I first purchased a Google Chromecast over a year ago. It’s been pretty amazing what this $35 has been able to. Aside from the obvious things like streaming YouTube, Netflix, etc there are some other really cool things like streaming security camera feeds. It’s a great shortcut for getting a lot of the functionality you’d get from Apple TV or Roku but at a fraction of the price (the Chromecast apps list now also includes Showtime Anytime, HBO GO, Watch EPSN and a variety of apps that will let you stream local media files, like MP3 or AVI files from your computer, phone or tablet).
I recently updated my home network (completely changing my wifi setup) at which point my Chromecast stopped working (as it was still trying to access the old network). Looking around online, it looks like others have done the same thing, and have subsequently looked for help online. When this happens you get a message telling you that your
- ‘Chromecast-device-name’ “(either the name you gave it, or the default name if you never changed it) can’t find the ‘network-name’ Wi-Fi network.”
- Run the Chromecast app to connect to a new network.
- Otherwise, check your ‘Old-Network-Name’ network.
Changing your Chromecast connection
Just start over with the Chromcest setup process (like you’re installing it for the first time). Open up your Chromecast app (Go to https://cast.google.com/chromecast/setup/ if you don’t happen to have it on the machine you’re using) and connect to your Chromecast from there. At this point you can enter your new wifi network name and password.
This also works if you didn’t actually change your network but instead added a new one, and want your Chromecast to connect to this new network instead (it’s important to keep in mind that it can only connect to one network at a time). Just make sure the machine you’re using the Chromecast app on for your setup is connected to the same network you want to get your Chromecast to connect to moving forward.
A sidenote: Make sure you’re connecting to the wifi network. A common mistake with things like this is people connecting via LAN (for example, someone on a desktop that’s connected to the network via ethernet cable).
