Modern smart TVs allow for seamless integration with various external devices, allowing for entertainment in a variety of ways. One of the popular options is to stream videos to your TV directly from mobile devices. You can even stream content from your desktop computer.
If your TV does not support this feature, you can use streaming devices to establish this connection. One of those devices is Google’s Chromecast. Loaded with many streaming apps, you can use it to stream content even from a Google Chrome browser. Unfortunately, sometimes Chromecast may not be able to detect a source you are trying to use.
In this article, we will review some proven tips to overcome the “Source not supported” error that is commonly displayed when trying to mirror one device to another.
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There can be many reasons why you can’t cast content to your TV via Chromecast. The application you are using may experience an occasional error. Your Internet connection may not be transmitting enough bandwidth at any given time.
Or maybe there is something wrong with the settings of your mobile device, router, or Wi-Fi network you are connected to. Whatever the reason, follow the troubleshooting tips outlined in the following sections.
Restart the system
When it comes to smart devices, a simple reset can help restore certain functionality. Even better, you may want to turn them off completely, wait a moment, and then start them up again. This way, all background processes will start again, potentially eliminating any crashes that you aren’t even aware of.
- Turn off your television.
- Now disconnect your Google Chromecast from the TV.
- Next, turn off both the Internet modem and the Wi-Fi router. If you’re using a modem with a built-in Wi-Fi router, you’ll have one less device to reboot.
- Wait half a minute.
- Now turn on your modem. Let it do all its startup magic for at least a minute or two.
- After that, you can turn on the Wi-Fi router. Again, wait up to two minutes for the connection to the router and the other devices it serves to stabilize.
- Turn on your TV and wait about 20 seconds.
- Now connect your Chromecast to the TV.
- Chromecast will now initialize, so again wait 20 to 30 seconds until it establishes all connections.
When all devices are online and ready to go, try streaming the same content you had the issue with. This way you will know if the reset worked. If not, you can try the following suggestions.
Check Wi-Fi networks
As some Wi-Fi routers have the ability to create multiple Wi-Fi networks at the same time, you may want to check which network your devices are using. For example, your router may have two networks running simultaneously: “Home 1” and “Home 2.” If your Chromecast is connected to “Home 1” and your phone is using the “Home 2” network, they won’t be able to find each other. Although they both use the same physical router, they are actually on two completely different networks that cannot communicate with each other.
To ensure that all devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi, check the corresponding Wi-Fi settings and find the name of the network they are currently using. If they use different Wi-Fi, simply switch them to the one your Chromecast is connected to.
Check the app you are using to stream
Depending on the app used to stream, it may not be working properly at this time. In this case, it is better to restart the application. If you’re trying to stream from your laptop or desktop, simply close the problematic app and launch it again.
If you are streaming from your Android smartphone or tablet, restart the app using the “Application Manager.” Before continuing, note that if the app does not store your user settings online, this action could reset everything to default values. Also, once you’re done, you may need to sign in again with your credentials, so make sure you know what they are.
- Open the “Applications” folder.
- Tap the “Settings” icon.
- Now you need to open the “Application Manager”. Depending on the version of Android you are using, follow one of these routes:
- Previous versions: Tap the “General” tab and then tap “Application Manager.”
- Newer versions: Scroll down to “Application Manager” or “Applications.” If you have found the “Applications” option, when you tap it, you should see “Application Manager” among the available options.
- Now scroll down to the app you had trouble casting to your TV. When you find the app, tap on it.
- Once in the app menu, tap “Force Stop.”
- In the “Storage” section, tap “Clear data.”
- In the “Cache” section, tap “Clear cache.”
- Now go back to your home screen and restart the app.
This should resolve any issues arising from app instability. If you are streaming directly from the Chrome browser and are still having trouble with the “Source not supported” message, try the following suggestion.
Turn on mirroring in Chrome
If you can’t cast to Chromecast using the Chrome browser on your laptop or desktop, make sure the Chrome mirroring option is enabled. If Chrome received a recent update, mirroring services may have been disabled by default. To fix this, follow the steps below:
- Open Chrome browser on your laptop/desktop.
- Type “chrome://flags” in the browser’s address bar.
- Press Ctrl+F on your keyboard to open the “Search” field.
- Write “Reflection.”
- You should now see the “Duplication Service” section.
- From the drop-down menu on the right, select “Activate.”
- Close Chrome and restart it.
If mirroring was the reason you couldn’t stream from your Chrome browser, this should definitely fix the problem.
Other things to try
If your attempts to transmit are still unsuccessful, there are a few other things you can try before contacting the support team.
If you are using Windows, some users have found it helpful to disable Windows Defender. While you don’t want to expose your computer to viruses, Windows Defender can cause problems between your computer and Chromecast.
Other users have stated that they had to set Chrome as their default browser. While we haven’t been able to replicate this solution, it’s worth a try if nothing else works.
Another last effort is factory reset your Chromecast. You can do this in the Home app on your mobile device. Just be careful, any stored data or settings will be deleted and you’ll have to start over from scratch.
Chromecasting is great!
Casting to your TV from any external device is a really great way to listen to music or browse YouTube videos. With Chromecast, you can do this even if your TV doesn’t support the option by default. The next time your friends come to visit, you can let them add their favorite songs to a TV playlist, right from their smartphones.
Have you managed to solve the casting problems? What was the cause of the problem? Share your experiences in the comments section below.
