All About Chromecast

How to reset Chromecast (Factory Data Reset,FDR)?

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When do you need to reset Chromecast (factory data reset)?

Most of the time, it is not necessary to factory reset Chromecast  (factory data reset). The device update itself when connected to internet.  It seldom gives problem.

But in the following two scenarios, you probably have to reset  Chromecast:

  • You change your wireless router. Chromecast can only remember one network. If you changed your router, you can either re-do the setup (you may follow this Chromecast setup guide) if the old network is not in range, or simply reset Chromecast.
  • Chromecast hangs or freezes.  You can try to plug out the USB power cable, then check whether Chromecast works after plugging the cable back. But if this doe not work or Chromecast hangs frequently, it is good idea to reset Chromecast (factory data reset) before calling Google support or returning the unit.

How to reset Chromecast (factory data reset)?

It is quite simple to factory reset Chromecast. There are two ways to factory reset Chromecast.

Method 1: Use the button on Chromecast to reset Chromecast

Hold down the button (next to the micro USB port) on your Chromecast for at least 25 seconds or until the solid light begins flashing. Then disconnect the USB power cable. Wait a few seconds. Connect the USB cable again. This will factory reset Chromecast (factory data reset).

Because there is only one button on Chromecast, you surely will not miss it.

Method 2:  Using Chromecast App in your devices to reset Chromecast

This method is only applicable when you still can connect to Chromecast from your device (e.g., an Android phone or tablet).

Sometimes, if Chromecast simply freezes and you cannot connect to it from your device, you then have to use method 1 mentioned above to reset Chromecast.

To reset Chromecast, you need start the Chromecast App on your device, find and connect to it. Once connected, tap the menu button, you will see the information on this Chromecast dongle, and a popup window (as shown below):

reset chromecast (factory data reset)

You can tap “Factory reset Chromecast ” to reset Chromecast. (Occasionally, you can also reboot Chromecast by tapping “Reboot Chromecast”).

Once you reset Chromecast, all your old network settings will be wiped out. You need connect to the wireless router again following the Chromecast manual.

Can you reset Chromecast now? If you have any questions or get any problems in resetting Chromecast, please let us know if eh comment box below.

More Chromecast tutorials, tips and tricks can be find in our Chromecast How-to Guide page.

Comments

  1. Hello,

    When connecting my chromecast on any given day, it gave an error screen, and was no longer being recognized by the phone.

    I tried to reboot with the idicações up and failed.

    it does not restart and did not blink evenly.

    what might be happening?

    it is only with the white light on, not for trading any other color.

    appreciate the attention.

    Reply

  3. mine is not blinking at all. It was working fine. Now its not turning on. I tried pressing for a min. taking out, doing a power recycle too by pressing button, but it seems nothing worked for me. Any suggestions please?

    Reply

  4. The light never blinks. We held it for over 24 seconds. We can’t reset Chromecast from our devices, because they cannot locate the Chromecast. Since we are trying the reset process via holding down the button on the device at least 24 seconds and the light never starts blinking, it appears we have no way to reset the device. It is useless to us at this point. HELP Please!

    Reply

  5. We went ahead and exchanged this chromecast for a new one today. We’ll keep this in mind if we run into this problem again. Thanks for trying!

    Reply

  7. Tried reset, the led went white, but from my ipad, it won’t recognize a chromecast at all, everytime I launch the app, it wants to find it, because it can’t find it, I don’t have the menu option either. I don’t have another USB to match this cord.

    Reply

  9. Hi.
    I also have a problem trying to find device from my asus tablet using chromecast app.
    Other apps cast okay.
    Also have galaxy s5 and that finds device and casts without any problems.
    Router working on 2.4th.
    Have tried rebooting router and factory resetting chromecast but my tablet still cannot find device using chromecast app.

    Reply

  12. My chromecast is connected and is working ok but i don’t see the popup menu that you mention that should allow me to reboot or factory reset the chromecast from the app

    Reply

  13. hi. I have tried to reset my chromecast because laste week I tried my chromecast on another network, but now it asks to reconnect on that network, but i’m not there anymore and i can’t change it to my own network…

    I tried to reset with option 1, but it doesn’t work.. I hold the botton for 25 seconds.. when there is a white blink i disconnect the adapter for a few seconds.. but it doesn’t change anything.. when i put the chromecast in my tv, i still get the message tho reconnect with that other network..

    Reply

  14. Trying CC at new location & Flashing white light is all I get after everything I try. At times it will stay red & I’ll try to reset, but it flashes once after about 15 seconds & then gives the setup issue screen. 🙁

    Reply

  15. ok, I tried method one, and now the screen says resetting to factory defaults. It has been that way for over 15 minutes.
    any suggestions?

    Reply

  16. It used to work- but did not use it for a few months-now I want to use it but the chromecast led is solid pink and no matter how I try -holding the reset button while its plugged in or not plugged in -all I get is the pink light and nothing on my HDMI selection (have 3 open HDMIs -same result all 3) using the power adapter as well I should add ! and also tried not using the power adapter too but cant seem to shake the pink ! the CC app also cannot find it
    is it ready for the trashcan ??

    Reply

  17. anyone else having issues getting chromecast to connect to their network? I keep getting the reconnect me message no matter what network I use and even though they’re all working. Did a factory reset too and no dice. Any help?

    Reply

  18. hi simon i have set up chromecast but it is not showing on tv. everything is working till i select a film. my phone says its playing but tv screen is blank any suggestions please tracey

    Reply

  20. My CC has just been giving me a “Hang one a sec… ‘cast’ needs to reboot to apply an update.” for a couple weeks.

    I can’t get it to factory reset because none of my devices recognize it, and no matter how many times I try, I can’t get the white light to blink.

    I unplug it and reconnect and it takes a couple minutes to apply an update – but when the update is applied, I am left with the same “hang on a sec” screen.

    Reply

  21. Chromecast worked 2 times out of the box…… What a waist of money…… Guess I’m going to have to get another Apple tv. Apple TV 2, chromecast garbage.

    Reply

  22. The chromecast app is saying that the chromecast has been configured correctly however it can’t connection to my ipad. I know that the two devises are on the same wi-fi network so I don’t understand what the problem is.
    I am using a router called technicolor TG788vn from my internet supplier

    Reply

  23. Hi Simon,

    Thank you for your reply. I must admit I am a bit of novice at this.
    I finished the setup from my ipad. On the tv screen I got the message that the chromecast was succesfully installed and ready to cast. However on the chromecast app I was told that the chromecast and ipad couldn’t communicate.
    I am certain that they are both connected to the same wi-fi network.
    I don’t know if it something in my settings.
    BR,
    Dorte

    Reply

  24. Im running chromecast from my Sony Xperia phone (android) I switched Internet providers and now when I try to run the setup for my chromecast to connect to the wiffi network I get an error saying (unfortunately chromecast has stopped) ive tried everything from rebooting to reinstalling the app. Nothing works. Any help would be appreciated thanks

    Reply

  27. HELLO .. I have the same problem .. new router , now when i connect the CC to the HDMI and power to the wall outlet the LED start on red .. but then start blinking on white, tried the factory reset it went to red I unplug it , then reconnect it to the wall power .. still do the same …
    any ideas ?

    Reply

  28. Hi Simon I am having a problem and was wondering if you could help me. I have replaced my router and TV and haven’t used the chromecast in a few months. When I plug it into the TV it shows the “Chromecast…” screen for about 2 seconds then goes black and repeats this. The light is red most of the time but changes to white for a second. I have tried all the ways of resetting I could find like holding the reset 25 seconds and unplugging the power.

    After messing with it for a while I gave up and had the chromecast plugged into the power but not into the TV. When I was messing around on my ipad I noticed it had my old TV name in wifi. I joined it, ran the setup and it started fine. When I got to the part where it connects to my router it always fails and starts the process over. Can you give me any suggestions on what I might try next?

    Reply

  29. Hi I just bought the chromecast and installed but I can only see the welcome page and nothing elese. I’m connected to my iphone5 and try to watch my small movies in my iPhone and also youtube shows but nothing goes to my tv what only shows me “ready to cast”. txs for any help

    Reply

  31. I have a problem with my chromecast. I plug it to my TV and …. nothing . I have selected the right hdmi port and the light of the chromecast is white. I have a Siligeance routeur , is that compatible with chromecast.

    Thank you for your answer.

    Reply

  32. Got Chromecast all set up. Said ready to cast. Then said it was getting updates. 2hrs later it’s still getting updates. Should I reset again?

    Reply

  33. There is a third reason to do a factory reset thats not listed. I baught one yesterday and will be returning it tomarow. I don’t want my info left on it. It’s not broken so it can be resold by walmart but they told me rong @ best buy. At bestbuy they told me it worked exactly like a samsung AllShare cast dongle. It does not. It will not allow me to screen mirror my galaxy s3. It also doesn’t have a amazon app. The whole reason I wanted it was because my blue ray player doesn’t work with anszon instant videos but my fone does.
    Since it doesn’t work for what I baught it to do I will be returning it. That would be the third reason to reset it to factory defaults.

    Reply

  37. Hello, when i connect my Chromecast the led start in red, in my TV show the spinning google logo, then the screen go black and the led of the Chromecast is white blinking. My nexus 5 and 10 found the chromecastxxxx but never can’t connect to it.

    I review the ap isolation, change of ap (I have 2 Ap and 1 routed with the ap disabled) but can’t connect neither of the cases.

    I’m connecting the power with the original power supply and also try connecting the hdmi extender.

    Any suggestion por idea??

    Thanks!

    Reply

  39. Hi there
    After 2 months of usage, my chromecast os stuck on the update loop. In this mode, I can’t connect it with any of my devices (nexus 5, nexus 7 and PC).
    Tried several times to hold down the button for 25 seconds or more, and it didn’t work.
    Also tried to disconnect the router and do the reset later, but it always remembers my network.
    Help? Thanks!

    Reply

  41. Hi Simon,

    I had been using chromecast for a while but rebooted my router and now cannot connect chromecast to my wireless network. Tried reboot and FDR to no avail. All my other devices connect to the wireless network just fine using the network password. Chromecast set up works up to the point where I enter the wirelss network password. It tries to connect but fails and says check password, its the same password that works with all my other devices. Any suggestions

    Reply

  42. Hi. I thought that I had successfully set-up my Chromecast about a week ago, but now when I go to use it, it’s not being recognized by the TV – as in, it’s plugged into the HDMI port and the outlet, but my TV (I’ve tried more than one) still reads “No Signal” as if nothing is connected.

    Therefore, I tried to set it to Factory Re-Set (since nothing is registering on the computer, I’m left to the manual option). But the light is unchanging for me. It’s white and remains white – no blinking or color change.

    Do you have any suggestions to assist?

    Thanks!

    Also – do you know if Google have a live chat feature for these issues?

    Reply

  43. Hi Folks,
    I still have the same problem … My chromecast makes update … reboots … and then starts a new update … this loop never ends…
    Serial Number: REMOVED Model: REMOVED FCC ID: A4RH2G2-42 IC: REMOVED
    Google just ignore my messages …
    Has anyone had the same problem or has any idea about how to solve it?
    I’ve tried reset the factory settings… but no success…. 🙁

    Reply

  44. Actually sometimes it shows a black screen with written “Chromecast…” in white at the bottom, but it doesn’t do anything else

    Reply

  45. In the middle of a show CC stopped working. My apps show it as connected but nothing will cast. I’ve rebooted, factory reset, unplugged, restarted phone, even called my geek brother. Please help!

    Reply

  46. Chromecast no longer reboots after update. I can factory reset and the update loads 0%..100%. Then the stick reboots and says 10%…20%… failed_reboot. Sometimes it starts and shows pictures, but shortly it tries to update again. Can it be that there are HW revisions of it and the new update is simply not supporting my stick.

    Reply

  51. My samsung chromecast get locked. How can I reset it, I had tried many methods but the setup is not completing saying your device is not dev mode. Plz suggest any other method to do factory reset or password breaker tool.

    Reply

  52. I’ve done everything you’ve recommended in this hugely long message post, and all I get is a blinking WHITE light. I can’t find the device, can’t launch the app because there’s no device, the TV doesn’t see it (and I’ve checked both HDMI ports for operability) and plugged it both into the outlet and into my computer (tower). I’ve reset it about a hundred times, it goes through the phases you talk about, then it settles into a white, blinking light and I can’t find it. We do have a new router, so I’m assuming we’d have to factory reset the damn thing anyway, but either it’s not resetting properly (even though I have all the lights in proper sequence), or something else is wrong. What does a continuously blinking WHITE light mean???

    Reply

  53. I think The wifi ON The chromecast is fried. I’ve tried Factory reset, but when I try to Choose The Chromecastxxxx wifi hotspot I get an error Message, says it can’t connect. Now what? Buy a new one?

    Reply

  54. I have changed my router which rendered my Chrome cast useless 🙁 I use my Sony Xperia Z2 mobile phone to cast from. I’ve made a “factory-reset” on the cast device but I have a overlay problem, when I try to search for a device I get an error message that says I have to turn off an app overlay, I’ve turned them all off (even system apps) but I still get the same message.

    Getting quite frustrated.. What am I to do?

    Reply

  55. Hi,
    Ive rebooted the phone a couple of times…

    It was the Cleanmaster app that screwed things over, thx for help though 🙂

    Reply

  56. Hello,

    Mt Chromecast has suddenly gone off. No light whatsoever. I tried holding the button on the device for 30 seconds. nothing helped. Not getting vonnected from any source. please help.

    Reply

  57. cheers for tip, but I had it going after some more tries(after a frustrated break^^) though, don’t really remember what I did that gave it the spark back ^^

    Reply

  58. Please help me my chromecast cast has no light I can’t see any display on my TV I don’t know what’s wrong with please help.

    Reply

  61. I’ve reset my chrome cast multiple times but it disconnects at least once a day after each use, and has to be completely reset only to repeat the process. It’s worked fine for months until this.

    Reply

  62. I’ve been asked to give a talk (I’m the one with most knowledge) on android usage to a senior centre group. My chromecast does fine here at home, but I’m a bit worried of how to connect to the senior centre wifi?

    Can someone give a walk-through, in simplest terms?? Cheers

    Reply

  66. Hi,
    Mi Chromecast has a always orange lights and I cannot do the factory reset by button.I cannot see it on Google home and there is a black screen on TV. Please, anybody help me?
    Regards.
    Matthew.

    Reply

  67. I ve tried factory resetting my chrome cast.but its still giving the flashing orange light as it was doing before resetting. The tv screen is black.this happened just suddely.

    Reply

  68. THANK YOU! I´ve been going around the internet and back again to find information on how to change the network on my chromecast without having access to the old Wi-Fi, so thank you for spelling it out and writing down this easy-to-do approach!

    Reply

  69. i have 2 chromecast. untill the oder day everything was jus perfect.
    today none of them works.
    it s written „Chromecast failed to download stream chunk“
    any solution please ?

    Reply

  70. Hi! I reset the Chromecast device and the old network no longer appears on the TV screen, but I fail to be able to detect the ipHone even after plugging it as instructed. It is not detected.
    It had been working great, but with the new modem (that is new network), it is not working.
    Thank you!

    Reply

  71. Dear Simon ….. it apears only when i try to cast. I am not sure if it is because a new firmware or because of the 1 of nov. But it is the same thing Viorel, the guy who started these discussion has. All worked perfect up to some day ago and than suddenly when trying to cast works only for 3 sec, the tv screen comes back to the google pictures and my ipad or iphone get the message „Chromecast failed to download the stream chunk“. If i touch the ok button the mess disapeares and i see the movie on my ipad perfectly. It means internet is ok, tv is ok, ipad is ok. Chromecast is not. I m not an expert but i hope you understand exactly the situation: Yesterday ok. Today not. Nothing else changed. Thx

    Reply

  72. Hy , i have the Same problem as those guys Viorel and Vifor my chrome cast stop working with other apps than Netflix HBO YouTube or Google play Movie witch is a big disappointment and I don’t get it why some I read on your disscution this is something that google did with this firmware and I don’t get it. Tomorrow I will throw my Chromecast to garbage and I will get my self a new Apple TV.
    Huge disappointment guys from Google aka Chromecast

    Reply

  73. Ok Simon. My generation 1 dongle worked with Miscast for 3 1/2 months. I moved had to change networks and it made the new connection when I setup again. 2 weeks ago I got my first Note… “Some questions, Please restart! My indicator light is blue. I used method 1 and held the reset bottom 25, 30, 45seconds, even up to 3 mins. My light didn’t flash or begin blinking. I’ve changed adapters, held the reset button attached and detached from the TV. Still no change. After the first week, I downloaded a second Miscast App and was mirroring once again. When I lost access this time I noticed the IP address wasn’t correct. I reset the router held the reset for 1 min+ still wrong IP setting. Suggestions?

    Reply

  74. Hi there,
    I’m having trouble reconnecting my new wifi network to my chromecast built in. How do I delete old wifi network so I can connect new one..

    Many thanks..

    Reply

  75. We had to change the name of our wifi network, so I did a factory reset. (I deleted the device from the Google Home app– which was probably a mistake in hindsight). After doing method 1, instead of ‘set me up’ screen, I see a “Welcome. Download the Google Home app” screen. But the device cannot be found during set up in the app. Any advice?

    Reply

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