to get the system time automatically by connecting it to the internet.
If the system time on either the sender or the receiver is incorrect, reboot the device and connect it to the internet. If the device is unable to maintain the correct time, contact the device vendor.
Ping the devices
When you ping the devices, note the response message content so you can report it in any communication to Google Cast Support.
- Connect both the sender and the receiver to the same WiFi network and verify that both devices indicate they are connected.
- Find the receiver device IP address.
Use the Chromecast app to retrieve the IP address of a Chromecast device. For Android TV, get the IP address from the Settings > Device > Network > WiFi > Network > Status Info menu.
- Connect a computer to the same WiFi network as the receiver and open a command line interface.
- Ping the Cast device and note the response.
ping <receiver device IP address>
- Ping the multicast addresses and note the responses.
You can perform this test whether you have the receiver device IP address or not. Ping the multicast IP addresses as follows:
- ping 224.0.0.1
- ping 239.255.255.250
- ping 224.0.0.251
- Find the IP address of the sender device.
Usually the Settings menu has this information. In Android, look in Settings > About > Status.
- Ping the sender device and note the response.
ping <sender device IP address>
If you can't get a response when you ping either device, see Check the router , next.
Check the router
Some network routers support Cast better than others, and Google has tested most of the major brands. The following steps may help identify router issues.
- On your network router, turn off AP isolation.
- Check your routerfor any known issues and additional information.
- Search the internet to see how other users have resolved router issues with Chromecast.
For example, enter the query, " Chromecast Belkin n300."
- Update your router's firmware.
See the manufacturer's instructions. The router firmware may have bugs that can be resolved with a simple update.
- Reboot your network router by turning it off then restarting it.
- Reboot your Cast device.
To reboot a Chromecast, unplug then replace the USB cable. Similarly, for other Cast devices, turn on then turn off the device to reboot it.
Check the traffic
You can see if the receiver is communicating properly with the network by inspecting the broadcast services on the network.
- On a device connected to the same network as the Cast receiver device, install one of the network service inspection utilities listed below.
- Run the utility and find the _tcp.localservice record.
This record will describe your Cast receiver device name and model along with service data.
- Copy the record information for communication to Google Cast Support.
Install the network service inspection utilities as follows:
- Apple OSX - Install Bonjour Browser from Tildesoft
- Android - Install ZeroConf Browser from Play Store
- Linux - Install avahi-discovery and run it as follows:
- sudo apt-get install avahi-discover
- sudo start avahi-daemon
- avahi-discover