Any Unlimited Data guys and gals willing to do a Chromecast Experiment?

diesteldorf

Well-known member
Dec 1, 2010
974
17
0
Visit site
It's funny that I have recommended Chromecast to many family members and given them as Christmas gifts. They love them, yet my TV is ancient and I can't use one myself. At the moment, I don't care. I stream on phones, tablets, and my computer, and may go a week or more without turning my TV on.

I may be spending a few days with relatives that have full cable, a nice TV, and no internet. Does anyone know if it is possible to take a Verizon 4G phone or tablet, turn on 4G hotspot, connect Chromecast to 4G mobile hotspot, and stream audio/video from the phone to the chromecast at the same time?

If so, would someone be willing to run the speedtest app and report what kind of upload and download speeds you have when you are doing this?

If that doesn't work well, my other option is to take one of my spare phones with unlimited data and use that exclusively as a 4G Hotspot for the Chromecast to connect to.

Then, I would use one of my other unlimited data lines to stream the media/Netflix etc to the Chromecast.

Lastly, if I end up doing this with two devices vs. one single device, as in my first example, would it be beneficial to spend a few bucks and buy a 4G Jetpack (a dedicated hotspot device) instead of using a phone as my dedicated hotspot?

Honestly, I wouldn't normally have a need for a jetpack, unless it would offer the chromecast better connectivity than a typical 4G smartphone.
 

dpham00

Moderator Team VP
Moderator
Apr 23, 2011
30,108
200
63
Visit site
I have a chromecast, haven't really used it much, but I can try this when I get a chance.

Alternatively, if you just need Netflix, you can get a streaming media player like the roku. I have the roku 2 xs and it works great off of wifi, no connection to phone required. I paid $50 for the roku 2 xs a few years ago. I also got a few Sony streaming media players at $10 a pop. Not we good as the roku, but for $10,it worked fine. If you need to stream media then you can add a wifi router standalone(no Internet) so you have a wifi network and cast it to the roku with the Allcast app

Sent from my LG G Pad 8.3
 

Lok52

Well-known member
Jun 2, 2014
159
0
0
Visit site
Up in the Chromecast forum they've determined you can't cast with the same phone you are using as a Hotspot. Other than that, I can't help you out.

Posted via Android Central App
 

xiwong

Active member
Jan 5, 2014
33
0
0
Visit site
I haven't used a chromecast this way, but windows network discovery does work on my previous experiences hot spotting, so I don't see why a chrome cast won't work. However, the phone broadcasting wifi won't be able to be discovered by any of the wifi clients. If you connect another device to control the chrome cast with it should work.

I don't think performance will be very good. My chromecast's performance is already not perfect on my 5GHz router (for sharing video, not YouTube or Netflix), so I can't imagine it will be very good on a typical 2.4GHz hotspot. You may be able to get better luck on Samsung devices that let you pick the hotspot frequency at 5GHz.
 

mhans311

Well-known member
Jun 27, 2010
455
25
0
Visit site
Just use your phone as a hotspot and connect the chromecast and a tablet to the wifi and use the tablet to stream Netflix to the chromecast.
 

diesteldorf

Well-known member
Dec 1, 2010
974
17
0
Visit site
Up in the Chromecast forum they've determined you can't cast with the same phone you are using as a Hotspot. Other than that, I can't help you out.

Posted via Android Central App

That helps quite a bit, since I know I'll need two devices.

I'm not really interested in getting extra equipment for what will be a week or less vacation. However, I've thought about getting a Roku for other reasons, so Dpham's advice is also helpful.

Still curious to see if and how well a Chromecast will run using a mobile data connection.
 

richgs

Well-known member
Jun 10, 2013
101
0
0
Visit site
I have done it with just a phone. It was a long time ago when chromecast first came out don't know if a firmware update changed that though.

Posted via Android Central App
 

diesteldorf

Well-known member
Dec 1, 2010
974
17
0
Visit site
I haven't used a chromecast this way, but windows network discovery does work on my previous experiences hot spotting, so I don't see why a chrome cast won't work. However, the phone broadcasting wifi won't be able to be discovered by any of the wifi clients. If you connect another device to control the chrome cast with it should work.

I don't think performance will be very good. My chromecast's performance is already not perfect on my 5GHz router (for sharing video, not YouTube or Netflix), so I can't imagine it will be very good on a typical 2.4GHz hotspot. You may be able to get better luck on Samsung devices that let you pick the hotspot frequency at 5GHz.

I am rooted and have an unlockled bootloader for 2 Moto Xs and 1 Nexus 7 LTE. Is there any app or way to modify the devices so they can broadcast 5 GHz?

My only Sammy device is a Galaxy Nexus and its hardly a real Sammy device.
 

xiwong

Active member
Jan 5, 2014
33
0
0
Visit site
I am rooted and have an unlockled bootloader for 2 Moto Xs and 1 Nexus 7 LTE. Is there any app or way to modify the devices so they can broadcast 5 GHz?

My only Sammy device is a Galaxy Nexus and its hardly a real Sammy device.
I'm not entirely sure, but I do know with the KitKat update on the recent devices like the Note 3 the option showed up in hotspot options. It might not be available on your devices.
 

dpham00

Moderator Team VP
Moderator
Apr 23, 2011
30,108
200
63
Visit site
The note 3 can indeed broadcast mhs 5ghz,but on one channel only.

I tried to enable hotspot and connect to the chromecast, and no go. The chromecast app required that I be connected to wifi, and wifi cannot be enabled at the same time as mhs.

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3
 

Forum statistics

Threads
942,116
Messages
6,912,533
Members
3,158,237
Latest member
Landers2