A frustrating bug is turning off Wi-Fi on Chromecast with Google TV devices

Google’s Chromecast with Google TV remains one of the most popular streaming dongles on the market, but an infuriating connectivity bug is currently dampening the user experience for some owners. A growing number of users report that their streaming devices are randomly dropping Wi-Fi connections after remaining idle for a day or so, effectively breaking hands-free casting and automated smart home routines.

I’ve actually run into this exact behavior on my Chromecast with Google TV from time to time. While my experience hasn’t been as frequent or severe as some of the more extreme cases circulating online — happening perhaps once every few weeks rather than multiple times a day — it remains an undeniably frustrating roadblock. Picking up the remote expecting to play music or stream a show, only to discover the device has quietly severed its network connection overnight, completely defeats the convenience of having a dedicated media hub.

The symptoms of this bug seem to manifest in a couple of distinct ways across different hardware configurations. On most impacted devices, users open the system settings menu only to discover that the main Wi-Fi toggle switch has turned itself completely off. Flipping it back on immediately restores the connection, but the setting reverts to off again after another stretch of inactivity.

Others report that while the device shows an active Wi-Fi connection, the operating system insists there is no internet access. Meanwhile, every other device on the exact same local network functions without issue.

The issue isn’t isolated to just one model. Owners of both the original 4K Chromecast with Google TV and the cheaper HD model released in 2022 are experiencing the glitch, indicating a broader software or firmware issue rather than an isolated batch defect.

In discussions across the Chromecast community on Reddit, affected users note that the issue started appearing in recent weeks following software updates. For those who rely on features like HDMI-CEC to wake up sound systems or TVs via voice or phone casting, this bug completely breaks the seamless handoff that makes Chromecast so convenient.

Several users report that performing a full factory reset resolves the disconnections temporarily, but the problem routinely resurfaces after one to two weeks. Interestingly, users who bypass wireless altogether by using a USB-C hub with an Ethernet adapter experience zero dropouts. This suggests the issue likely stems from how Google TV manages Wi-Fi power states or band-steering handshakes when entering and exiting deep sleep modes, rather than a failure of the internal hardware itself.

If you’re dealing with a Chromecast with Google TV unit that keeps dropping its wireless connection, the official Google Nest Community account on Reddit is currently recommending that affected users contact Google Home and Nest support directly via phone or chat. Reporting the issue should help Google track the scale of the bug, gather necessary diagnostic logs, and potentially roll out a fix.

We’ve reached out to Google for comment and will update this article if the company responds.