4 ms·

What issues did you encounter? And how can you call a $35 device "expensive"?

mcintyre1994 9y ago
My brother took his to uni and couldn't log into the Wifi - I assume he has to enter uni credentials for it and the Chromecast doesn't support that Wifi authentication model.
- clintonb 9y ago
  Authentication is one issue. The biggest is the fact that UPnP is disabled on many university networks. Chromecast relies on UPnP for device discovery.
- mooman219 9y ago
  For setup, it need to be on the same subnet as the device you're using to register it. Most university networks are split into many subnets making this extremely difficult to do, and use after registration. The best workaround is using a router as a middle man for the phone and chromecast, but it's a pain. I have a chromecast, but gave up on making it work in university.
- joshuamorton 9y ago
  As a partial aside, I'm going to gloat about how incredible my alma mater's networking infrastructure and usability is. Tell me how long it takes you to find explicit instructions on connecting a chromecast from this site[1]. I think most schools are just incredibly bad at managing their network infrastructure, and its really sad. [1]: http://www.wrecktechs.gatech.edu/ http://www.wrecktechs.gatech.edu/
- ams6110 9y ago
  He probably needs to register the mac address with the university dhcp service so that it can get a routable IP address. University networks used to be pretty wide open but the days where you could just plug into any available Ethernet socket or hop on the wifi anonymously are gone.
  - Grazester 9y ago
    We may have a winner here. Universities tend to use this network access control services that block random mac's from connecting.
    - jimmaswell 9y ago
      For mine the Wifi was always gated but ethernet ports were open.
- kuschku 9y ago
  All the sibling posts are interesting – but ultimately wrong. The Chromecast (or at least when I last tried it) doesn’t support WPA Enterprise, so it can’t use the user/password or user/certificate authentication required by university networks. This is purely an issue with the Chromecast.
Arainach 9y ago
$35 for something that does nothing (a brick) is expensive. I'm not in the habit of throwing away that much money, and there are many other things I could use it on. Interpreted more literally, $35 is quite expensive for both an actual brick: https://www.homedepot.com/p/8-in-x-2-1-4-in-x-4-in-Clay-Brick-RED0126MCO/100323015 https://www.homedepot.com/p/8-in-x-2-1-4-in-x-4-in-Clay-Bric... And a plastic brick: https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-DUPLO-Creative-Duplo-Building/dp/B01IO152AO/ https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-DUPLO-Creative-Duplo-Building/dp...
dazc 9y ago
I plugged it in and followed the simple set-up instructions. The process was interrupted because my device required an update. No surprises there but the update process descended into a continuous loop farce that didn't look like it was ever going to end. So I put everything back in its box with the intention to try again at some point in future; 2 years later it is still there. The price was not so high that it warranted an instant return; I intended to have another go when I had more time - just never got around to it. So yeah, it was expensive in this respect. Maybe I should have persisted but I value my time and don't see why I should waste it on small issues like this. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chromecast+udate+problem https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chromecast+udate+problem I noticed amazon offered a better option actually with a LAN connection instead of wi-fi so I opted for this knowing that sending it straight back wouldn't be a problem, if it came to it. I bought the Chromecast from another UK retailer where a refund would involve a lot more effort..

mcintyre1994 9y ago

My brother took his to uni and couldn't log into the Wifi - I assume he has to enter uni credentials for it and the Chromecast doesn't support that Wifi authentication model.

clintonb 9y ago
Authentication is one issue. The biggest is the fact that UPnP is disabled on many university networks. Chromecast relies on UPnP for device discovery.
mooman219 9y ago
For setup, it need to be on the same subnet as the device you're using to register it. Most university networks are split into many subnets making this extremely difficult to do, and use after registration. The best workaround is using a router as a middle man for the phone and chromecast, but it's a pain. I have a chromecast, but gave up on making it work in university.
joshuamorton 9y ago
As a partial aside, I'm going to gloat about how incredible my alma mater's networking infrastructure and usability is. Tell me how long it takes you to find explicit instructions on connecting a chromecast from this site[1]. I think most schools are just incredibly bad at managing their network infrastructure, and its really sad. [1]: http://www.wrecktechs.gatech.edu/ http://www.wrecktechs.gatech.edu/
ams6110 9y ago
He probably needs to register the mac address with the university dhcp service so that it can get a routable IP address. University networks used to be pretty wide open but the days where you could just plug into any available Ethernet socket or hop on the wifi anonymously are gone.
- Grazester 9y ago
  We may have a winner here. Universities tend to use this network access control services that block random mac's from connecting.
  - jimmaswell 9y ago
    For mine the Wifi was always gated but ethernet ports were open.
kuschku 9y ago
All the sibling posts are interesting – but ultimately wrong. The Chromecast (or at least when I last tried it) doesn’t support WPA Enterprise, so it can’t use the user/password or user/certificate authentication required by university networks. This is purely an issue with the Chromecast.

Arainach 9y ago

$35 for something that does nothing (a brick) is expensive. I'm not in the habit of throwing away that much money, and there are many other things I could use it on. Interpreted more literally, $35 is quite expensive for both an actual brick: https://www.homedepot.com/p/8-in-x-2-1-4-in-x-4-in-Clay-Brick-RED0126MCO/100323015 https://www.homedepot.com/p/8-in-x-2-1-4-in-x-4-in-Clay-Bric... And a plastic brick: https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-DUPLO-Creative-Duplo-Building/dp/B01IO152AO/ https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-DUPLO-Creative-Duplo-Building/dp...

dazc 9y ago

I plugged it in and followed the simple set-up instructions. The process was interrupted because my device required an update. No surprises there but the update process descended into a continuous loop farce that didn't look like it was ever going to end. So I put everything back in its box with the intention to try again at some point in future; 2 years later it is still there. The price was not so high that it warranted an instant return; I intended to have another go when I had more time - just never got around to it. So yeah, it was expensive in this respect. Maybe I should have persisted but I value my time and don't see why I should waste it on small issues like this. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chromecast+udate+problem https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chromecast+udate+problem I noticed amazon offered a better option actually with a LAN connection instead of wi-fi so I opted for this knowing that sending it straight back wouldn't be a problem, if it came to it. I bought the Chromecast from another UK retailer where a refund would involve a lot more effort..