Why is my Chromecast lagging?

I recently purchased a Chromecast and was excited to start streaming my favorite TV shows and movies. Unfortunately, I soon noticed a lot of lagging and buffering. It was incredibly frustrating, so I decided to do some research and find out why my Chromecast was lagging. In this post, I’m going to share my experience, what I discovered, and how I solved the problem. Hopefully, my experience can help you if you’re having the same issue with your Chromecast.

Tips:
– The most common cause of lagging with Chromecast is due to bad internet connection, unsupported apps, or running low on RAM.
– Ensure that other processes on your device aren’t taking up the CPU or RAM.
– To improve the connection, consider plugging in an ethernet cable, moving your device closer to the wifi router, or lowering the resolution of what you are streaming.
– Ensure that your Chromecast is plugged into the mains, that the HDMI cable is plugged into the TV correctly, and that the “Use 50Hz HDMI Mode” is disabled.
– Stream directly to the Chromecast instead of screen mirroring, and consider downloading the content in advance before streaming.
– Change your wifi to be 5 Giga Hertz, clear the cache of your Chromecast on Google TV, restart your wifi router, and factory reset the Chromecast if needed.

Table of Contents

Why is my Chromecast lagging?

Usually, the reason why someone’s Chromecast is lagging, is actually nothing to do with the Chromecast itself.

Rather, it is usually an issue with things such as trying to stream video despite having a bad internet connection, using an unsupported app or because the device is running low on ram.

Below are likely reasons why your Chromecast is lagging.

Your device is occupied with other processes

While mobile devices are very powerful these days, there are still things that can slow them down including streaming to Chromecast.

If there are other processes running on your phone, it might be the case that they are causing phone’s cpu to be busy dealing with them.

It could also be the case that they are taking up your phone’s ram. It would help to try closing any apps that you are not using and to see if that allows your Chromecast to be less laggy.

Slow wifi

If you are trying to stream something from the internet, it might be the case that there is an issue with your wifi.

This would be more likely if it is laggy even when you are trying to stream things such as videos directly to your device.

In this case, it would help to see if you can improve your internet connection such as by moving the wifi router closer to you or by using an ethernet adapter.

Alternatively, you could stream at a lower resolution or you could download the content to your device before streaming it.

It is actually an issue with your device

It could be the case that there is an issue with the device you are using and that there is actually no issue with the Chromecast itself.

This would be more likely if the video is choppy even when you are not streaming to the Chromecast and you are looking at it on the device.

In this case, it would help to try things such as lowering the resolution that you are streaming.

There is an issue with the connection

It might be the case that there is an issue with the connection of your Chromecast and your device. Possible issues could include:

Charging the Chromecast via USB instead of from a power socket. It might be the case that the USB port is not providing the Chromecast with enough power.
The HDMI cable is not plugged into the TV correctly or there is a problem with the HDMI port
You need to restart your Chromecast and reconnect it to your TV as well as your device that you are streaming from.

You need to disable the “Use 50Hz HDMI Mode”

Some users have found success by disabling the ”Use 50Hz HDMI Mode”. You can do this by opening the Google home app and then going to your devices, then click the 3 dots on the top right then click settings.

You are trying to screen mirror the wrong things

Screen mirroring requires your phone to encode the screen then to send it to the Chromecast.

This is fine for things such as presentations, but it does not work so well for video because the video must be decoded then encoded for the Chromecast by your phone. Instead, it is better to cast the video directly to the Chromecast.

To get your Chromecast to stop lagging try the following:

Disable any apps you are not using on your device
Lower the resolution of the video you are streaming

Restart your Chromecast. To do this, open the Google Home App, Touch and hold the device’s title, tap settings, more settings then reboot.
Alternatively, you can simply unplug the Chromecast for at least 60 seconds which will reboot the Chromecast.
Plug an ethernet cable into your device or move your device closer to the Wifi router

Ensure your Chromecast is plugged in correctly and that it is plugged into the mains and not a USB port
Disable the ”Use 50hz HDMI mode” You can do this by opening the Google home app and then going to your devices, then click the 3 dots on the top right then click settings.
Stream directly to the Chromecast instead of screen mirroring by streaming directly to your Chromecast by using the settings in apps like Youtube

When possible, download the content you want to stream in advance and stream the downloaded file
Change your Wifi to be 5 Giga Hertz, you can find tutorials for this online. This allows your wifi to transfer more data per second.
Clear the cache of your Chromecast on Google TV. Go to your profile icon and select Settings, then System, then Storage, then Internal shared, storage then Cached data. Select “Clear cached data for all apps,” then click Ok.

Restart your Wifi router
Factory reset the Chromecast. While the device is plugged into the TV, hold down the power button for around 25 seconds. The device would flash red, then white. Once it flashes white and your TV goes blank, release the button.

Why is my Chromecast stuttering?

Your Chromecast might be stuttering for any of the same reasons why it might be lagging as mentioned above.

It would help to try closing other apps that you are not using, to ensure that your Chromecast is connected properly to your device and to restart and reconnect your Chromecast.

Why is my Chromecast glitchy?

It could also be the case that your Chromecast is glitchy for any of the same reasons as mentioned above.

Again, it would help to try the steps mentioned above. But, it would be particularly helpful to try restarting and reconnecting the Chromecast and to lower the resolution of what you are trying to stream.

Why is my Chromecast choppy?

It is also possible that your Chromecast is being choppy for any of the same reasons why it might be lagging.

It would help to try the steps mentioned above and it would be particularly important to try lowering the resolution of what you are streaming.

Why is my Chromecast lagging with Netflix?

If your Chromecast is lagging specifically with Netflix, it would be likely that you need to lower the resolution.

The higher the resolution, the more data that needs to be decoded and sent to your Chromecast. It would help to try lowering the resolution.

Otherwise, it could help to try using Netflix through a different medium. For example, if you are currently watching it on a Chrome browser, try watching it through the app or a different browser.

Why is my Chromecast lagging with Twitch?

If your Chromecast is lagging with Twitch, it would be likely that there is too much data that is being streamed to your device that must then be sent to the Chromecast.

Instead, it would help to try streaming at a lower resolution.

Why is my Chromecast lagging with Youtube?

It is also likely that the resolution you are trying to watch on Youtube is too high. It would help to try lowering the resolution of what you are watching on Youtube.

If you are currently watching it on the browser, it would also help to try using the app instead.

Also, it would be best to cast directly to your Chromecast instead of screen mirroring from your device.