Chromecast while traveling

[Bobbychrome66]

If I travel to an AirBnB that has a late model Smart TV (they claim), will I be able to bring my 2nd gen Chromecast device with me and have it work with that TV as plug and play, or will I have to download a different app to my Android phone, or somehow adjust the TV settings (which the owner may not like)? What questions should I ask if the owner? I have Netflix, Hulu (+ Live TV), and Paramount+ subscriptions that I may want to use. Thank you in advance.

[Byteguy · Accepted solution]

You should be able to connect your Chromecast device to any current TV.  All it needs is an open HDMI port to plug it into.  Then set the TV to use that port for input.

The host may not like you messing around behind their TV.

You will then need to connect your Chromecast to their WiFi network (Chromecast requires a network, there is no way to use it otherwise).

Their network is going to be the biggest problem.  It can't use a captive-portal when you login and then go to a webpage.  Keep in mind that ANYONE on that network will be able to see that you're casting and can mess with your stream.

When you're done, just unplug, and bring your Chromecast home.  You will have to then set it back up to use your home network; Chromecast is not like your phone, it only remembers ONE network at a time.

[Byteguy · Accepted solution]

You should be able to connect your Chromecast device to any current TV.  All it needs is an open HDMI port to plug it into.  Then set the TV to use that port for input.

The host may not like you messing around behind their TV.

You will then need to connect your Chromecast to their WiFi network (Chromecast requires a network, there is no way to use it otherwise).

Their network is going to be the biggest problem.  It can't use a captive-portal when you login and then go to a webpage.  Keep in mind that ANYONE on that network will be able to see that you're casting and can mess with your stream.

When you're done, just unplug, and bring your Chromecast home.  You will have to then set it back up to use your home network; Chromecast is not like your phone, it only remembers ONE network at a time.

[PDXBarbieTS · Accepted solution]

There's another way to set this up that doesn't require you to reset your Chromecast everytime you have to connect to a new network. It does require you to have two cellphones (only one needs to actually have cellular service, though.) You activate the hotspot on one cell phone (the one w/o service if applicable.) You need to turn on wifi sharing on this network and connect to the local network. Then using the other phone, you set up the Chromecast to connect to your hotspot network. Once this has all been set up correctly, you can take these three items with you and connect to any network as long as you have it's password and use your Chromecast without having to worry about the local network's router settings, resetting the Chromecast, or any other issue that stems from network connections and settings. I used this set up when working at a care facility overnight that had the floor I worked on change each night (and had separate wifi networks for each floor). 

[Jeran]

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
 

[Bobbychrome66]

OK to close it up, thanks.

Bobbychrome66

[Jeran]

Of course! Feel free to make a new thread if you have any more questions or concerns in the future.

Thank you for your help, Byteguy and PDXBarbieTS!

Best regards,
Jeran