Chromecast Ultra constantly dropping off Wi-Fi

[jg2910]

I've owned a Chromecast Ultra for a few years and it has worked very well until about 2 months ago.

When I'm using the Chromecast it works great. When I'm not using it for a few hours, it drops off of my Wi-Fi network and does not automatically reconnect. This happens daily. Power cycling the Chromecast immediately fixes the issue and it reconnects to my network without issue.

Nothing about my wireless network has changed, and it seems to be a Chromecast issue since power cycling the device fixes the issue. What's going on here?

[Jeran]

Hey there jg2910,

I apologize for the late response, and thank you for being patient! Were you able to fix that Wi-Fi dropping issue? If not, I'd be happy to help you look into this. The first thing I would do is follow the steps listed in this article. Let me know if you run into any issues or errors while troubleshooting.

I look forward to your response, and if you have any other questions or concerns for me, please let me know.

Best regards,
Jeran

[jg2910]

I moved my Chromecast and cables around slightly and have not observed the issue since then (1-2 weeks).

I've done everything else on the list previously except for hardwiring to ethernet, which isn't an option for my TV location.

Unfortunately the Chromecast HDMI cable is only a few inches long, so it really offers no choice but to be laying almost right on top of the TV and inevitably by lots of other cables. I'll let you know if the issue comes back.

[Jeran]

Hey there jg2910,

I'm glad to hear that the issue hasn't reappeared after you've rearranged the Chromecast a bit. I'll check back in on this thread in a few days to make sure everything is still working properly.

Best regards,

Jeran

[Jeran]

Hey there jg2910,

I'm just checking up on this thread; is everything still working fine?

Best regards,
Jeran

[jg2910]

Thanks for checking in, I actually have not observed this issue anymore. Some spotty streaming performance but I haven't seen the wifi disconnection issue again.

[Jeran]

Hey there jg2910,

That's good to hear that you're no longer disconnecting. If you'd like, the article I linked earlier is able to help with the spotty performance. Regardless, do you have any other questions I can help with?

Best regards,

Jeran

[jg2910]

It actually just happened again without changing anything. I have a 2nd Chromecast and will be swapping it out to try that.

[Jeran]

Hey jg2910,

Oh shoot, that's no good to hear. Are you experiencing these same disconnecting issues with your 2nd Generation Chromecast as well? If so, It could point to and issue related to the network or modem.

Best regards,

Jeran

[jg2910]

My other Chromecast is a gen 4, so I'm changing to that today and will let you know how it goes.

[Jeran]

Hiya jg2910,

No problem at all! If I don't hear back from you within a few days, I'll check up on you.

Best regards,

Jeran

[Jeran]

Hey there jg2910,

Do you have any more questions that I can address? 

Thank you,
Jeran

[Jeran]

Hello jg2910,

Do you have any more questions? If not, I'll go ahead and lock up this thread in 24 hours.

Just checking up,
Jeran

[jg2910]

Hi Jeran, I have only seen the wifi disconnect issue once since changing to my Gen4 Chromecast in the same location. We continue to have random buffering and lagging issues now, twice a day or so, regardless of the streaming service used. I have run speed tests on multiple other wireless devices when this issue happens, with the devices right next to the Chromecast, and see 300-400Mbps without issues. I can also stream the same content on those wireless devices in the same space without issues. I do not believe it is a problem with my network for this reason.

I think a major design issue is that Chromecasts come with a 3-4” HDMI dongle which requires they be installed right next to TVs and all other electronics. This goes against plenty of normal wireless networking rules of thumb. My only thought now is to buy an HDMI extender cable to get the Chromecast away from other electronics and see if that makes a difference.

[Jeran]

Hey jg2910,

Thank you for letting me know! I have heard similar ideas in the past, and I've seen it work for people. It's worth a shot if you want to give it a try. However, I don't have any particular extenders that I can personally endorse. In that case, did you want me to leave the thread open a bit longer for you to test more solutions, or should I go ahead and lock the thread?

Best regards,

Jeran

[Juni]

Hello there,

I want to check if you have additional questions and concerns about your device. Let us know by updating this thread, and we're glad to assist you further.
 

Regards,

Juni

[Dan_A]

Hi jg2910,

We haven't heard from you in a while so we'll be locking this thread if there is no update within 24 hours. If you need assistance or want to discuss topics, feel free to start a new thread.
 

Cheers,

Dan

[jg2910]

I guess for future folks trying to troubleshoot, I’ll share my last steps. I used an Android wifi analyzer app to check nearby Wifi channels for interference. The closest neighboring network was 2 channels away and very attenuated, but I still moved my network another channel over just to see. It made no difference and did not resolve the problem.

My HDMI extension cable arrived and I used it to move the Chromecast away from the TV. It fixed the issues as far as I have tested so far.

It would be nice if future Chromecast versions shipped with an HDMI socket so that the default installation location was not in the worst possible position for wireless reception, directly against your other electronics (the TV)

[Dan_A]

HI jg2910,

We appreciate the detailed information and everything is documented. Since you were able to resolve this issue I will mark this thread as resolved after 24 hours. If you need help create a new thread and Community will help.

Best regards,

Dan