- The original Chromecasts begin to fail en masse
- Support for the devices officially ended in 2023.
- The technology is still alive with the Google TV Streamer box
Some 13 years after making its debut (and receiving a 5 out of 5 star review, by the way), it looks like 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 9to5Google discovered, there has been an increase in the number of these reports on Reddit, with a significant number of people saying that their dongles can no longer stream anything. The change appears to have occurred in recent days.
For context, Google stopped updating the device in 2023 and certain apps (including Peacock) have since stopped being supported. There are also some contributors to the Reddit thread who say they can still stream videos on certain apps, like Prime Video and Disney+, and from a web browser.
However, it is clear that a large number of devices have stopped working. Certain security certificates (required for wireless hardware connections) may have expired or an update to the Google Home app may have broken compatibility with the original Chromecast forever.
nothing like that
It looks like Google just killed off every Gen 1 Chromecast in existence. How long until they start killing off Generation 2? from r/Chromecast
Those who were still using their first-generation Chromecasts are understandably disappointed to see them stop working. “Rest in peace my good friend,” says one commenter, while many users clearly rely on their original Chromecasts on a regular basis.
Others in the thread suggest that 13 years is a good run, by tech device standards, and that Google should get credit for letting it run for so long. For now, it seems that the second generation (2015) and third generation (2018) models continue to operate normally.
Chromecasts have now been retired as a category, although the streaming technology lives on in Google TVs and the Google TV Streamer that Google sells, essentially a Chromecast with a remote control and a few extras. You can also purchase third-party devices, including streaming boxes from Walmart, with Google TV intelligence inside.
While the end of the first Chromecast was inevitable, it’s worth taking a moment to remember how innovative it was when it launched and how it unlocked access to streaming apps on almost any TV. As we said at the time: “There’s simply nothing like the Google Chromecast.”
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