How To Connect Chromecast To A Mobile Hotspot

Connecting Chromecast to a Mobile Hotspot is easy as 1,2,3.

Read below the steps.

Chromecasts are a great gadget in any home, allowing you to stream Netflix, Youtube, and other content from your smartphone or laptop straight onto your TV.

However. Chromecast devices require a strong and stable Wi-Fi connection in order to stream effectively without any pesky buffering issues.

So, how do you connect Chromecast to a mobile hotspot?

If your internet at home has stopped working temporarily, or you’re staying at a hotel that doesn’t have public Wi-Fi, a personal hotspot is a great way to keep streaming your favourite content via Chromecast.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the steps you can take to connect your Chromecast to your mobile hotspot.

Before you start

It’s important to note that you won’t be able to use your Chromecast with just your mobile data. You’ll need to ensure that your mobile phone has a hotspot sharing option.

If you don’t have a hotspot allowance included in your mobile phone plan, this will cost you some money. Alternatively, you can check with your personal provider to see if they have any hotspot package deals on offer, to prevent any unexpected bills.

To successfully connect your Chromecast to your mobile hotspot, you’re going to need 2 devices.

This can either be two smartphones, or a smartphone and a tablet, etc. As long as the device is able to connect to the internet, you’ll be able to use your Chromecast.

Step 1

First, ensure that you have a stable 3G or 4G connection shared with the Wifi hotspot. Fortunately, turning the hotspot on your smartphone is easy enough.

If it’s an android, simply drag down the top bar of your mobile phone screen and tap the hotspot icon.

Alternatively, if you’re using an iPhone, you can go into Settings, tap on the Personal Hotspot tab and flip the switch on.

Step 2

Now that your personal hotspot is ready and running, it’s time to set up your Chromecast device. Simply plug one end into the power and the second into the HDMI port of your television.

If it is set up correctly, you will notice a flashing light on the circular part of the cable. As Chromecasts don’t have any buttons, it needs to be set up on a separate device.

It’s important to note here that you cannot use the same device that you used for the hotspot in Step 1. On your second device, head to the App Store or Google Play Store and download the Google Home app.

Step 3

Once you’ve downloaded the Google Home app, open it up and your Chromecast name should appear on the screen.

After you’ve selected your Chromecast device on the app, you should receive a pop-up message asking you to connect to a Wifi network along with a list of local ones you can join.

Simply click on the hotspot name of your first device and it should connect.

Is my mobile hotspot fast enough for Chromecast?

Whether or not your Chromecast can function properly on your mobile hotspot will depend on your network provider. If your internet speeds are particularly slow, your Chromecast will struggle to load the media.

A buffering Chromecast is practically useless, as it tends to turn off whatever you’re watching and display an error message relating to the lack of internet connection.

The Chromecast Help page states that a minimum speed of 2.4 GHz/5 GHz is required in order to use a Chromecast device effectively.

It’s important to remember that if you’re casting from a mobile hotspot, this will eat away at the data allowance of the smartphone you’re using.

Nowadays, most smartphones with a contract plan will come with unlimited data, or at least a lot of data that is capped to prevent unexpected charges. However, this may not always be the case.

If you don’t have an unlimited data plan, connecting to your Chromecast device will eat away at your mobile data very fast. This is because Chromecast works by your smartphone telling the device where to find the media online, rather than simply mirroring your phone.

This means that the Chromecast needs to load the content independently, so it’s constantly loading something, which can get expensive.

We recommend double checking how much mobile data is included with your package, and deciding whether it’s worth using it on casting.

If you’re curious as to how much data your Chromecast is using through your mobile hotspot, simply open the data usage app on your phone (Android), or Settings > Mobile Data (iPhone).

Can my smartphone support Chromecast?

To set up and stream directly from your mobile phone, you’ll need to download the Google Home app on your mobile device.

Although you used to be able to do this on your computer, you now need a smartphone in order to carry out the initial setup of the device. Most Android phones can share mobile data by Wifi, Bluetooth, or USB.

The Google Home app is compatible with the following mobile devices:

An Android tablet running Android 6.0 or later

An iPhone or iPad with iOS 12.0 or later

As well as eating away at your mobile data, Chromcasting using your mobile hotspot can drain your phone’s battery, and quickly.

Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to extend the battery life of your phone when casting through your mobile hotspot.

The most obvious is keeping your mobile phone charged at all times when using Chromecast. But if this isn’t an option, you can conserve battery by not using your phone while you’re casting.

For example, avoid scrolling through social media while casting from your mobile hotspot, as this will kill your battery in no time, and most likely cause your movie to buffer.

How do you Chromecast from a smartphone?

One of the main reasons for the popularity of Chromecast is that it can all be controlled by your smartphone.

Providing you have downloaded the apps you wish to stream from, such as Netflix or Youtube, you can select, pause, and rewind your favourite shows on your TV from the palm of your hand.

Here’s how to use Chromecast from your mobile phone:

Download the Google Home app on your smartphone. You’ll need to log in.
Choose your movie, video, or show from the app of your choice. You’ll need to make sure that the app is compatible with Chromecast.
Ensure that the Chromecast and your smartphone are connected to the same Wifi network. You won’t be able to cast to your TV if you are using your mobile data.
If this is your first time casting, you’ll need to head back to the Google Home app and set up casting. You won’t need to do this every time though, as anytime you’re connected to the same Wifi network as your Chromecast device, streaming apps will display a casting symbol.