I'm getting ads on YouTube when casting to Chromecast (2nd Generation) despite I have Premium.

[Stefax]

I'm getting ads on my Chromecast (2nd Generation) and I do not know why.

This problem started a couple of days ago when I started getting ads on YouTube-videos on my (Chromecast 2nd gen) even though I have Youtube Premium Lite (It is a cheaper version of Premium but the difference is that it only removes ads, it is so far only available in Europe). This has never been an issue before. 

I figured this would stop I logged in but when I tried to log in I received this error message:

 

Basically it says in Swedish that I can't log in to this TV but that I can still watch as a guest.

I rarely watch YouTube on anything other than my Chromecast so it would be good to know if I should end my subscription to Premium Lite or if this problem can be solved.

BIG UPDATE: YouTube is now claiming on my post about this on Twitter that this issue has been solved. But from what I see it hasn't because alot of YouTube-users are still commenting on this post and showing photos which clearly shows this is still a problem.

Link to my post on Twitter: https://twitter.com/StefanRasch6/status/1579556765171339264

[JayVee]

Well thought out approach and I think constructive criticism, but I will not participate on Twitter. I refuse to be a statistic on that platform. Along the same vein...YouTube and ChromeCaat are on very thin ice with myself and every user I know. People are growing very tired of the ignorance towards who pays their bills... Or do we..? Hmmmmm...

[MortallyWounded]

Yup. I’m paying for Drive, Music, and YT Premium. I’ve been using Gmail since I can’t even remember when (I used to be # if that gives you any idea) and Chrome since beta. Google is forgetting that just because they are mainstream doesn’t mean that loyalty no longer counts.

[MortallyWounded]

It would be a shame if Tesla suddenly required Google employees to physically hold on to the Mountain View Supercharger plugs for it to continue charging…

[Stefax]

I have seen on Twitter that this is a big problem. TeamYouTube avoids the question and says that you can't login. 

[MortallyWounded]

Chromecast is getting a few new tweaks, like multiple users, and apparently a new FCC filing suggests that the rumored Chromecast HD with Google TV is also close at hand. This may all be a part of the Multiple User change. But it’s a sorry state of affairs when they just ditch us like this. I did not see any warnings. It is also very suspicious then dropping a functionality of the classic Chromecast for no apparent reason is done while the current Chromecast with Google TV is still $50 and a less expensive model is likely soon-to-be-released. I have no need for a 4K version, as my only 4K television already has streaming available and it works fine; the remaining three televisions are 1080 or less. Two of them are likely to be replaced, and will likely have a streaming capability built- in. Sounds like Google is trying to squeeze customers, no matter how well they’ve been paying, for even more money despite the fact that most of the news pages we read on the internet today is riddled with dozens (if not hundreds) of AdSense popups.

[MortallyWounded]

My wife found out that the 3rd Gen we bought for her parents past Christmas never got opened. So we tried it. Brand new in box. Still wrapped in plastic. Still doesn’t work.

[MortallyWounded]

3rd Gen doesn’t work either.

[six3seven]

They're still being sold today...

https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/google-chromecast-charcoal-grey?queryID=f259b36d04a686c4d41081bfa...

Works with the streaming apps you know and love.
Enjoy TV shows, movies, videos, songs, games, sports and more from 1000+ apps like Netflix, Stan, YouTube, and Spotify. Find more at g.co/chromecast/apps1

[MortallyWounded]

Yup, that’s the 3rd Gen, doesn’t do what it’s supposed to anymore.

[MortallyWounded]

Added 3rd gen thread

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Chromecast/Legacy-Chromecast-2nd-amp-3rd-generation-Obsolete/...

[JayVee]

The YouTube app and casting works flawlessly on my old Rocku streaming sticks and their UI is the best on the market in my opinion.

[six3seven]

@JayVee are you in Australia? I am having trouble confirming the level mod support for the Australian market..

[eugene0203]

I have the same exact problem! I’m being forced to watch advertisements even tho I have a YouTube premium account. 

[JayVee]

Y'all are obviously not paying enough or need to buy new devices.

[six3seven]

@JayVee what does:

Y'all are obviously not paying enough or need to buy new devices.

Mean??

I'm paying for YouTube premium family, and had 5 x Chromecast in a combination of gen 2, gen 3, and Ultra. 

I'm not sure I could have spent more on Chromecast in my house, and I'm not sure I'm prepared to upgrade them all.

Any 'forsed upgrade' will be a move away from Chromecast.

[empydoodle]

It would be funny if it wasn't so blatant an attempt to either

A) Cover up a mistake they've made at minimal expense to themselves.

B) Sell more CCWGTV devices by deliberately and irresponsibly obsoleting the devices they are still actually selling, having given no notice of this feature deprecation.

The easiest way to resolve this is, as they did with Stadia a year or two ago (which ironically included the Chromecast Ultras), do a giveaway of a CCWGTV for each YouTube Premium account. This won't resolve it for everyone, but would be enough for me as a "sorry we f***ed up" to not cancel all of my Google Services (about £50 per month) and recommending that my family, friends and clients do the same, most of whom would as I'm the one that convinced them to get them in the first place and the one that comes round to fix them when they go awry.

[MortallyWounded]

So just for giggles, I bought a new 3rd Gen from Walmart, just to make sure. Yup. It doesn’t work, of course. So I had to return it. He seemed a bit confused, but then the CSA said “you mean we’re going to have a bunch of these returned?” Probably not. Unless wor some reason everyone decided they wanted to upgrade from 2nd Gen to 3rd Gen, only to “find out for themselves” that it didn’t work.

[Cathal_S]

@MortallyWounded 

Didn't you recently say...

"My wife found out that the 3rd Gen we bought for her parents past Christmas never got opened. So we tried it. Brand new in box. Still wrapped in plastic. Still doesn’t work."

I don't understand your logic for purchasing another device other than to fan the flames on this community forum post????

 

[MortallyWounded]

Technically, I didn’t: I purchased it to see if maybe there had been a revision between the one I purchased two years ago and one I JUST purchased. I was highly doubtful, but it was worth a try. And yeah, isn’t it interesting that you responded so quickly to that post but nothing prior? These are still being sold in retail stores. There has been no callback. They do not have the full functionality they did only a week or so ago. And there has been no information (that I can find with a Google search engine anyway) regarding this. So it stands to reason that Google is perfectly happy to allow people to try to upgrade from 2nd to 3rd generation devices, thinking thst perhaps their old whine was simply too old. I mean, don’t we do that with more expensive devices already? BuAt this is not the case. Google has intentionally stopped supporting previous YouTube functionality without an explanation.

Ive given reasons why I think Google MIGHT be able to explain it away. But this is just me trying to figure it out. I do t know. There is almost no information regarding this debacle.

Yes. It is just a relatively cheap device. Yes, it is something that can easily be replaced on the average person’s budget. But let’s take my in-laws for example.

See, my father in law very much enjoys that I am sharing my Family account with him. But whenever he changes his password, he forgets that he needs to sign into YouTube TV (built into his Sony television) to make the account work. Instead, I get a phone call at work… twice this has happened so far… with him complaining that he is seeing ads. So now after I get home I gotta go help him straighten that out again. Now, take the same individual, who is 76 years old and can barely type a phone number if it isn’t programmed due to his diabetes and massive hands. He’s a Vietnam veteran who retired from working for the town who just wants to watch videos bulldozers on his television when he’s too sick to go outside. I know, sounds like a made up sob story but I will be happy to do a video interview with him for you. ANYWAY, suppose he has a Chromecast, and it stops doing what it’s supposed to do, and now you expect him to use his phone AND a remote control to navigate. Half the time his phone isn’t even within reach.

He also got rid of his Pixel XL (bought his after he saw mine) because it was TOO big, and became obsolete. He got an iPhone SE (now too small) and can’t keep track of it. He has no idea how the Chromecast even works, which is why he never opened the one we gave him. I mean, the man went out and bought another television because the first one didn’t have Bluetooth… and he STILL doesn’t even know what to do with Bluetooth!

Google is really, really posing me off lately. So yeah, maybe I did share my test results on here “to fan flames.” Perhaps you would like everyone to just keep quiet and buy ANOTHER device? How do we know Google isn’t going to make that one obsolete next year? “oh, we did away with Google Play Music I mean YouTube Music, now it’s just MusicTube, and with that we gotta make everyone buy new whatever’s, who cares, they can afford it if they can afford gas to go to work, right?”

SICK OF IT! I’m sure you’ve seen my own Twitter rant. I’m REALLY hoping that at least ONE account I tagged picks up on it and says “yeah, isn’t that funny, a new tactic for Google, just start chipping away at every divide without so much as a heads up…”

Just hooked up dad’s old PS4 (he can’t play it, for reasons mentioned above, he likes to spend his money on “stuff”) so I’m using it and it seems to work as described. I fully expect Google to say “Whaaaaahhhh? They’re using old PS4s to watch YouTube? Well, we’ll put and end to THAT!”

You bet I’m losses. It ain’t about the device. It’s about taking back control of our devices, and all the control that Google used to promise with Android back when they were just a little guy up against Apple. “It’s all about YOU, and what YOU want.” Not so much anymore. They’ve gotten WORSE than Apple.

HTC Droid Eris, HYC Droid Rezound, HTC One (M8), Google Picel CL by HTC, and Google Pixel 3a. When the new OS came out I about barfed. No control. I went out and got an iPhone 12 mini.

Ill keep on fanning the flames. If anyone else is as pissed as I am, they’ll do what they think they ought to do. Not because I said so, but because they’re sick of it too.

And if I’m wrong, great! I’ll go to jail, peacefully, happily. I’ll enjoy it. But if I’m RIGHT… Cathal_S… You could have saved the Google accounts of millions of loyal customers…

(apologies to Ghostbusters and Bill Murray and Harold Ramis (may he Rest In Peace)for stealing that reference)

Or do I migrate from Google Drive to iCloud at the end of the month?

I’ll let you know if Walmart approves my review of the Gen 3 Chromecast.

[Cathal_S]

As said before I am just another normal user trying to help in the most efficient way!

Leaving feedback and not purchasing additional devices is probably all I can recommend for you and your family.

Edit: If you had asked this friendly and helpful community forum before making another purchase of a device that you have already tested multiple versions we would of told you that as you active it then it will download and install the latest firmware version. Thus rendering them all the same.

[MortallyWounded]

Then WHY did you reply and tell me that I’m fanning the flames??? Thst doesn’t help anyone either. The most efficient way to help would be to jump on board and say “Hey, Google… we got a problem, and as a “Gold Product Expert” I think you should do something about this.

What does one get as a perk of being a “Gold Product Expert?” A gold plaque? A free phone? Maybe a $50 Chromecast with Google TV?

[Cathal_S]

You can find more information about the Google Product experts program from the link below....

https://productexperts.withgoogle.com/ 

[MortallyWounded]

No thanks. I’d rather hear it from

the horse’s mouth: you’re badged this way because you are, in effect, an influencer. Like MKBHD, Linus, and a host of others. They’re all great, balancing their criticisms with praises about specific hardware, but they rarely speak out against their masters.

[Cathal_S]

Definitely not an influencer, I have already posted that I experience the same issue and that I have used the privilege that my 'Product expert' badge allows me to do "Flag an important forum thread for the attention of the Google Nest/Chromecast team" and in the meantime time the best way for getting information about this to the actual people that can make changes is by sending direct Feedback  I can assure you that this is more direct and efficient than posting here, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok etc...

[MortallyWounded]

Yes, because here it can promptly be ignored. But don’t worry, Twitter is the only social media I use. I dropped Facebook because of its ridiculous policies. I’m too old for TikTok. And, of course, my favorite social media outlet, which was in my mind PERFECTION, got killed (yes, Google+ was awesome. But not anymore.)

[Cathal_S]

I only use Twitter myself, didn't care for G+ or FB.

Sorry I can't help you further, I have alerted the Chromecast team about this and they are very much aware of this!

[JayVee]

I'm with you brother!

As are the members of my 27 person development team and most of our 200 person IT department. How do I know? This issue was a big chat topic amongst the group at our departmental town hall meeting yesterday. Seems like most are sick of google and looking at apple which is mind boggling for a group of propeller hat wearing nerds. 

[MortallyWounded]

Okay, the propeller thing is idiotic. I never understood that. Their team is wacko.

Ive been an early adopter on almost every product, but I don’t invest in the hardware beyond my budget. I invest more money into companies that do well by becoming a shareholder. Google pretty much made me a winner throughout the mid-2000s during that crisis. But I divested all my shares into other ventures in 2016, when it became apparent that Google was going down the wrong path. They murdered HTC, which was THE BEST manufacturer for a decade. And when I traded my HTC Pixel in for a Pixel 3a, I wanted something smaller and less fragile. At that point, I was thinking “whelp, I’ve gotten myself a FoxConn device. What’s next?”

iPhone 12 mini is nearly perfect. Size and mag charging are perfect. iPhone 13 mini? Alright, they’re keeping this going! But then they dropped the mini format because everybody wants honking giant slabs; nobody talks anymore, they want to text everything and watch YouTube all day at work.

But iOS itself is crap. It’s as bad as Android 13, but for different reasons. Looks sleeker, but boy is it a pain in the neck.

Hoping to get something closer to the old Moro Droid one of these days. But not by OhNoMotoLenovo.

Okay, enough hijacking this thread. Im done. Sorry for ruining everyone’s hump day. I hope Google fixes this SOON, either by bringing back the original functionality, or by upgrading Premium users to the new device for free. It’s the only fair thing to do. (More fair would be to just give them out to EVERYBODY really)

P.S. my Ultra downstairs still works normally. 🤔

[six3seven]

Yeah, I was in the Google Play music beta release. It was cool. And free.

Then they made it subscription for like $8. I thought ok, that's not bad to increase my music access. I'd been buying an album a month for ~$30 until then.

Then it was YouTube music. Oh, and it's more expensive because we're giving you YouTube ad free too. I really didn't like that, but I didn't complain because it's still less than an album per month. I got on board.

So this latest move is pretty diabolical. And why I have ended my premium subscription, and moved the family to Spotify.

[MortallyWounded]

Update: I think I mentioned it before but now the Ultra definitely does not work the way it did. Same situation.

[karolryan]

This is really bad form from google. Google... sort it out or people will demand a refund for services not provided!

[six3seven]

Refunds are pretty easy...

https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12014038?hl=en&ref_topic=12013284

I had mine approved in under two minutes, and got the last month's subscription back.

[MortallyWounded]

I really hate these things, and will probably regret even trying it because of the headache they cause. But here’s a change.org petition:

https://chng.it/ZQGxFCk2 

[empydoodle]

Any avenue we can take can only help the cause - good thinking!

They certainly don't work for the current UK government, but Google might listen.

[Floigenkaspar]

Issue still remains.

I'll dump my conversation with support here. They had no idea about the issue

Chat transcript for case: 3-6888000032717 Jun 15, 12:44 PM (Pacific Time)  12:44:15 PM Mary Grace: Mary Grace joined the conversation 12:44:16 PM Floigenkaspar: Floigenkaspar joined the conversation 12:44:30 PM Mary Grace: Hi, Floigenkaspar! 12:44:58 PM Floigenkaspar: Hello Did you receive my issue? 12:46:09 PM Mary Grace: I'm sorry to hear that your YouTube login on Chromecast doesn't work, and that it seems to log you as a guest on the Google Home app.  12:46:40 PM Mary Grace: I can imagine how inconvenient this is for you, and I'd feel the same if I werei n your shoes too. 12:47:11 PM Mary Grace: Are you able to send a screen recording of the issue you're experiencing?  12:48:17 PM Floigenkaspar: This chat seems not to have such a feature, but I can record something it you tell me where to upload it 12:48:34 PM Floigenkaspar: https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Chromecast/Cannot-sign-in-to-YouTube-TV-on-Google-Chromecast-...  I think it's similar to the problem described here 12:48:51 PM Mary Grace: I'll send you an email so you can attach the file. 12:49:12 PM Floigenkaspar: Ok 12:50:41 PM Mary Grace: Based on the link you shared, it's about YouTube TV. Are you experiencing the issue on YouTube TV? 12:53:31 PM Floigenkaspar: If I cast to the Chromecast, YouTube tv gets opened. There I can usually navigate with my remote my own account, but it is not logged in and if I go to "sign in" it says "can't sign in. You can still watch YouTube as a guest on this TV while you share videos, add comments and now from your mobile device". 12:54:34 PM Floigenkaspar: The Chromecast (in the home app) has my account liked though and is not in guest mode 12:54:58 PM Mary Grace: Thanks. 12:55:29 PM Mary Grace: I asked because YouTube TV is a paid subscription. 12:56:02 PM Mary Grace: It's separately billed from YouTube Premium. 12:57:05 PM Floigenkaspar: Maybe I misnamed it, I was speaking of the TV App for YouTube. I'm situated in Switzerland. There is no TV subscription here. Sorry for the misunderstanding 12:58:03 PM Floigenkaspar: It's not the same as in the link I sent then 12:58:32 PM Mary Grace: That's alright. That's what I also thought, and thanks for clarifying this. 1:00:03 PM Mary Grace: May I ask if you have tried checking on your TV settings if the YouTube app on your TV has a new version that you can update to? 1:03:05 PM Floigenkaspar: I cast it via Chromecast System firmware is 281627 Cast firmware is 1.56281627 If that helps 1:03:29 PM Floigenkaspar: *1.56.281627 1:04:12 PM Floigenkaspar: App version: 1:04:43 PM Floigenkaspar: web_20220613_10_RC00 1:05:19 PM Floigenkaspar: The date night correspond to the same time it stopped working (day before yesterday) 1:05:25 PM Floigenkaspar: *might 1:06:30 PM Mary Grace: Thanks. 1:06:53 PM Mary Grace: Are you using the same internet connection on both devices? 1:08:03 PM Floigenkaspar: Yes. Although. I use a mesh wifi, so I can't be sure if both devices use actually the same router. This has never been a problem before though 1:09:11 PM Mary Grace: Thanks. 1:09:13 PM Floigenkaspar: I'll reboot the Chromecast and set up the wifi again. 1:09:25 PM Mary Grace: That's a good idea. 1:09:30 PM Mary Grace: I'll wait here. 1:12:01 PM Floigenkaspar: Reboot didn't work. Doing factory reset now (sorry, I know I could have had the idea before). It takes a few minutes to reinstall 1:16:09 PM Floigenkaspar: Nope. Didn't work. Still same issue 1:19:49 PM Mary Grace: I see. 1:19:57 PM Mary Grace: Thanks for checking on this. 1:21:09 PM Mary Grace: Using your cellphone, have you tried signing in using the incognito browser on your phone to see if you will be allowed to sign in? 1:21:52 PM Floigenkaspar: I'll try 1:23:08 PM Floigenkaspar: Login into my Google account from incognito mode worked 1:23:08 PM Mary Grace: Thanks. 1:23:17 PM Floigenkaspar: No problems there 1:23:19 PM Mary Grace: Thanks. 1:23:51 PM Mary Grace: Does your TV have the ability to uninstall then reinstall the YouTube app? 1:25:45 PM Floigenkaspar: The app is installed on the Chromecast. I don't know how I can uninstall it from there.  I have a second Chromecast in another room, on another device. I'll check if it works there. If not it might be the network. Otherwise it is the device 1:27:41 PM Floigenkaspar: I also can't sign in on the other Chromecast 1:28:07 PM Mary Grace: I see.  1:28:08 PM Floigenkaspar: It's the network or something with the servers. Definitely not the device itself 1:28:36 PM Mary Grace: Have you observed if this sign in issue is also happening on your other social media accounts? 1:32:02 PM Floigenkaspar: No. But this is also because almost no other app has in so navigation via the Chromecast. Netflix and Disney plus for example only show what you cast via app. Only the YouTube app let's you navigate through it without having to use your phone. 1:32:38 PM Floigenkaspar: Login to Netflix for example works though 1:32:49 PM Floigenkaspar: So it is only an issue with YouTube 1:35:49 PM Mary Grace: May I place you on hold for about 2 minutes, while I check on this further? 1:36:02 PM Floigenkaspar: 👍 1:36:17 PM Mary Grace: Thanks. 1:37:42 PM Floigenkaspar: Btw I found this thread with other people recently having the same/similar issue (At the end of the thread) https://support.google.com/youtubemusic/thread/159624204 1:42:58 PM Mary Grace: We had that issue before where in it affected all users, regardless of the device, and it was already fixed. 1:43:34 PM Mary Grace: The issue you're experiencing is on your Chromecast devices. 1:48:15 PM Floigenkaspar: It's not an experience breaking issue. I can still navigate videos from my phone and cast them and not via the tv app. Maybe the issue gets resolved with a future update. For now it's alright. Maybe the learnings from this chat help if a similar issue comes from another user 1:48:59 PM Floigenkaspar: Anyway. Thank you for your time. 1:49:56 PM Floigenkaspar: Floigenkaspar ended the conversation

[smi]

This is a problem for me too, Chromecast Ultra. I thought it was weirdness but this thread has convinced me otherwise. 

It's very disappointing to pay for Premium and still get ads served because of feature withdrawal from a perfectly functional device. 

[JayVee]

You're simply not paying enough.

[empydoodle]

Fresh anger on this when an ad for YT Premium literally appeared on the screen - posted a fresh tweet with the Sign Up button showing the "can't sign in error" 😡😡

https://twitter.com/empydoodle/status/1541163769841291265?t=sl6X0TsV5oepHiiMsZZVTQ&s=19

RE: my earlier post, I'm told that @madebygoogle is the account to make noise at (though if you have the characters, it makes sense to include all of the mentioned accounts).

[TomGun]

Same issues as all above. 

Before that started though I kept being prompted whenever I started something that was age restricted and turning restricted mode off did not change that. 

Now that I'm not logged in it won't even let me confirm that I want to watch it. 

Honestly, just remove the youtube app from chromecast ultra and older. It's been a piece of **** from the start. The simplicity with just casting, queueing etc from the phone was the thing that made chromecast great. There was never any need for this interface. It's just made the experience so much more error prone and worse in so many ways.

At least let us decide if we want it or not. 

[MortallyWounded]

I’m not buying another Made By Google device again. That’s all there is to it. I’ll probably switch from Google Drive to iCloud as well. But there are enough other devices l, I don’t need to send any more money to Google than I already am. Sorry. It used to be a great service, and Android used to be great, but honestly it has all gotten out of hand. I do t even like the search engine anymore; any time I want to research something, I am bombarded with results that are just advertisements in disguise. I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve gone to iOS and Microsoft for a number of things already. I don’t need Google to try to control anything in my life, and I will avoid any products or services which attempt to do so. And when my favorite YouTube channels have all quit, I’ll never need to deal with that anymore, either. It’s not about one silly little device. It’s about manipulation and trust.