First Chromecast of Google was a hit. It did well as a simple way to stream TV and movies from the Internet to a TV. 10 million devices were sold in 2014. The original Chromecast was released when old TVs were more common, and it has a simplicity that’s hard to find in today’s streaming boxes.
Tap Cast in the app, choose your Chromecast-enabled TV, and start watching. The $35 device was discontinued by Google in 2023, but some homes are still using the device today, even without features like a user interface or ads.
But this week felt like those days were over. Many users have reported that casting from popular apps like YouTube, Paramount+ and Chrome has stopped working suddenly on their original Chromecast. The question was raised, whether the original Chromecast was truly dead.
However, Google did not discontinue the gadgets, according to Sahana Mysore, senior product manager for Google Home. She said:
“Earlier this week, a technical issue temporarily disrupted casting for some Gen 1 Google Chromecast users. Our team quickly identified the root cause and resolved the issue. A support article update incorrectly indicated deprecation of software support for legacy Chromecast devices. Google is not ending support for Google Chromecasts and the support page has since been updated with the latest and most accurate information,”
Mysore says every device should be working at the moment. Some internet users reported that their Chromecasts are now working as of last night.
A Reddit thread started by someone who said they had two first-gen Chromecasts that stopped working at the same time has seen a variety of responses from people who feared Google had bricked the devices to force upgrades.
Some Redditors are reporting that their first-generation Chromecasts have started functioning again on their own, according to the same post that mentioned the modification to Google’s help page.
One user said:
“My 1st gen is working again. Guys DON’T throw your 1st gens. It’s back in tracks!”
Others were encouraged to try with positive outcomes. Another said:
“Thanks! Yes, it indeed works NOW! It didn’t work on 05/18, but now works again!!!!”
Another source of concern for owners of older Chromecasts this week is that Google has dropped support for all Chromecasts except the 2022 Chromecast with Google TV (HD). At the time of this writing, all Chromecasts except for the first generation are still listed on the support page as “currently receiving critical security updates.”
