Chromecast has made thousands of TVs into Smart TVs without much effort or investment. Setting up and getting started with the device is easy. However, there learning a few Chromecast tips and tricks will take your Cast experience up a notch.

That’s what this page intends to do. Here is a collection of Chromecast tips to help you make the best out of your Chromecast-connected or Cast-enabled TV.

1) Add Emojis in Your Chromecast’s Name

You can make your Chromecast’s name interesting and easy to spot by adding an emoji to its name. To do it:

1. Open the Home app and select the Chromecast device.
2. Tab the gear icon on the top-right corner.
3. Under Device Info, tap Name.
4. Use the emoji section of your keyboard to add an emoji to the name.
5. Save the new name.

2) Enable Guest Mode

If you host social gatherings, Guest Mode is a feature worth exploring. Guest Mode allows your guests to cast content to your Chromecast. They can do this without connecting to your WiFi network.

To enable Guest Mode, open the Home app and go to Settings > Device Settings and turn on Guest Mode. Refer to the official help article for more information.

3) Use Google Assistant to Start or Control Casting

If you have a Google Assistant supported device (Google Home or a Phone etc) you can use your voice to start casting or control the playback.

For example, you can say “”Ok Google, play Stranger Things from Netflix on TV.” Or, “Play my Spotify playlist”.

You can also use commands like “stop the video on my TV” or “pause the music” to control playback as well.

4) View security cameras on the TV

If you have a Nest security camera, you can use Google Home/Google Assistant to cast the stream from your camera to your TV.

Here are the voice commands to use:

• “OK, Google, what’s on [your camera name]?”
• “OK, Google, show [your camera name].”
• “OK, Google, play [your camera name] on [Chromecast].”
• “OK, Google, show [your camera name] on [Chromecast].”
• “OK, Google, [your camera name] on [Chromecast].”

5) Link Netflix Profile to Google Home

If you have multiple profiles on Netflix, you can link your own Netflix profile to your Google Home account. With this, when Home will identify your voice (if Voice Match is enabled) and play videos from your Netflix profile.

To link your Google Home and Netflix profile, open the Home app and go to Settings > TV & video and choose Netflix under Videos.

Refer to the official documentation here.

6) Customize Ambient Mode Wallpaper

The ambient mode works similar to a screensaver on a computer. Photos and other information that you see on the Chromecast connected TV when it is idle is called “Ambient Mode” or “Backdrop”.

You can customize the Ambient mode to include more content or show photos from a Google Photos album.

To customize Ambient mode:

1. Open the Home app and tap the Chromecast device.
2. Click the gear icon from the top-right corner.
3. Scroll down and select “Ambient mode”

Review all the options available. We recommend creating a new album within Google Photos (photos.gogle.com or the Photos app) with your favorite photos and choosing that as your Ambient mode wallpaper.

Find the official help article for this feature here.

7) Mirror Your Phone Screen

If you have an Android phone, you can mirror your phone’s screen on your Cast-enabled TV. To do this, tap Screen Cast icon from the notification area:

Note: While you are mirroring your phone’s display, open the Camera app on your phone for a live-stream-like experience on your TV.

8) Reboot or Reset Chromecast

If you run into issues with your Chromecast, the first thing you do is try rebooting your Chromecast. You can always disconnect the power to the Chromecast to do this. You can, however, do this from the Home app as well.

1. Open the Home app.
2. Tap on the Chromecast’s name.
3. Tap the gear icon on the top-right corner.
4. On the Device settings page, tap the three-dots settings menu icon on the top-right corner.
5. Select Reboot.

If troubleshooting your Chromecast requires you to factory reset your Chromecast, you will see this option in the same menu.

Hope you found these Chromecast tips useful. Bookmark this page for future reference because we will be regularly updating this article. Share your feedback in the comments section.