Old Chromecast - must disable Bluetooth and cell data!

[dkegel]

To set up an ancient Chromecast, I had to:

1. Hold down its reset button for 15 seconds, until video cleared

2. Connect using device assistant as directed... but with cellphone data and Bluetooth off

3. When it fails first time, click the link that says how to connect to ancient Chromecast, and as suggested, enable wifi on Android and connect to the wifi network named on the Chromecast screen

The key was figuring out that Bluetooth and/or cellphone data were interfering with the connection.

So good to be able to watch Perry Mason on the larger screen!

[David_K]

Glad it's sorted for you now! For anyone else who may reach this thread by search, here are the steps we recommend if you see the "device needs activation" error:

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

If these steps don't work, you many need to do as dkegel mentioned, and connect to the setup network broadcast by the Chromecast:

1. Open your phone or tablet's settings app.
2. Open the list of available Wi-Fi networks.
3. Look for and connect to an available network with the name "ChromecastXXXX" (where XXXX is a random number).
4. Once connected, re-open the Device Utility app and follow the steps on screen.

[Kimy]

Hi folks,

Appreciate your help, @David_K.

@dkegel, thanks for sharing these details. This will help a lot of our users here in the Community. I’ll keep this thread open for one more day. If you need help, let me know.

Thanks,

Kimy

[dkegel]

David, might want to add disabling Bluetooth to that list, it seemed to be needed here with my pixel 4a and (presumably) 1st gen chromecast.

[David_K]

Appreciate the feedback, will definitely add that in future if it helps avoid issues!

[Kimy]

Hello there,

As we’ve got our resolution here, I'm going to mark this one as resolved. Please feel free to open up a new thread if you need assistance or helpful ideas to share just like this.

Cheers,

Kimy