Chromecast dead in the water

[whud]

I found my Chromecast with the "can't find WiFi network" error yesterday. I tried rebooting it with an unplug. Google Home can't see the Chromecast as online so I can't give it any commands at all from the phone.

..

I tried deleting and reinstalling Google home. No luck. I tried having the Chromecast forget the WiFi so I could manually put it back. No luck. I tried unplugging Chromecast for longer, no luck. I tried connecting directly to the Chromecast wifi network, no luck. I tried deleting the Chromecast from Google home to set it up from new again. No luck. So I tried factory resetting the Chromecast. Google home still says it "needs activated" so the help center told me to get the Device Utility app. Device Utility cannot connect to the Chromecast to set it up and Google home still cannot connect to the Chromecast to set it up.

..

I'm all out of ideas, I've tried everything. What the hell do I need to do to make this thing cast for me again? I'm exceedingly frustrated.

..

(Edited to correct the ridiculous block of text I inattentively posted)

[David_K]

What country are you located in? What brand/model of phone are you using for setup?

[whud]

I'm on the West Coast, United States. I'm using a Google Pixel 7 Pro. Before this I had a Galaxy S10e that worked fine for the Chromecast.

[David_K]

Try these steps:

1. Open the Device Utility app, and then turn Wi-Fi OFF in your phone's settings as instructed.
2. Once the app finds your device, tap on its name if you have multiple devices that need activation.
3. Go back to your phone's Wi-Fi settings and turn Wi-Fi back ON.
4. Re-open the Device Utility app and tell it to connect to your device.
5. It should now connect successfully and you can follow the setup steps.

[JenniferV]

Hi there,

I appreciate your help here, davidking.

whud, it's us again. How's it going? Did the steps help?

Regards,

Jennifer

[whud]

Sorry for the delay, I've been busy and this honestly wasn't a high priority.

..

I've tried following those steps; after selecting the Chromecast hotspot as the app instructions, it then processes for 20~ seconds before giving the error "cannot communicate with your Chromecast". I should have detailed that in my original post, pardon the omission

[JenniferV]

Hello whud,

No worries. Since this worked previously on your Samsung S10e phone, could you please try to use this and set up your Chromecast? Also, try to adjust the settings of the setup device. Here's how: open your phone’s Settings app > Turn on Location Services. You may also turn off the screen overlay (only for Android 6.0 and above).

If the issue persists, factory reset your Chromecast and manually connect again to the Chromecast SSID. Here's the step: go to the phone’s Settings > Open Wi-Fi and connect to the Chromecast SSID (Example: Chromecast1234, Living Room TV, Bedroom TV, etc.) > Go to the Google Home app and try to set it up again.

Thanks,

Jennifer

[whud]

The S10e is gone, that is unfortunately not an option. I followed your instructions, there was no change. The Google Home app can see the Chromecast but says it still needs to be "activated", the Device Utility can find it on Bluetooth but once the Chromecast SSID is tethered the Utility says "cannot be connected". I already tried factory reset in my first round of troubleshooting, that also didn't help. I'm inches away from just replacing this troublesome f*

[Juni]

Hello there,

I just wanted to follow up if you were able to try the steps provided. Please let us know as we would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Best,

Juni

[whud]

I did try, to no avail unfortunately.

[JenniferV]

Hey whud,

Thanks for trying the suggested steps and I'm sorry to hear that you're still experiencing the same issue.

Is it possible to borrow a phone from your friend or family member? If you already downloaded the Device Utility app, could you please check the steps below and let me know how it goes?

1. Open the Device Utility app.
2. Allow Location access.
3. Turn on Bluetooth. This step is required to activate new devices.
4. Disconnect from the Wi-Fi network. This step helps the devices that you want to set up and connect to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth.
5. Wait for the app to look for devices to activate.
6. Activate the device. If there’s only one device, tap Start at the bottom right, and if the device found is wrong, tap Activate a different device.
7. Follow the rest of the steps prompted in the Device Utility app (almost the same as the setup steps in the Google Home app). Once the device is activated, the setup continues in the Google Home app to finish the steps.

Thanks,

Jennifer

[whud]

I've been following these steps and after connecting to the Chromecast SSID, the error I'm given by Device Utility is "Could not communicate with your Chromecast".  It was doing this after a factory reset as well.

[JenniferV]

Hi whud,

Got it. Could you try to follow the instructions again for the Device Utility app, then instead of connecting to the Chromecast SSID, please connect to your own Wi-Fi network? Also, to isolate the issue, could you try to connect to a mobile hotspot?

Thanks,

Jennifer

[JenniferV]

Hey there,

It's me again. Did you manage to get your device working?

Regards,

Jennifer

[JenniferV]

Hello whud,

I haven't heard from you in a while so I’ll be locking this thread if there’s no update within 24 hours. If you're still experiencing problems, please feel free to start a new thread and we'll be happy to help.

Thanks,

Jennifer