Has the first generation Chromecast been abandoned by Google?
I have been a long term advocate and supporter of Chromecast having had 5 of them. One for each TV in the house, one Audio version for amp/speakers and one spare for taking on self catering holidays.
The first generation model is attached to a TV in the garage where I workout, repair/maintain my bikes and generally do DIY and repairs. It gets used for music (Spotify after Google Music changed to YouTube) and YouTube instructional video. Occasionally my wife will watch a movie if she works out. After a move to NC BT headphones for working out I have not been using it so much.
Today I tried to get it working but neither Spotify nor Google Home could see the device (using my Android phone). After several minutes and attempts I did a factory reset - at the start of this the Chromecast correctly identified itself (Garage TV) so it was still (partially configured). I then tried to set it up as a new device using Google Home. No luck at all. My phone found it (ID number) but after selecting "Yes" and connecting to the Chromecast Wifi signal it just went round in circles and would not set up. I tried several times and left it several times to keep going before it time out. No error messages just didn't finish setup.
In the last couple of years I have purchased a couple of Firesticks and, to be honest, they are so much more reliable. You switch it on and it works, it just works. No faffing around. It runs a VPN (which is why I bought one in the first place) and has better functionality than Chromecast.
Am I at the point of no return and should just abandon Chromecast and move entirely to Firestick (other than my Audio Chromecast)?
Chromecast just seems so clunky and yesteryear!
Andy W Girvan
