- Original Chromecasts are starting to fail en masse
- Support for the devices officially ended back in 2023
- The tech lives on with the Google TV Streamer box
Some 13 years after making its debut — and getting a 5-stars-out-of-5 review from us, by the way — it looks as though it's finally the end of the road for the original, first-generation Chromecast, with many users now reporting that their devices have stopped working.
As spotted by 9to5Google, there's been an uptick in the number of these reports on Reddit, with a significant number of people saying their dongles are no longer able to cast anything. The change seems to have happened over the last couple of days.
For context, Google stopped updating the device back in 2023, and certain apps (including Peacock) have pulled support since then. There are also some contributors to the Reddit thread who say they're still able to cast video in certain apps, such as Prime Video and Disney+, and from a web browser.
However, it's clear that a large chunk of devices have now stopped working. It's possible that certain security certificates (needed for wireless hardware connections) have expired, or that an update to the Google Home app has broken compatibility with the original Chromecast for good.
Nothing like it
Looks like Google just killed every Gen 1 Chromecast in existence. How much more time until they start killing off Gen 2? from r/Chromecast
Those who were still using their 1st-gen Chromecasts are understandably disappointed to see them stop working. "Rest in peace good buddy" says one commenter, while many users are clearly relying on their original Chromecasts on a regular basis.
Others in the thread suggest that 13 years is a good run, by tech gadget standards, and that Google should get credit for letting it work for so long. For now, it appears that the 2nd-gen (2015) and 3rd-gen (2018) models are still working as normal.
Chromecasts have been retired as a category now, though the casting technology lives on in Google TVs and in the Google TV Streamer that Google sells — essentially a Chromecast with a remote and a few extras. You can also pick up third-party gadgets, including streaming boxes from Walmart, with Google TV smarts inside them.
While the eventual end of the first Chromecast was inevitable, it's worth taking a moment to remember just how innovative it was when it launched, and how it unlocked streaming app access on just about any TV set. As we put it at the time: "There is simply nothing out there quite like the Google Chromecast."
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