Chromecast breaks its YouTube app after simply six months

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The arrival of the Chromecast with Google TV two years in the past made it clear that older Chromecast units are on their approach out. However now – as if to place the ultimate nail within the coffin – older Chromecasts not assist watching YouTube movies whereas signed in.

YouTube can not be signed in on Chromecasts.

Late final 12 months, Google revamped the expertise of utilizing YouTube on a Chromecast – the older Chromecasts and not using a distant and Android-based working system.

The expertise acted extra like a local app than a standard Chromecast session with a “remote” in your telephone to manage the weather seen on the TV. Initially, customers might sign up to their account and browse subscriptions and suggestions, all from the TV as a substitute of completely on their telephone. Google even proudly touted the expertise on Twitter.

However six months later, the entire thing is damaged.

In a tweet on June 16, YouTube casually confirmed that sign-in is not supported on legacy Chromecast units. Customers can nonetheless watch movies and management the session utilizing their telephone, however the “app” expertise on Chromecast doesn’t enable sign-in.

Thx for the screenshots. Upon checking, that is intentional. Signing in on to YT on older Chromecast units will not be supported anymore. You may management your solid periods out of your telephone when you’re logged in. To have interaction with vids, proceed utilizing your cellular machine

— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) June 16, 2022

We reached out to Google over three weeks in the past concerning this difficulty, however the firm by no means acknowledged our request for an announcement explaining why this transformation was made. It’s definitely a mind-boggling resolution.

As the oldsters over at Android Police have since identified, a neighborhood specialist for Google reiterated that this transformation was completely intentional.

That is working as meant. Signing in to YouTube utilizing older Chromecast generations isn’t supported since we launched them and it hasn’t modified since then. You may nonetheless solid out of your YouTube app utilizing your telephone with out the necessity to sign up to your Chromecast. Should you management playback of your telephone, you’re utilizing the account in your cellular machine.

The identical specialist additionally defined that YouTube Premium subscribers should use the older expertise, not the newer app, in the event that they want to watch movies with out advertisements, as they pay month-to-month for this privilege.

It’s apparent the unique Chromecast is being phased out.

This isn’t the one main signal we’ve seen that Google is phasing out the unique Chromecast.

In 2020, Google primarily discontinued the one 4K-capable Chromecast, the Chromecast Extremely, proper alongside the debut of the Chromecast with Google TV. The corporate has continued promoting the third-generation Chromecast, however there’s a Google TV-powered substitute on the way in which for that machine.

Additional, in early June 2022, Google confirmed that Chromecast homeowners with Pixel telephones would not be capable of arrange their units because of the fallout of Google’s loss in a lawsuit with Sonos.

This “device needs to be activated before setup” message solely seems when utilizing a Chromecast or Chromecast Extremely – once more, not the newer Google TV-based machine with a distant – if the person is in the US or Canada and utilizing a Pixel smartphone. Our authentic protection of the story explains extra about what’s happening, however the truth that Google is leaving the expertise because it stands is a reasonably apparent signal that it has de-prioritized the unique Chromecast.