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"Unable to load" Google Photos error as of Nov 27, 2024 with Google TV Streamer and Chromecast

realrob
Community Member

UPDATE: I am able to select a Photo album by using the Google Home app on my phone to go into my Chromecast and Google TV Streamer devices. However, two things are happening:

  1. Only the first 2-4 pictures in the album, i.e., the oldest ones, will cycle over and over again
  2. and I am still getting random stuck/default pictures being mixed in.

---

As of November 27, 2024, the Google Photos album (of our toddler) was suddenly not playing on all of the following devices:

  • 2 x Chromecast with Google TV (4K)
  • 1 x Google TV Streamer
  • 1 x Google Nest Hub Max

Instead, whatever the default pictures were showing (stock, as in whatever would display when you first set up the device).

Through multiple attempts via the Google Home app, I was finally able to connect to Google Photos again on the Google Nest Hub Max.

But with all our our Chromecast with Google TV (4K) and Google TV Streamer devices, it keeps trying to load Google Photos and then says:

Unable to load

There was a problem loading your albums. Check your

connection and try again.

Screenshot:

realrob_0-1732813906292.png

My connection is fine. On the Google TV Streamer and one of the Chromecasts, I am connected via Ethernet and on the other Chromecast, I am connected via wi-fi.

I tried switching over to wi-fi on the Streamer, but same error.

I should also note that, when this issue first occurred, when trying to reconnect Google Photos to the Google TV Streamer, I was prompted to enter my Google password. After doing so, I was prompted to create a PIN using the remote. So, I did this. Now, everything I am trying to change my wallpaper/ambient mode to Google Photos, I am prompted for this PIN - right after I successfully enter it, I get the "Unable to load" error.

Is anyone else experiencing this?

 

 

1 Recommended Answer

realrob
Community Member

Okay, I FINALLY figured out how to get all photos to display again.

 

DISCLAIMER

  • I don't know what truly caused the issue to start, but I suspect it was a change due to either/or both Google Photos and to those users who are also members of a Google Home created/owned by someone else. And, it even be related to those users being a member of a family plan.

 

BACKGROUND

Here's the background/preconditions to my scenario

  • I have a home set up in Google Home (maybe even originating from my Nest app "Home).
  • I have a Google Family plan, with my spouse being a member of that plan.
  • My spouse was also a member of the Google Home, with the role of Admin.
  •  We have a Google Photos album that my spouse owns, and of which I am am a member of - we have both added photos to this album. The albums if full of 2,000+ pics of our toddler.
  • I set the ambient screensaver/wallpaper of our three TVs and Nest Hub Max to display only the Toddler album pics.
  • Around Nov 27, 2024, it all broke - the toddler pics stopped showing and were only showing random, stock photos.
  • When I tried to add the Toddler album again, it would only even show a few of the really old photos, but also still mixed in with random stock photos. As it turns out, the few pics that were still being shown from the Toddler album were ones that I took, i.e., were in "my" Google Photos.

 

WHAT I DID ON DEC 31,2024 THAT RESOLVED THE ISSUE

  • First, I tried resetting the Nest Hub Max, but that did NOT resolve the issue.
  • I then removed my spouse from the Google Home and added her back as a Member (not an Admin).
  • Then, from her phone/account, we went into the Google Home, and into the Nest Hub Max and into the Ambient/screensaver settings, and into Google Photos - this is where we noticed that it was showing both her and myself (presumably as the only two users in the Home, and beside her avatar it showed "OFF" for Google Photos! BINGO! So, when we tapped on her avatar and selected the Toddler photo album, all of the photos, we thought this would fix the issue... but it did not. Why? Well, we think it was because she was just a "Member" with no access to update settings. And, her only being a member was also blocking her from signing into the Nest app (to see our old Nest IQ camera which is set up over our toddler's bed -- we want to keep using the Nest app for the superior timeline viewing experience).
  • So, next I removed my spouse from the Google Home app and re-added her as an Admin again.
  • Once she was an Admin, she could (a) set the ambient/screensaver for all TVs and the Nest Hub Max to show the same Toddler album as I was showing, and this now showed ALL photos, i.e., the ones she took/owns and the ones that I took/own; and (b) she could sign back into the Nest app using her Google Account.

Here's a visual of the setting that was "Off" for my spouse when in the Ambient mode "Google Photos" setting as a member of my Google Home:

realrob_0-1735762966250.png

 

Now, the same Toddler album still works on my sister-in-law's Chromecast and her parent's Chromecast. The commonality there is that both my sister-in-law and their mother are also members of the Google Family Plan, but my spouse is not a member of their Google Home.

 

CONSLUSION

It looks like some additional setting/permission was set up where all Google Home members need to enable a setting before any pictures in their Google Photos can be displayed on a screen in the home. I believe this to be the case because the pictures still display fine in other homes that the photo owner is not a member of, but has shared the album with some who is in the home (a gap, perhaps).

That was not fun to figure out.

View Recommended Answer in original post

13 REPLIES 13

Rusell
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi Realrob,

Thank you for posting in the community, i'm sorry to hear that appears an error message unable to load when you go into your Chromecast and Google Tv.

At the moment, I'd like to share a few troubleshooting below:

  • Clean cache 
    • Navigate to your profile icon
    •  select Settings
    • System
    • Storage
    • Internal shared storage
    • Cached data.
      • Select OK to clear cached data for all apps.
  • Remove the PIN
  • Restart your Chromecast or Google Tv. Take a look at this article: Reboot your Chromecast or Google TV Streamer 

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to reply to this post. I'll be happy to assist you further!
 
 
Best regards,
Rusell.

 

 

realrob
Community Member

Hey, @Rusell. Thanks for the steps. I cleared the cache. Then, after about 3-5 minutes of searching the UI, I found where to remove the PIN. However, after all of those steps, I am still receiving the same "Unable to load" error.

Rusell
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi Realrob,

Thank you for your response. I'm sorry to hear that none of the previous troubleshooting work before. I'm here to help you!

We would appreciate it if you can do these other steps: 

Keep me posted 

 

Best regards,
Rusell.

 

realrob
Community Member

"Remove the app"

 

What app?!

Rusell
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi Realrob,

Thank you for your response. Remove the app (Google Photos) and then please install it back. Also you can a look a look at this article: Ambient screensaver for Chromecast and Google TV Streamer

Let me know if doing the other steps work.

 

Best regards,
Rusell.

realrob
Community Member

Google Photos is not in the list apps on my Chromecast. Instead, it appears to be backed into the Ambient Mode app. I reset the Ambient Mode app to factory defaults, and updated it again, but still no go. In the end, this is the kind of experience I am used to with Google products as they are just too big with too little care put into them. I'll just deal with the crap until they actually won't even play content at all, at this point I'll start using other products.

Thanks for trying to support Google's junk.

Rusell
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi Realrob,

Thanks for posting in the community, We understand how frustrating this must be and we appreciate all the steps you have done.  

The team would like to learn more about this behavior. When you get a chance, please fill out this form and let us know when you’re finished. We’ll have someone reach out to you via email from there.

Be sure to submit the following relevant information:

  • Community Thread
  • Community Username

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to reply to this post. I'll be happy to assist you further!
 

Best regards,

Rusell.

realrob
Community Member

Thanks, @Rusell. I have completed the form.

Rusell
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi Realrob,

Thank you for posting in the community. We've received your form and appreciate the details you provided. Please keep an eye on your email, as someone from my team will contact you shortly to help.

If you have any questions or concerns in the future, feel free to reply to this post.

Regards,

Rusell

thedaftknight
Community Member

They can’t even make these bots sound like real people

realrob
Community Member

Okay, I FINALLY figured out how to get all photos to display again.

 

DISCLAIMER

  • I don't know what truly caused the issue to start, but I suspect it was a change due to either/or both Google Photos and to those users who are also members of a Google Home created/owned by someone else. And, it even be related to those users being a member of a family plan.

 

BACKGROUND

Here's the background/preconditions to my scenario

  • I have a home set up in Google Home (maybe even originating from my Nest app "Home).
  • I have a Google Family plan, with my spouse being a member of that plan.
  • My spouse was also a member of the Google Home, with the role of Admin.
  •  We have a Google Photos album that my spouse owns, and of which I am am a member of - we have both added photos to this album. The albums if full of 2,000+ pics of our toddler.
  • I set the ambient screensaver/wallpaper of our three TVs and Nest Hub Max to display only the Toddler album pics.
  • Around Nov 27, 2024, it all broke - the toddler pics stopped showing and were only showing random, stock photos.
  • When I tried to add the Toddler album again, it would only even show a few of the really old photos, but also still mixed in with random stock photos. As it turns out, the few pics that were still being shown from the Toddler album were ones that I took, i.e., were in "my" Google Photos.

 

WHAT I DID ON DEC 31,2024 THAT RESOLVED THE ISSUE

  • First, I tried resetting the Nest Hub Max, but that did NOT resolve the issue.
  • I then removed my spouse from the Google Home and added her back as a Member (not an Admin).
  • Then, from her phone/account, we went into the Google Home, and into the Nest Hub Max and into the Ambient/screensaver settings, and into Google Photos - this is where we noticed that it was showing both her and myself (presumably as the only two users in the Home, and beside her avatar it showed "OFF" for Google Photos! BINGO! So, when we tapped on her avatar and selected the Toddler photo album, all of the photos, we thought this would fix the issue... but it did not. Why? Well, we think it was because she was just a "Member" with no access to update settings. And, her only being a member was also blocking her from signing into the Nest app (to see our old Nest IQ camera which is set up over our toddler's bed -- we want to keep using the Nest app for the superior timeline viewing experience).
  • So, next I removed my spouse from the Google Home app and re-added her as an Admin again.
  • Once she was an Admin, she could (a) set the ambient/screensaver for all TVs and the Nest Hub Max to show the same Toddler album as I was showing, and this now showed ALL photos, i.e., the ones she took/owns and the ones that I took/own; and (b) she could sign back into the Nest app using her Google Account.

Here's a visual of the setting that was "Off" for my spouse when in the Ambient mode "Google Photos" setting as a member of my Google Home:

realrob_0-1735762966250.png

 

Now, the same Toddler album still works on my sister-in-law's Chromecast and her parent's Chromecast. The commonality there is that both my sister-in-law and their mother are also members of the Google Family Plan, but my spouse is not a member of their Google Home.

 

CONSLUSION

It looks like some additional setting/permission was set up where all Google Home members need to enable a setting before any pictures in their Google Photos can be displayed on a screen in the home. I believe this to be the case because the pictures still display fine in other homes that the photo owner is not a member of, but has shared the album with some who is in the home (a gap, perhaps).

That was not fun to figure out.

Rusell
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi Realbob,

 

Thank you so much for the update. We're glad to hear that this inconvenience has been fixed and we apologize for the inconvenience caused. Your tips will be valuable to many people.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to reply to this post. I'll be happy to assist you further!

 

Best regards,

Rusell.

 

GoogleNestTeam
Community Manager (Admin)
Community Manager (Admin)

Hey @realrob,,

It's good to see you've found a workaround - the team would still like to look into this but need some additional information. If the issue is persisting, do you mind submitting feedback through Google TV? Somewhere in the feedback report (either at the beginning or the end) be sure to include "#ambient" so that the team can easily find your feedback. You can also submit via the Google TV mobile app - instructions can be found in this article.

Thank you.