7 Things You Can Do with Chromecast
By Distributel
There are lots of cool features that come with your Chromecast. You can use it to play music, turn your TV into a second screen for an Android device, and make meetings better.
Use Guest Mode
If you have house guests and want to let them Cast something, you ideally don’t want to give them access to your Wi-Fi. To do this, you’ll need to turn on guest mode. From Google Home, select your Chromecast, then the Settings button, and from there you can scroll down to Guest Mode. Here, you can toggle it on.
When your guests want to Cast something, all they need to do is select the Cast icon from their device, select Nearby Device, and enter the four-digit pin that appears on your TV.
Cast Music
If you have a good sound system on your TV, you might as well have it pull double duty by playing music. A bunch of streaming services can be played over Chromecast, including Amazon Music, Spotify, and Pandora. As long as the device you’re using to play audio is connected to the same network as your Chromecast, you can look for the Cast icon and select it to start playing your music via Chromecast.
Use Headphones
Want to watch TV without disturbing the rest of the house? All you need to do is go to the Google TV home screen, then Remote & Accessories. From there, you can select your Bluetooth-enabled headphones.
Put Your Phone Screen on Your TV
Want your Android device to have a comically larger screen? Open your Google Home app, then select your Chromecast device. Select Cast My Screen at the bottom, then Cast Screen. When you’re done, all you need to do is select Stop Mirroring.
Use Ethernet
If your TV is in a bad Wi-Fi spot, all is not lost. You can fix things with Ethernet; all you need is an adaptor. They’re $20 at the Google Store. All you do is connect an Ethernet cable to your modem and connect the other end to the adaptor. Then plug the USB end of the adaptor into your Chromecast, and connect your Chromecast to the HDMI port on your TV. Boom, you’re no longer subject to dodgy Wi-Fi.
Run a Photo Slideshow
Next time you’re having a family gathering, why not display some pictures in the background? In your Google Photos app, you can choose the Cast icon in the top-right and it’ll play your photo album like a slideshow.
Meet on Chromecast
Tired of looking at a laptop screen? If you’re using Google Meet, you can expand your meetings by putting them on your TV while still using your laptop camera. From the Meet app or your calendar, select Cast This Meeting. You can choose the Cast device you want to use in the Cast tab. When you want to stop casting, click the ellipsis menu button and select Stop Casting Meeting.