Google issues warning to millions of Chromecast owners — the one instruction that YOU must follow

By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-03-13 02:31:20 | Updated at 2025-03-13 07:53:18 5 hours ago

Chromecast owners should not factory reset their devices, Google has warned. The Californian company issued the strict advice after thousands of second-generation Chromecast and Chromecast Audio owners found their devices suddenly stopped working overnight.

The widespread outage began on Sunday March 9, with only Chromecast devices released in 2015 seemingly impacted by the issues. The problems have plagued Chromecast viewers for several days — leaving them unable to stream content from the likes of YouTube, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Prime Video, and others.

"Do not factory reset your device — we will keep you all updated when the fix rolls out," a spokesperson for Google clarified in the wake of the issues.

The problem? Resetting a device is usually one of the most tried-and-tested ways to fix a software glitch like this.

Unsurprisingly, many frustrated users have already attempted resets, with one lamenting on social media: "Factory reset is literally the first thing I did when my Chromecast stopped working."

"Google asking everyone to please not factory reset their Chromecast after hours when it's one of the most used fixes, is hilarious," commented one user on social media.

Google has confirmed that its engineers are working on a permanent fix for these popular gadgets, which plug directly into the HDMI port on the back of your telly and let you wirelessly beam TV shows, movies, YouTube videos, photos, games, Chrome tabs, and music to the big screen.

Google's response to the Chromecast issue is extremely slow 🤔 pic.twitter.com/g5su5B0Slu

— Maximiliano Firtman (@firt) March 12, 2025

The timing of the widespread issues with the second-generation Chromecast and Chromecast Audio coincide with the 10-year anniversary of these devices, sparking initial speculation that Google might be quietly discontinuing support. Users attempting to wirelessly Cast content are met with error messages stating: "Untrusted device: [device name] couldn't be verified. This could be caused by outdated device firmware."

Alternatively, some see: "We couldn't authenticate your Chromecast."

The only option is to dismiss these messages. After that, the app that you've been trying to use to Cast content to your Chromecast — like YouTube or Spotify — closes immediately. This cycle will repeat anytime you try to beam content to the big screen.

"Congratulations to @madebygoogle who have managed to kill everyone's Chromecast at 6pm on a Sunday evening," one frustrated user posted online.

Google engineers fixing the #Chromecast outage. pic.twitter.com/aqt857j7B6

— Neville (@Neville215) March 10, 2025

@Google Hey Google, Chromecast is down worldwide. Please correct the issue, and prove that it is only a rumour saying your intention was to brick old devices. Thanks ! pic.twitter.com/pqakSmSJ21

— Arkady Ivanovich 𝕏 (@ArkadyIvanovich) March 9, 2025

Having to resort to watching apps on my laptop due to Google Chromecast being down for a second night! 😤 pic.twitter.com/L6kPu9ZsgI

— Shell Malham (@ShellMalham) March 10, 2025

Experts claim to have identified the root cause as an expired security certificate that lapsed on March 9, 2025, after 10 years of validity. This certificate was created by Google to handle authentication. With it expired, the devices are blocked from securely connecting to Google's backend systems.

Newer models such as third-generation Chromecast and Chromecast Ultra devices, remain unaffected by the issue.

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Google has now acknowledged the problem, stating: "We're aware of an emerging issue impacting Chromecast 2nd gen and Chromecast Audio devices, and we are working on a fix."

The company says it has identified the cause of the problem but has not shared details with the public. Google previously announced plans to phase out Chromecast in favour of its newer Google TV Streamer, but had promised continued support for existing devices.

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