Set Up Chromecast

How to Set Up a Chromecast

Master Google's streaming dongle in minutes.

By David Nield

Google launched the Chromecast back in 2013, and almost instantly it became an indispensable way for millions of people to get movies and TV from their phone or tablet up on a big screen. Several updated versions of the dongle have appeared since then, but the main functionality has stayed the same.

Despite the technical trickery going on behind the scenes, setting up a Chromecast is actually very straightforward, no matter how tech-savvy or otherwise you are. You need a big screen (usually a TV) with a spare HDMI port to plug the Chromecast into, plus a mobile device running Android or iOS.

GETTING UP AND RUNNING

Plug one end of your Chromecast into your TV and the other end into a power source, whether a wall socket or a spare USB socket on your TV. Congratulations! Your Chromecast is almost ready to go.

But first it needs to tap into your Wi-Fi network—Chromecasts actually pull content straight from the web, not your mobile device. To get this configured, download the Google Home app for Android or iOS.



Once you've installed and opened the app, it immediately gets down to the business of looking for available devices (if yours isn't found, it's either not correctly powered on or not correctly plugged in).

Tap through the setup wizard that appears on your phone and after a few seconds you should be connected—a code appears on your TV to make sure both your TV and your phone (or tablet) are now in sync.

You get the option to rename your Chromecast plus the option to enable guest mode, which lets other people (like visiting friends or family) cast content to the dongle using a PIN code, without needing to be on your Wi-Fi network.

The final step inside the app is to get your Chromecast connected to Wi-Fi, which means it can download software updates from the web, plus that all-important content from the likes of Netflix, Spotify and so on.

There is the option to link the Chromecast to your Google account too—this just makes for a more personalized experience across all Google's many products.

START CHROMECASTING



When it's not in use, the Chromecast shows a rotating slideshow of pictures pulled from the web. If you want to know more about a particular image, open up the Home app and choose Devices from the menu—you can then tap on the photo to see who took it and where it came from.

To send photos, videos, music or anything else to your Chromecast, you need to click the Cast button inside Chromecast-compatible apps, which is most of them these days (Apple's default iTunes video player is one of the few remaining hold-outs).

Start streaming something on Netflix, for example, and you'll see a Chromecast icon in the top-right corner of your phone or tablet. Tap this, choose your Chromecast, and your video appears on the big screen. Your mobile turns into a remote, letting you control playback, change the volume level, turn on subtitles and so on.


Chromecast icon, top left.

The Chromecast icon shows up in a lot of photo, video and audio apps, as well as in Chrome for Windows and macOS, so you can get websites up on the big screen if you need to. You can cancel the casting from inside each app, or just start casting something from another app.

ADVANCED CHROMECASTING



Getting started with Chromecasting isn't too taxing, but this apparently simple dongle does hide a number of more advanced tricks. The latest versions of Android let you mirror your screen to a Chromecast, for instance: Just tap Cast from the Display menu in Settings, and you get a much better look at Crossy Road or anything else.

When guest mode is switched on, your buddies will see the Cast icon inside their own apps when they're at your house, even if they're not connected to your home network (though Wi-Fi does need to be active on the connecting devices). Unfortunately it's not yet working for iOS, so iPhone users can't suddenly commandeer your streaming dongle.

Another clever trick the Chromecast is capable of is turning your TV on, though this won't work with every set. Your TV needs to support CEC, or Consumer Electronics Control, which enables any HDMI source (like a games console) to control the TV power. If the feature is supported, and enabled, on your TV, just casting something to the Chromecast should turn the TV on. You can't use the tech to turn the TV off, though.

Delve into the Chromecast settings inside the Home app (tap the three dots next to the Chromecast on the Devices screen) and you can configure a few of the dongle's options, including guest mode. You can also choose different sources for the photo slideshow backdrop that appears when the Chromecast is idle, such as pictures pulled from your Facebook account