Why Does My Chromecast Keep Crashing

A Chromecast that randomly disconnects, restarts, or crashes, can be hard to diagnose if you’re not sure what’s causing it to happen. Follow this guide to learn what might be the reason behind those symptoms, and to walk through steps to fix it.

Why Chromecast Keeps Disconnecting

Unfortunately, there isn’t a single cause behind all crashes and reboots, so there isn’t a one-answer-fits-all solution.

Depending on your specific circumstance, the problem could be related to the device you’re using to do the casting (like your phone or computer), the app that’s triggering the stream, the network on which you’re using the device, or the Chromecast itself.

How Do I Fix a Chromecast That Keeps Crashing?

With so many possible causes, the best way to navigate this guide is to walk through each of these tips one by one, checking after each step to see if you’ve found the solution.

This guide doesn’t address all Chromecast-related problems, only issues that cause it to crash, disconnect, or restart. For example, see our Chromecast Not Supported? guide if Chrome displays a ‘source not supported’ error, or walk through these solutions if Google Home can’t find your Chromecast.

• Reboot your Chromecast and the device you’re using to do the casting. The first step in nearly any tech-related troubleshooting process is to restart the device involved in the problem—this is often the fix for unexplained issues.
• One simple way to restart the Chromecast is by removing it from a power source. Disconnect the power cable from the TV or the wall, wherever it’s plugged in. And then reattach it and wait for the Chromecast to fully power back on before verifying if that was the fix.
• Restarting a computer should be done the proper way: from within the operating system itself. Phones provide a shutdown option after holding down the power button.
• Rebooting is different from resetting. We’ll look at resetting your devices later on in these steps, but don’t jump straight there just yet.
• If your Chromecast is being powered by the TV itself, unplug it from that USB port and attach it to a power adapter that’s plugged into the wall. This will almost always guarantee that it’s being fed enough power.
• If this doesn’t work, and you have a spare micro-USB power cable that you know is good, give that a shot as well. While you’re managing the cables, take note of how the HDMI cable is being used—if there’s a splitter or adapter involved, remove it for the time being to see if that’s to blame. The idea here is to connect everything as cleanly as possible, with the least number of adapters and with only working cables.
• Update your apps, specifically the ones you’re using when you’re experiencing the Chromecast issue. This might be Chrome if you’re on a computer, YouTube on your phone, etc. Also, be sure to have the latest version of the Home app if you’re on a phone or tablet.
• The app or browser might need an update to addresses a problem communicating with the Chromecast.
• Google Chrome checking for updates.
• Move the router and Chromecast closer together, if possible. Interference and weak signal strength can cause streams to the Chromecast to suddenly stop.
• If that isn’t doable, Google sells the Ethernet Adapter for Chromecast to let you run a physical cord from the router to the Chromecast, eliminating poor Wi-Fi signal issues.
• An HDMI extender could also be helpful in moving the Chromecast away from behind your TV, making it easier to catch Wi-Fi.
• How to Optimize Chromecast
• If you notice the Chromecast having buffering issues right before it disconnects, or if the pause/stop button doesn’t work, then weak signal strength is likely what’s at play. Some users have also reported issues like this when a Wi-Fi extender is being used on the network; a mesh network setup might be a better alternative.
• Reboot your router. Again, this isn’t possible in some cases, like if you don’t have physical access to the router. But if you’re able, doing a simple restart might be the fix for a Chromecast acting strange.
• Check for bandwidth-related problems. Large networks, like in a school or business, or even congested home networks with lots of devices, can suffer from limited bandwidth. This, in turn, makes it more difficult for the Chromecast to communicate with the internet, thus causing it to randomly disconnect.
• Here are some things you can do if this is the problem:
• Stop doing other network-heavy activities like streaming from other devices, playing online games, downloading/uploading files, etc.Prioritize the Chromecast from the router’s QoS settings.Upgrade the bandwidth via your ISP.
• Why Is My Internet So Slow? What Can I Do to Fix It?
• If your Chromecast immediately disconnects without warning, or appears to crash back to the home screen, there might be someone else on the network that stopped the cast. This can happen if you’re using it on a network shared with lots of other people, like at a school.
• One way to help stop this is to disable the option in the Home app called Let others control your cast media, from the Recognition & sharing settings. When this is enabled, all Android devices on the network are notified when you’re using the Chromecast, and can control what gets casted to it.
• Chromecast settings in the Home app for Android.
• Read more about what you can do to keep your Chromecast private.
• Adjust your phone’s battery usage settings to stop optimizing the troublesome app.
• For example, if the Chromecast keeps disconnecting when you’re using YouTube, find the app in your phone’s battery usage settings and enable the Unrestricted or Unmonitored (or whatever your phone calls it) option so the app in question will run in the background without restrictions.
• How this works is different for every phone, and even varies between operating system versions. Look through the phone settings (not the app settings) for battery usage toggles, and poke around until you find the app that’s having the issue.
• Battery usage settings on Android.
• Reset the Chromecast back to its factory default settings. This will restore its software to the same state it was in when it was first built, and it should also trigger an update to the latest firmware.
• Give the Chromecast a static IP address. This is an unlikely solution for most people, but some users have reported assigning an unchanging IP address to the Chromecast stopped it from disconnecting from the network.
• Doing this requires you to log in to the router as the administrator. Once you’re in, look for the DHCP or IP reservation section.
• Google Wifi IP reservations list.
• While you’re in the IP settings, look for an IPv6 toggle, and disable it to start using IPv4 addresses. If this doesn’t fix the problem, feel free to return the setting back to normal.
• Log in to your modem and/or router and disable WMM Power Save. When it’s enabled, it helps to save power by controlling the Chromecast’s sleep timer.
• Disabling WMM-PS has proved helpful immediately for some users.
• Upgrade to a newer Chromecast. If you have a really old version, it might be suffering from overheating issues or a different hardware problem which can’t be fixed through a software update.
• Before buying a new one, there are some other basic troubleshooting steps you can try to confirm whether the Chromecast is actually the culprit or if it’s your network or TV. For example, plug the HDMI cable into a different port on the TV, try a different TV altogether, or borrow someone else’s working Chromecast to test it out with your setup.

Reboot your Chromecast and the device you’re using to do the casting. The first step in nearly any tech-related troubleshooting process is to restart the device involved in the problem—this is often the fix for unexplained issues.

One simple way to restart the Chromecast is by removing it from a power source. Disconnect the power cable from the TV or the wall, wherever it’s plugged in. And then reattach it and wait for the Chromecast to fully power back on before verifying if that was the fix.

Restarting a computer should be done the proper way: from within the operating system itself. Phones provide a shutdown option after holding down the power button.

Rebooting is different from resetting. We’ll look at resetting your devices later on in these steps, but don’t jump straight there just yet.

If your Chromecast is being powered by the TV itself, unplug it from that USB port and attach it to a power adapter that’s plugged into the wall. This will almost always guarantee that it’s being fed enough power.

If this doesn’t work, and you have a spare micro-USB power cable that you know is good, give that a shot as well. While you’re managing the cables, take note of how the HDMI cable is being used—if there’s a splitter or adapter involved, remove it for the time being to see if that’s to blame. The idea here is to connect everything as cleanly as possible, with the least number of adapters and with only working cables.

Update your apps, specifically the ones you’re using when you’re experiencing the Chromecast issue. This might be Chrome if you’re on a computer, YouTube on your phone, etc. Also, be sure to have the latest version of the Home app if you’re on a phone or tablet.

The app or browser might need an update to addresses a problem communicating with the Chromecast.

Move the router and Chromecast closer together, if possible. Interference and weak signal strength can cause streams to the Chromecast to suddenly stop.

If that isn’t doable, Google sells the Ethernet Adapter for Chromecast to let you run a physical cord from the router to the Chromecast, eliminating poor Wi-Fi signal issues.

An HDMI extender could also be helpful in moving the Chromecast away from behind your TV, making it easier to catch Wi-Fi.

If you notice the Chromecast having buffering issues right before it disconnects, or if the pause/stop button doesn’t work, then weak signal strength is likely what’s at play. Some users have also reported issues like this when a Wi-Fi extender is being used on the network; a mesh network setup might be a better alternative.

Reboot your router. Again, this isn’t possible in some cases, like if you don’t have physical access to the router. But if you’re able, doing a simple restart might be the fix for a Chromecast acting strange.

Check for bandwidth-related problems. Large networks, like in a school or business, or even congested home networks with lots of devices, can suffer from limited bandwidth. This, in turn, makes it more difficult for the Chromecast to communicate with the internet, thus causing it to randomly disconnect.

Here are some things you can do if this is the problem:

• Stop doing other network-heavy activities like streaming from other devices, playing online games, downloading/uploading files, etc.Prioritize the Chromecast from the router’s QoS settings.Upgrade the bandwidth via your ISP.

If your Chromecast immediately disconnects without warning, or appears to crash back to the home screen, there might be someone else on the network that stopped the cast. This can happen if you’re using it on a network shared with lots of other people, like at a school.

One way to help stop this is to disable the option in the Home app called Let others control your cast media, from the Recognition & sharing settings. When this is enabled, all Android devices on the network are notified when you’re using the Chromecast, and can control what gets casted to it.

Read more about what you can do to keep your Chromecast private.

Adjust your phone’s battery usage settings to stop optimizing the troublesome app.

For example, if the Chromecast keeps disconnecting when you’re using YouTube, find the app in your phone’s battery usage settings and enable the Unrestricted or Unmonitored (or whatever your phone calls it) option so the app in question will run in the background without restrictions.

How this works is different for every phone, and even varies between operating system versions. Look through the phone settings (not the app settings) for battery usage toggles, and poke around until you find the app that’s having the issue.

Reset the Chromecast back to its factory default settings. This will restore its software to the same state it was in when it was first built, and it should also trigger an update to the latest firmware.

Give the Chromecast a static IP address. This is an unlikely solution for most people, but some users have reported assigning an unchanging IP address to the Chromecast stopped it from disconnecting from the network.

Doing this requires you to log in to the router as the administrator. Once you’re in, look for the DHCP or IP reservation section.

While you’re in the IP settings, look for an IPv6 toggle, and disable it to start using IPv4 addresses. If this doesn’t fix the problem, feel free to return the setting back to normal.

Log in to your modem and/or router and disable WMM Power Save. When it’s enabled, it helps to save power by controlling the Chromecast’s sleep timer.

Disabling WMM-PS has proved helpful immediately for some users.

Upgrade to a newer Chromecast. If you have a really old version, it might be suffering from overheating issues or a different hardware problem which can’t be fixed through a software update.

Before buying a new one, there are some other basic troubleshooting steps you can try to confirm whether the Chromecast is actually the culprit or if it’s your network or TV. For example, plug the HDMI cable into a different port on the TV, try a different TV altogether, or borrow someone else’s working Chromecast to test it out with your setup.

• How do you fix Chromecast lag?
• Chromecasts can lag for a variety of reasons. There are steps you can take, though, to optimize your Chromecast and minimize lag as much as possible. Unfortunately, depending on your person internet connection, lag may be unavoidable.
• How do you fix a Chromecast with no sound?
• Sound can fail to output from a Chromecast for a number of reasons. Unfortunately, there isn’t one specific thing to check. Try running through standard troubleshooting steps to see if you can identify your personal issue.

Chromecasts can lag for a variety of reasons. There are steps you can take, though, to optimize your Chromecast and minimize lag as much as possible. Unfortunately, depending on your person internet connection, lag may be unavoidable.

Sound can fail to output from a Chromecast for a number of reasons. Unfortunately, there isn’t one specific thing to check. Try running through standard troubleshooting steps to see if you can identify your personal issue.

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