Playback error with Channel 4 app on Chromecast

[Jess991]

I'm having the same problem as the following thread: https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Chromecast/Channel-4-in-the-UK/m-p/631369

Every time I try to cast from the Channel 4 app, it plays all of the advertisements and then I get a playback error message. I can see that this has been a problem for many users here on the community and also through Reddit.

I have already followed all the steps listed in the thread and I'm still experiencing the same issue. Please help!!!!!

[Lucyjanet]

I also have this exact same problem when casting channel 4 app in the UK. 

I have tried:

- Rebooting app 

- Deleting and re-installing app 

-reboot chromcast

- Rebooting router 

- Reconnecting to WiFi 

- removing automatic date time selection and switching back on 

so far no solutions to this issue. We have the newest version of chromecast, I can stream successfully to Google Home Nest Display device successfully. All channel 4 apps are unable to play on chromcast. 

[richardcadman]

I also have this problem ,🙃

[gunfleet]

Confirmed, same problem here casting from the Android C4 app on a mobile or from a Chrome browser on the PC. 
"Error message: A playback error occurred, re-cast to try again"
It is made worse by the fact that Android/Google TV OS doesn't allow downloading from the Google Play Store of the C4 app for Sony TV's, leaving only the slow and buggy YouView C4 app as an option. 

[Adzy71]

I have the same issue and I believe it is an issue with Chromecast and Google have ignored the issue and will recommend you buy the new Google stream .... It's almost looking like it is a deliberate error

[gunfleet]

I don't think the new Google TV streamer will help. This is an issue with Channel 4 and their licensing agreements. I think they are blocking casting of C4, as they do not provide a play store app either. 

[Lucyjanet]

I have the new google tv streamer, the issue is the same. 

[Lucyjanet]

It also can’t be a licensing issue as I’m able to cast to my google kitchen display device without any issues. 

[gunfleet]

Yes it casts OK to my Nest Hub, so it could be an Android issue, as the hubs use Fuchsia OS

[manthacordery]

Hi, so basically no one can cast C4 on the Google chromecast and it isn't just me and there is no solution?! It is so frustrating as I only really watch Channel 4 of the mainstream channels but now can't on my downstairs TV???!

[gunfleet]

The Channel 4 stream appears to be sending whatever it sends to indicate the end of the programme after the adverts have played. On the web interface it jumps to the next suggested programme, plays the adverts and terminates again.

[Jess991]

I also emailed Channel 4 about this issue and received the following reply;

Dear Jessica,

Thank you for this information.

We greatly appreciate you sending so much detail, as it will further our investigation greatly. We have had a couple of reports of this happening to viewers, and we sincerely apologise. We have already escalated the issue, and it is being worked on by our Channel 4 Streaming engineers, and they hope to resolve this soon. We have forwarded your details so they may be able to find a common trend among the reports. We appreciate your patience while we look into this for you, and will keep you updated.

We apologise once again for the disruption to your service.

If you require further information, feel free to email me back or visit www.channel4.com/4viewers/faqs

Kind Regards,

John Forest

Channel 4 Streaming Enquiries

So they are definitely aware of it and it sounds like it could possibly be a coding issue?

[Kimmm]

4 weeks later and still no fix. 😭

[RichieRich81]

Go onto google settings , go to app , see all apps and look for google cast clear cache,  force stop and delete update, that should fix the problem, it’s a problem with google, it’s happened to me a couple of times when google updates , just remove there latest update of google cast 

[davdevalle]

Thanks! It worked

[Hbclarke]

It worked! Thanks so much - I’ve been struggling with this issue for months! 

[Kimmm]

Oh my goodness! Thanks soo so much! I never get any useful help when posting in forums - specifically microsoft, so i wasn't expecting any positive outcome. Thank you!! 

Only if you could sort my other 100 google device queries. 😂

[Cbrog]

This works 👍

[MrsB161123]

Are these instructions for a Google TV? 

I'm trying to follow what you've said,  but I'm on a samsung galaxy phone, trying to cast from the  all4 app using a chromecast device. 

[davdevalle]

Yes Google tv settings you could try from 

Android System WebView
→Clear data
→Uninstall updates

2) Chromecast built-in
→Enable (should display as "Disable" to ensure it's enabled)
→Clear data
→Uninstall updates

[RichieRich81]

Yes these are Google tv instructions for when I was struggling with my iPhone 

[MrsB161123]

Brilliant!  It worked. Thank you so much.  

[veganplushie]

Yes worked for me! Thank yoooou x

[delboy74]

Cheers! It hasn't been working for me in months. I had emailed them also and got more or less the same reply as above. So thanks for the fix. I had installed a browser on my chromecast to work around it but it wasn't great. so thanks again.👍

[davdevalle]

There is a channel 4 app now on Chromecast 

[SimonAlfie]

What a find Richie! Worked a treat.  Come on Channel 4! Most people will have given up trying after one or two tries. You can make your streaming work with the latest update. 

[Tumi99]

Thanks for the instructions, looking forward to fix my issue. I'm on a pixel phone and don't see a chrome cast app. Am I looking in the wrong place?

[SimonAlfie]

The instructions are for the TV or chrome cast not the phone.

[Tumi99]

Thank, found it and testing as we speak.

[LydF]

Thank you Ritchie! We've also had this issue for months and were about to buy the Google Stream. All sorted now and back to being able to watch Gogglebox, haha.

[jcridge4691]

I use Chromecast as we have a device in the side of the TV but can't find a Google cast app. Any ideas much appreciated...

[Mellee]

I have had this problem for months now. Unable to cast from either the app on my phone or from the website on my laptop to chromecast. The problem has been going on for long that I have given up even trying 

[RichieRich81]

Go onto google settings , go to app , see all apps and look for google cast clear cache,  force stop and delete update, that should fix the problem, it’s a problem with google, it’s happened to me a couple of times when google updates , just remove there latest update of google cast 

[Aerolite]

This worked for me thank you.

[RichieRich81]

Glad I could help, took me a while to figure it out myself 

[gunfleet]

Got this reply from Channel 4 support:

We’re sorry you’ve not been able to cast from the Channel 4 app to your TV. It’s a known problem and we’re working on it.

As soon as it’s fixed, we’ll let you know.

For now, Channel 4 is still available to stream on your TV via these platforms.

Many thanks
The Channel 4 Team

[sarahh]

Channel 4, you need to get on with fixing this it’s been months. 

[Joey249]

I had the same issue for ages and found a fix through a post on Sony.com.

The same as Jess mentioned, everytime I tried to cast from the Channel 4 app, it always played the advertisements and then just got a playback error stating to try recasting to fix the issue, which never worked.

This is what worked for me:

On your Chromecast, go to Settings → Apps → See all apps → Show system apps

Look for the following apps and do the following actions:
(some of these apps may not appear depending on model so just do the actions of the ones you can find)

1) Android System WebView
→Clear data
→Uninstall updates

2) Chromecast built-in
→Enable (should display as "Disable" to ensure it's enabled)
→Clear data
→Uninstall updates

3) Google Cast / Google Cast Receiver
→Enable (should display as "Disable" to ensure it's enabled)
→Clear data
→Uninstall updates

4) Restart the Chromecast by going to settings → system → restart or completely unplug the power to it.

For me, it was step 1 and 3 that worked (uninstalling the updates). Test this out and see if it works for you.

IMPORTANT

If it does work, you may want to also disable automatic updates in the play store, as I tested this and re-installing the updates for Google Cast/Chromecast built-in brought the issue back.  There's no problem with updating the Android System WebView app from the play store though just avoiding the other one as mentioned.
To do this, go to Google Play Store, click your profile top right, settings, auto-update apps and select "Don't auto-update apps"

Also make sure your Chromecast is fully updated by going to Settings → System → About and System Update

The issue seems to have been created with an update to the  Google Cast / Android System WebView system app, which removing the updates reverts them back to its factory state which then fixes the issue. (or at least it did for me)

If this fixes the issue for you, please repost this fix in other threads if seen as I made an account on this just to help people out as it was an annoying issue to deal with and almost no help to be seen online.

@Lucyjanet @richardcadman @gunfleet @Adzy71 @manthacordery @Jess991 @Mellee @sarahh 

[gunfleet]

No this is not a fix. The problem is with Channel 4, which they have now acknowledged, so I would not recommend fixes for other Chromecast issues 

[Joey249]

Have you tried it?  This is for channel 4.  I was experiencing the same issue as original post for Channel 4 and Virgin Media Player, which this has fixed both, could be waiting a long time for them to actually deploy a fix considering how long the issue has been present for. The issue seems to have been created with an update to the  Google Cast / Android System WebView system app, which removing the updates reverts them back to its factory state which then fixes the issue.