Over the years, Google has dominated the market for making our lives more convenient. From cellphones to smart lightbulbs, you can be guaranteed to find a product made or supported by Google in your home. One area in particular that Google has proven to be popular in is the media streaming market. Google Chromecast is one of the most popular streaming dongles out there. This portable, affordable device allows users to wirelessly stream Netflix, Spotify, HBO, Hulu, and more from mobile devices and PCs to TVs.
Google Chromecasts aren’t only suitable for media streaming, though. We’ve got ten tricks that you might not have known your Chromecast was capable of.
Guest Mode
Having family for the weekend and want to let them watch their favorite TV show? Hosting a house party and want to allow your guests to be the DJ? Chromecast has you covered, and you don’t even need to give out your Wi-Fi password. Turn your Chromecast to Guest Mode in its device settings. Anyone with a Google Cast Ready app will be able to cast, as long as they are within about 25 feet of the Chromecast. If this fails, users can manually enter a four-digit PIN that will display on the TV.
Present Like A Pro
If you’re looking to beef up your presentation skills or want to make a family presentation at home, Chromecast makes it easy by quickly allowing you to sync your Google Slides presentation to any TV. All you have to do to get presenting is plug the Chromecast into your TV, load up Google Slides on a supported phone or tablet, click the “Present” option in the top right corner of your presentation, select “Present on another screen,” and pick your Chromecast. Soon you’ll be presenting like a pro on any stage! You can also use this feature at the office after plugging a Chromecast into a TV.
Cast Plex
Unfortunately, Chromecasts don’t support local media playback, making this one of the biggest consumer complaints about the product. Google resolved this issue by allowing users to cast the media management app, Plex. With Plex, you can organize and stream photos, music, and movies to easily watch it from tablets, phones, TVs, and more.
All you have to do is sign up for the service, download the Plex app, open it, and send the content to your Chromecast.
Play Games
While it’s not quite a Nintendo Switch, Chromecast can be used to play plenty of games the entire family will enjoy. Beef up your vocabulary with Pictionary on Doodlecast, or get your groove on with Just Dance Now. Google Play alone has over 100 games for Chromecast. Nintendo fans can also enjoy a nostalgic trip down memory lame by downloading the NES emulator CastNES. Easily play games on your TV by downloading them to your Android or iOS device to use as a controller while running the game on your TV.
Listen With Your Headphones
If you’re looking to watch a late-night movie or don’t want to disturb anyone, it’s easy with Chromecast! With LocalCast for Chromecast, you can cast a video to your television from any supported device while keeping audio on that device. On the Now Play screen, all you need to do is tap Route Audio to Phone, plug in some headphones, and listen away without worry about disturbing others in your household. This feature is still in beta mode, so it’s not working perfectly just yet.
Customize Your Chromecast Experience
No need for one of those expensive digital frames when you can have the same thing on your TV! Use your photos on your Chromecast background or choose from Google’s album of art, photography, landscape, and satellite imagery. All you have to do is go to the Google Cast app, click on the devices tab, and select the Chromecast you want to customize. Tap the hamburger menu in the top-right corner and select Backdrop Settings. From there, you can pick photos from Google Photos, Facebook albums, and Flickr to use for your background.
Chromecast Preview Program
If you like to be in the loop when it comes to the latest Chromecast features, you’ll want to join the Chromecast Preview Program. This program gains you access to the latest stable Chromecast features before Google releases them to the general public. To sign up for the Chromecast Preview Program, open the Google Cast app on your device, click Devices, locate the Chromecast you want to use for the program, and select it.
You’ll want to check to make sure you’re receiving email notifications of updates for when they’re pushed to your Chromecast, select program, and tap OK. Sometimes, the Preview Program may not be visible in settings. This means Google is not currently accepting members for the Chromecast Preview Program, so you’ll need to try again when the program is open.
Life Is A Stream
How many times have you wanted to watch a TV show, only to disappointingly find out you can’t stream it? A recent upgrade to the Cast app will help you find accessible content from Cast-enabled apps by searching in the Cast app directly. Open up the Google Cast app, type of the name of the movie or TV show you want to watch, and then type the desired content when it pops up in the search box.
The results will tell you which Chromecast-enabled apps are currently streaming the content you’re looking for. Buttons will also allow you to jump directly to that service or to download an app that does.
Score Some Sweet Deals
What’s better than the latest movies or hottest TV shows on demand? How about free TV and movies-on-demand? Google loves to reward its users, so it’s no surprise that you can get some pretty great deals when you own a Chromecast. Google often gives away free movies, along with other perks, to customers with a Chromecast. All you have to do is head to the Chromecast Offers page to see what they currently have available. You’ll also find great deals on other Google devices for the home.
