Casting Dell Laptop to Chromecast

[NeilMcDonald]

I have a fairly old Dell Inspiron N5110 Laptop, running Windows 10, with an Intel i3 processor.

Just installed a new Chromecast, which works well from my mobile, but cant be found by my laptop.

When I select Cast in Chrome menu it looks for devices but says 'No devices found'.

Laptop & Chromecast are using same Wi-Fi & Bluetooth is turned on.  Chromecast help says my operating system etc meets minimum requirements.

Any suggestions

[Dhdhdhdu]

Try without the firewall (just for testing) on your laptop. You will need the mDNS service at least to be working. You windows firewall will have a log and you should be able to see the blocked/dropped connections in there.

Also try edge and see if the cast iron is working from there.

Just try casting a typical webpage at first as done content can be protected from casting.

[NeilMcDonald]

Not sure why it wasn't working, but casting now works from Chrome and also MS Edge.

[LovelyM]

Hello everyone, 

Thanks for your assistance here, @Dhdhdhdu. 

@NeilMcDonald, thanks for reaching out. It looks like casting is up and running again for both your Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. Please let me know if you have additional questions or concerns before I close this thread within the next 24 hours. 

Cheers,
Lovely

[NeilMcDonald]

It was running OK (for a day), but now it isn't again!!  Before I tried any of the suggestions from @Dhdhdhdu I checked it again and the Chromecast device was found in both MS Edge and Chrome.  So I thought the problem was solved, thus my post that it was working. As of now, neither Edge or Chrome can find the device, still not sure why.  So, back to square one.

[LovelyM]

Hi NeilMcDonald, 

Please make sure that your Dell laptop is up-to-date. Check the Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge on your device to see if there are any available updates for these applications. You may also try to forget your Wi-Fi network, then reconnect and see if that helps.

Cheers,
Lovely

[NeilMcDonald]

Laptop and Chrome/Edge all set to auto updates, and are all on latest versions.  Disconnect/reconnect from Wi-Fi doesn't fix.

[LovelyM]

Hey NeilMcDonald,

I want to check if you are using a dual-band router and if so, is your Google Chromecast connected to 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz? Make sure that your Dell laptop is using the same frequency as your Chromecast device.

Thanks,
Lovely

[NeilMcDonald]

Your query led me to a new area of testing and has narrowed down the area of the problem.

I have a dual-band router and connected to that is a dual-band Wi-Fi mesh system.  Both the laptop & Chromecast are connected to the Wi-Fi mesh.  Under this setup, the laptop usually can't find the Chromecast device, but sometimes can.

I changed the Wi-Fi on both the laptop & Chromecast to connect to the router (instead of the mesh) & the laptop is able to find the find the Chromecast device, every time.

However, what is odd, is that with the Chromecast connected to the router Wi-Fi and the laptop connected to the mesh Wi-Fi, the laptop is still able to find the Chromecast!

[LovelyM]

Hello NeilMcDonald,

I'm glad that I was able to shed some light on your concern. Now, even if your Chromecast is connected to your main Wi-Fi router and your laptop is connected to your mesh Wi-Fi point, they will still communicate with each other as long as they are using the same frequency. We can continue to observe this for three more days and you can update me if you are still encountering any issues.

Best,
Lovely

[Dhdhdhdu]

Hi NeilMcDonald, what is the brand of wifi mesh network you are using? There are a few choices, and depending on the details they may have interoperability issues with some services. Chromecast relies on broadcast communication which can have issues traversing the mesh and ending up having a changed hardware address needing an updated IP route.

In the config pages of your mesh router there will be some type of config, you will need to check out "OLSR" for mDNS which is one method of getting broadcast traffic to work successfully on mesh networks. Other alternate settings might be "layer 3 CAPWAP encapsulation" but anything that is about multicast/forwarding/encapsulation.

Sorry I can't be more exact but it will depend on what brand of mesh you are running. 

Hope this helps...

[NeilMcDonald]

The Wi-Fi mesh is a TP-Link Deco X20.  Although the router is dual band, I note that my laptop (which is a fairly old model) will only connect to 2.4.  Although I would prefer to have all devices connected to the mesh, with the laptop connected to the router (or the mesh) & the Chromecast connected to the router, the laptop can find the Chromecast for casting.  So far I haven't found a way to force the Chromecast to only use 2.4.

[LovelyM]

Hi folks,

We appreciate your suggestions, @Dhdhdhdu.

@NeilMcDonald, your Chromecast works with both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz; however, it should only be able to connect to one frequency once it's set up successfully. You can also try reaching out to your Internet service provider and having them help you set a static IP address for your Chromecast so it will remain connected to 2.4 GHz. 

Sincerely,
Lovely

[Kimy]

Hi there,

I'm just checking in to make sure that you saw our responses. Please let us know if you still need our help, as we would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Regards,
Kimy

[NeilMcDonald]

Yes, thanks for your assistance with this.  As I said on an earlier response, with the Chromecast & laptop both connected to the router wi-fi (rather than the mesh wi-fi), casting from the laptop to Chromecast works OK.

I won't bother getting a static IP address for my Chromecast. 

[Kimy]

Hi NeilMcDonald,

Understood! Let us know if you have any questions. I’ll keep this thread open for one more day. Thanks again.

Cheers,

Kimy

[Dhdhdhdu]

You had them both on the same wifi network i.e. 5ghz channel? 

[NeilMcDonald]

No, although the router is dual band, my laptop (which is a fairly old model) will only connect to the 2.4 band.  Although I would prefer to have all devices connected to the mesh wi-fi, with the laptop connected to the router (or the mesh) & the Chromecast connected to the router, the laptop is able to find & cast to Chromecast. With them both connected to the mesh, the laptop can't find any devices to cast to.  I assume the mesh and Chromecast are defaulting to 5.1 ghz.

[Kimy]

Hi there,

Thanks for your help here, @Dhdhdhdu.

@NeilMcDonald, thanks for the details. Chances are, the Chromecast device is on 5 GHz. You can do a factory reset and set it up to be connected to 2.4 GHz, but since you have a mesh system (which expands 5 GHz coverage), it may not be easy for other devices to switch to 2.4 GHz unless you separate the SSID for both bands. Let me know if you still have questions.

Regards,

Kimy

[Dhdhdhdu]

@Kimy is right.. 

But if your laptop isn't compatible a USB wifi that is are only $20 or less..

What brand of mesh network are you running if you don't mind me asking?

[NeilMcDonald]

Please read previous posts - The Wi-Fi mesh is a TP-Link Deco X20. 

Also, as previously posted, I am now able to cast from the laptop to the Chromecast on the 2.4 band.

[Kimy]

Hello there,

Appreciate your help here, @Dhdhdhdu.

@NeilMcDonald, this is great! I’m glad that this has been sorted out. I’ll mark this as completed and keep it open for one more day. Feel free to create a new thread if you have concerns.

Cheers,

Kimy