Chromecast Outage Update

Over the past weekend, a report from 9to5Google revealed that second-generation Chromecast and Chromecast Audio devices were displaying an "Untrusted device" error message. This issue prevented users from casting audio and video content to their preferred screens.

Google’s Response

On Wednesday, Google addressed the issue by sending an apology email to affected users, stating that they were "working to roll out a fix as soon as possible." The email read:

We’re contacting you because of a disruption affecting Chromecast (2nd gen) and Chromecast Audio devices. We apologize for the issue and understand your frustration. We are working to roll out a fix as soon as possible and will share updates and guidance on the Nest Community page. We appreciate your patience as we resolve this issue.

Current Status

This email follows a Nest Community post from Monday, which informed Chromecast 2nd gen and Chromecast Audio owners that a fix was in the works. In the meantime, users are advised against performing a factory reset on their devices, as this could lead to additional setup issues.

Device Information

Both the second-generation Chromecast and Chromecast Audio were released in 2015. Newer Chromecast models (3rd gen or later) have not been affected by this issue. According to 9to5Google, features such as the time, screensavers, and weather continue to function normally on the affected devices, but the ability to cast video and music is still unavailable.

Cause of the Outage

Google has not officially disclosed the cause of the outages on these devices. However, The Verge discovered a post from a Reddit user suggesting that the issue might be related to an expired certificate baked into the Chromecast, which coincides with the start of the issue reports on March 9.

Conclusion

Initial speculation suggested that Google might be intentionally bricking these nearly decade-old devices, given that the company had officially discontinued the Chromecast last year and replaced it with the Google TV Streamer. Hopefully, a fix will be released soon, especially for those eagerly awaiting the latest episodes of their favorite shows, such as Daredevil: Born Again.