Today’s Smart TVs provide integration with a variety of external devices, allowing you to be entertained in a number of ways. One popular option is to stream video to your TV directly from your mobile devices. You can even stream content from your desktop computer.
If your TV doesn’t support this feature, you can use streaming devices to make this connection. One of these devices is Chromecast from Google. Many people have heard of Google Chromecast, but not everyone knows what it is and how to use it. To be brief, it is an HDMI device that allows you to turn an ordinary TV into a full-featured media console for easy viewing of videos and photos from the global network, as well as from a connected smartphone/tablet. The most important thing to know is that for full functionality you will need a home Wi-Fi network, preferably unlimited.
Chromecast has many streaming apps and allows you to stream content even from your Google Chrome browser. Unfortunately, sometimes Chromecast cannot detect the source you are trying to use. Here is what to do if the Chromecast source isn’t supported.
Why does the “Source not supported” error appears
There are many reasons why you may not be able to cast to the TV via Chromecast. There may be an inadvertent error in the application you are using. Your Internet connection may not also be transmitting sufficient bandwidth at any given time. The problem could also be with the settings of your mobile device, your router, or the Wi-Fi network you are connected to.
How to restart all the equipment
With smart devices, a simple reboot can help restore some functions. Better yet, turn them off completely, wait a while, and then start them up again. This way, all the background processes will start working again, which can eliminate failures that you don’t even know about.
- First of all, turn off your TV and disconnect your Google Chromecast from it.
- After that, turn off your WiFi router and Internet modem and wait around 30 seconds.
- Next, turn on your Internet modem back and wait for it to start for one or two minutes.
- Turn on the WiFi router and wait again for it to start for one or two minutes.
- Turn on your TV and wait 20 seconds.
- Then, connect your Chromecast to the TV.
- Wait about 30 seconds for the device to reconnect.
When all devices are connected to the network and ready to use, try playing back the same content that is having problems. This will tell you if rebooting helped. If not, you can try another method.
How to create multiple WiFi networks
Since some Wi-Fi routers have the option to create multiple Wi-Fi networks at the same time, you can check which network your devices are using. For example, your router might have two networks running simultaneously. Let’s give them the names “WiFi 1” and “WiFi 2”. If your Chromecast is connected to the “WiFi 1” network and your phone is using the “WiFi 2” network, they won’t be able to find each other. Although both devices use the same physical router, they are actually on two completely different networks that cannot communicate with each other.
In order to make sure that all devices are on the same Wi-Fi, check the appropriate Wi-Fi settings and find the name of the network they are currently using. If they are using different Wi-Fi networks, just switch them to the one your Chromecast is connected to.
How to check the streaming app
Depending on the application used for streaming, it may not be working correctly at the moment. In this case, it is best to restart the application itself. If you are trying to stream from a laptop or desktop computer, simply close the problematic application and run it again.
If you are streaming from an Android smartphone or tablet, restart the app using the “Application Manager”. Before you continue, make sure the app doesn’t store your custom settings online, this action may reset all settings to defaults. Also, you may have to sign back in with your credentials afterward, so make sure you know them.
- Open the “Settings” on your smartphone.
- Navigate to the “Application Manager”.
- Search for the app which has problems with streaming and tap on it.
- Tap “Force Stop” in the app’s menu.
- Select “Clear Data” in the “Storage” section.
- Go to the “Cache” section and tap “Clear Cache”.
- Finally, restart the app.
