topic Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device in Streaming

Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

WaveBlaster2 — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 14:56:14 GMT

JBL playlist 150 with Chromecast built-in Not working in speaker groups with other other Google Home, Mini, Chromecast audio, and Chromecast video devices. About 8 months ago I noticed the three JBL Playlist 150 with Chromecast built-in not working or working intermittently in speaker groups. I have done a factory reset on the of JBL Playlist 150 with Chromecast built-in devices and still cannot get them to work in a group with Google branded Chromecast devices in a group like Home group. I was able to cast to a group containing just the three JBL playlist 150 with Chromecast built in. Something has happened where they do not connect with a group containing mixed devices. In the past I noticed they would take longer to sync up and start playing audio, but they eventually would work. This is no longer the case as they will not work in any group that contains the JBL equipment. When playing in a mixed group, only the Google branded equipment will play audio. Any solutions?

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

wedericus — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 14:16:44 GMT

EXACTLY the same problem (but with 2 JBL Playlist!). Two JBL: OK, Google mini + 1 JBL: OK, Google mini + 2 JBL => JBLs playing ping-po,g. All the three are on the same 5Ghz wifi from the same Linksys Velop base! Have you find a solution?

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

saschko — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 15:31:15 GMT

Same with me. In my multiroom setup there are 2 JBL Playlist devices and several other chromecast players. In a first step by the end of last year, all groups that list both jbl playlists, only one of them played. What was really annoying: they played alternating in a random sequence. The groups that listed only one jbl playlist (and several other devices) still worked in these days. Therefore I changed my setup and my groups.
In a second step (for a few days or weeks now) the jbl playlist devices do not work in mixed groups at all. Not even in mixed groups containing just one playlist.

I guess, the problems are caused by the old chromecast firmware in playlist devices (1.28). The nest devices use (e.g.) 1.54 nowadays. And google changed a lot especially with respect to groups (since google lost a trial and had to remove some features due to violation of some Sonos’ patents).

However, if I am right, the only chance to get this working again is that jbl updates the chromecast firmware. I asked them if they are going to prepare updates. But no answer so far.

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

WaveBlaster2 — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 15:19:08 GMT

Thanks for the update. I was not aware of the issues with Sonos. I hope JBL will offer a firmware update, but I am not confident that JBL will. There is no financial incentive for them to fix the issue as these devices are getting old. JBL support is poor and I was never able to reach anyone that even knew what a firmware update is. That said, I love these speakers when working. I hate throwing good devices that just need an update.

I have found using my three JBL Playlist 150 in there own group does work 80% of the time. I know the JBL Playlist 150 do not work in groups with Google TV at all. I have limited JBL Playlist 150 to one device to a group. Which is annoying since having large speaker groups is the whole reason I purchased the JBL Playlist 150.

I will reach back out to JBL for a firmware update and if you hear of anything else please let us know. Thanks! 😉

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

Jeran — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 16:50:19 GMT

Hey there,

Did you have any more questions or need any additional help?

Thank you,
Jeran

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

WaveBlaster2 — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 20:58:19 GMT

Hello: I have several JBL Playlist 150s and it is not working properly. I noticed the Chromecast is very out of date (v1.28102057) and full of bugs. Issues connecting (30 seconds or more to start playing content) or playing music in groups. How do I update to the Current production firmware version Chromecast (1st gen) — Firmware version 1.36.157768 ? 1 JBL Playlist 150 System Firmware is 1526033776. Any help updating my 4 JBL Playlist 150 to the Current production firmware version Chromecast (1st gen) — Firmware version 1.36.157768 would be appreciated

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

Jeran — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 16:20:06 GMT

Hey there,

Did you have any more questions or need any additional help? If not, I'll go ahead and lock up this thread in 24 hours.

Just checking up,
Jeran

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

saschko — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 18:42:41 GMT

As described above I have similar problems with my JBL playlists and asked the support (Harman Kardon) in february if they are going to solve the problems, i.e. update the chromecast firmware.

The answer was, that this problem (jbl devices cannot be grouped with google chromecast devices) is indeed caused by google. They sent me this link for "more" information: https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Blog/Upcoming-Speaker-Group-changes/ba-p/77811

In the same email they wrote that they are working on a Software-Update. However, I am not sure whether they will provide an update in the near future. They have not provide any firmware updates in the last few years.

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

WaveBlaster2 — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 13:45:50 GMT

Thanks for the update. I was unaware the JBL needed to be on the 1.52.272222 Cast Firmware. I thought Chromecast (1st gen) — Firmware version 1.36.157768 would be acceptable. Either I Have a case open with JBL, but still waiting to hear back from them. I did download the ‘Device Utility app’ (DUA) and that did make setting up the JBL Playlist 150s easier after a factory reset. Do you have information on how to do the Cast Firmware 1.52.272222 update process for the JBL Playlist 150?

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

WaveBlaster2 — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 15:03:00 GMT

I have not heard from Harman/JBL support yet. I and many others need to know how to update the Cast firmware on the JBL Playlist 150s to Cast Firmware 1.52.272222. According to a post on the Google Nest support forum this is related to a Sonos lawsuit and the following article describes the situation. https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Blog/Upcoming-Speaker-Group-changes/ba-p/77811

What I am not seeing in the article is how to push the proper Cast Firmware Update to the speakers. I did download the ‘Device Utility app’ (DUA) and that did make setting up the JBL Playlist 150s easier after a factory reset. Do you have information on how to do the Cast Firmware 1.52.272222 update process for the JBL Playlist 150?

Thanks for your help,

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

Jeran — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 21:59:07 GMT

Hey there WaveBlaster2,

With the Google Cast SDK being open source software, it is up to the respective companies to update their own devices to the newest firmware version to be able to function with speaker groups, since Google doesn't have access to update 3rd-party devices firmware.

I'm sorry I couldn't have been more helpful there, but I'd be happy to answer any more questions or concerns.

Best regards,

Jeran

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

WaveBlaster2 — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 17:44:10 GMT

HCG Customer Support

1:14 PM (19 minutes ago)

to me

Hello,

Thank you for the update. I see you cannot play music thru group with two JBL Playlist. This is an issue with Google. Due to recent updates from Google (refer to below link for details), our speakers can no longer be grouped together with Google speakers. We are working on a software update to fix this issue.

More information: https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Blog/Upcoming-Speaker-Group-changes/ba-p/77811

JBL provides the hardware, the speaker itself. But the operating system, software and any updates are from Google. If you still encounter issues with the features of your JBL Playlist, please send a feedback to Google.

Please let us know how it goes, or if you experience other issues with your unit.

Warm Regards,

Erick
Customer Support
Harman Lifestyle Division

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

Jeran — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 21:36:38 GMT

Hey there WaveBlaster2,

That is interesting, maybe I was misinformed on this, let me talk to a higher tier of support about this issue and see if it is something on Google's side of things that they would need to push out for 3rd party devices.

I'll keep you posted, and if you have any additional questions or concerns, please let me know!

Best regards,

Jeran

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

Jeran — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 16:35:24 GMT

Hey there WaveBlaster2,

I went ahead and talked to the higher tier of support about this issue. They informed me that it has always been up to the 3rd-party manufacturer to update the built-in Cast firmware. While Google does create the updates for the firmware, we cannot push the updates onto the 3rd party devices. What I would recommend in this scenario is to submit feedback either via the Google Home app, or through HCG support, which ever you prefer, since feedback submitted on 3rd party devices is always sent to the manufacturer as well.

I'm sorry I couldn't have been more useful in this scenario, but if you had any other questions or concerns, I'd be happy to address them.

Best regards,

Jeran

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

Jeran — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 16:05:58 GMT

Hey there,

Did you have any more questions or need any additional help?

Thank you,
Jeran

Re: Speaker group not working with Chromecast enabled device

Jeran — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 16:31:01 GMT

Hey there,

Did you have any more questions or need any additional help? If not, I'll go ahead and lock up this thread in 24 hours.

Just checking up,
Jeran