cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Android: Unable to Cast to Chromecast

Phade
Underground

Hey Everyone!

 

I have been happily casting Pandora to my Chromecast devices for years using my phone and tablet.  However, I have not been able to connect for the last few days to any of my Chromecast devices (Chromecast Audio, Chromecast Ultra).  Pandora will see the target device, attempt to connect, but then say, "Your session has ended" after a few seconds of silence.

 

I have attempted to fix it by restarting the devices and my phone (Samsung S10).  All devices are current with software updates.  Other casting services (Amazon) cast just fine from my phone to all Chromecast devices.  

 

What could be the problem and how can I fix it?

 

Thanks and have a great day!

Labels (1)
0 Kudos
64 Replies

AlyssaPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hey there, @Phade. 👋

I've gone ahead and enabled a trace on your Pandora account to better understand what's happening.

I would recommend trying out the following while I have the trace enabled:

  1. Make sure your mobile device is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Chromecast device.
  2. Restart your Chromecast device by unplugging the power source and plugging it back in.
  3. Restart the Pandora app on your device. 
  4. Run the Chromecast app to set up your Chromecast device again.

If you are still having trouble with Chromecast, please refer to Google's support page here.

++

Another option is to try troubleshooting the Pandora app on your Android device. You can find those steps here

Feel free to let me know how it goes by responding directly to this thread. 🎧

Alyssa | Community Manager
Let's talk music in Community Chat
Share yours here: Q: What's your favorite anthem by a female artist that inspires you?
Check out this month's newsletter: The Listener Lounge: March 2024

Phade
Underground

Hey Alyssa,

 

Thank you for your reply!

 

I've tried it again now and got only slightly better results.  I have several Chromecast Audio devices.  After testing with several of them, I was only able to connect to the last known session in the "Kitchen" Chromecast.  However, I could only play, pause, and skip; I could not change the Pandora channel to any other than the last channel the device was using.  I then power-cycled the device, restarted Pandora, and attempted to cast again.  This time I got the message, "Your session with Kitchen has ended."  I was able to successfully cast music to Kitchen using other non-Pandora casting services. 

 

I then cleared the app cache on my phone and tried again with no luck.  I then cleared the app data on my phone, re-logged into Pandora, tried again, but still no luck.  

 

Let me know how things look on your end.

 

Thanks again!!  

Phade
Underground

Hey Everyone,

 

There are times when I don't want to continue playing the music where I left off, but I can't find an option or method to indicate this.

 

For example, I have a Chromecast Audio in my kitchen for enjoying music while I cook and eat.  I may have some upbeat and rocking music with dinner, but in the morning I like quiet calm music.  Often in the morning, I will open the Pandora app on my phone, choose a calm station, select to cast to the kitchen speakers, and will get "Continuing where you left off" and it will suddenly blast rockin' music from last night instead of the calm music I just chose.  To add to the complication, I then cannot change the station in the kitchen; it will always stick to the last played station no matter which station I change it to using the app.  After several connect/disconnect cycles, eventually it will correct itself.  

 

I have tried power-cycling the Chromecast Audio device, clearing the Pandora app cache, clearing app data, and reinstalling the app from scratch.

 

How can I make the casting command to "use the station I just chose" rather than "pick up where I left off"?

 

Thanks and have a great day!

AlyssaPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

Thanks for providing those details, @Phade. A few other listeners have mentioned similar issues. I'd like to share this with our engineering team.

Would you mind telling me a bit more info about your device?

  • Model: Samsung S10
  • Carrier:
  • Android version (Settings > About Phone):
  • Pandora version:
    • Go to Profile, then select Settings. Scroll to the bottom of the screen for the version number.

Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data when this is happening?

Let me know, and I can pass this along.

Alyssa | Community Manager
Let's talk music in Community Chat
Share yours here: Q: What's your favorite anthem by a female artist that inspires you?
Check out this month's newsletter: The Listener Lounge: March 2024

Phade
Underground

Here are more details about my device:

 

  • Samsung S10 SM-G973U
  • Verizon
  • Android 10, Kernel 4.14.117
  • Pandora 2004.2 (Android-Tuner 2004.2RC6)

 

Also, the post you merged into this post ("Unable to NOT continue where I left off") is a separate issue that has been occurring for a few weeks.  The topic in this current post has been a few days.

 

Update on the original post:  I am now able to cast to multiple devices.  However, the "Unable to NOT continue where I left off" issue still persists.  

0 Kudos

AlyssaPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

@Phade I moved your second post over to this thread, as we have received reports about a similar issue. When you're having trouble with your Chromecast, it sounds like it's actually creating two separate streams. 

Thanks for sharing these details. This is extremely helpful, and I will pass your information along to our engineering team so they can investigate a bit more.

Appreciate your patience while they look into this! 

Alyssa | Community Manager
Let's talk music in Community Chat
Share yours here: Q: What's your favorite anthem by a female artist that inspires you?
Check out this month's newsletter: The Listener Lounge: March 2024

Phade
Underground

Hey Alyssa,

 

Yes, this may be part of the cause.  I was streaming music to my "Desk Speakers" Chromecast Audio and decided to switch to headphones.  I opened the Pandora app on my phone, hit the "cast" icon, and clicked "disconnect" from the speakers.  My phone then started playing music, but the speakers continued to play.  I let the speakers run at the same time while simultaneously listening through my phone headphones.  The songs were different, implying that they were two separate streams.  I then used the Google "Home" app to force-quit the speakers' stream.  

 

Let me know if I can further assist your engineering team to find the cause of the issue and I will be glad to test-run various scenarios. 

tiiimb
Local Performer

I have been relentlessly struggling to get Pandora (p) to work on chromecast audio (ca) for close to a year now. I've probably spent 20 or hours messing with this. I love P but without ca it's useless to me. I have followed all the recommended fixes and a couple times it worked for a few hours then reverted. I suspect google is blocking p somehow, they are promoting youtube music pretty hard. my moto e5 will connect to ca but p freezes and it's over. I've tried everything. I was a paid subscriber but had to drop it. PLEASE FIX THIS!

BTW p works seamlessly on my PC and Chromebook

As long as i don't use the app that is, only the p web page works, the app does not

0 Kudos

AdamPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

@tiiimb I moved your post over to this existing thread: Chromecast - Casting to TV freezes on Pandora splash screen

I'd like to report your issue to our engineering team. Can you send over a bit more info about your device?

  • Model: Moto e5
  • Carrier:
  • Android version (Settings > About Phone):
  • Build number (Settings > About Phone):
  • Android Security Patch Level, if noted on your device (Settings > About Phone):
  • Pandora version:
    • If you can open Pandora, go to Profile, then select Settings. Scroll to the bottom of the screen for the version number.
    • If you can't open Pandora: from Android Home screen > Android Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Find Pandora

Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data when this is happening?

Have you identified any other patterns or notable information?

Let me know what you can find out.

0 Kudos

tiiimb
Local Performer
  • Model: Moto e6
  • Carrier: Xfinity 
  • Android version (Settings > About Phone): 9
  • Build number (Settings > About Phone): ppbs29.73-81-20
  • Android Security Patch Level, if noted on your device (Settings > About Phone): idk
  • Pandora version:
    • If you can open Pandora, go to Profile, then select Settings. Scroll to the bottom of the screen for the version number. ? Not where you say it is 
    • If you can't open Pandora: from Android Home screen > Android Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Find Pandora   version 2101.1

Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data when this is happening? wifi

0 Kudos

AdamPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

Thanks for sharing those details, @tiiimb.

I've added your feedback to the ticket we currently have open with the engineers who are looking into this.

Thanks for your patience in the meantime as they work to find a fix. 🛠

tiiimb
Local Performer

I dredged up my old samsung s3 (my favorite phone ever) and the pandora version 8.7.1 on it seems to work with ca just fine. But I'd rather not carry around 2 phones, so please FIX THIS! 

0 Kudos

tiiimb
Local Performer

However, the app on my s3 closes and the music keeps playing - essentially google takes over control of the app, is how I interpret this. I understand that this way the phone doesn't have to eat battery continuing to stream over wifi but it does make it hard to control, such as if I want to skip a song, pause, etc. I am amble to go through the google home app and get some control over pandora there. Pretty gummed-up software! I wonder, are other music streaming apps this clunky and frustrating? Nobody else has the radio station / shuffle chops or I would be long gone! Love ya and hate ya P!

0 Kudos

ChelcieL
Local Performer

I see that everyone else is having the same problem I am with Pandora freezing up on the intro screen with chromecast and never working. This has been going on for months and Pandora has done nothing about it. Pandora was one of the few things I still had faith in and this past year they have just gone completely downhill :(... I guess I'll be trying out some new music apps and if they work better then I'm canceling the subscription I've had with pandora for the past many years. So disappointed 😞

Android, Note10+

campedwin
Underground

That is what is sad about Pandora. I am of the opinion it is intentional. Pandora stopped supporting 3rd party streaming servers and I believe Google Chromecast was among the affected devices.  Why Pandora does not let its customer base know about this is beyond me. Pandora keeps asking customers to "Make sure their devices are connected to the same network...." as though that is the issue. The issue is, Pandora like many other digital content providers are reigning in on 3rd party streaming services in a bid to control digital content and access to that content 

0 Kudos

kidatech
Underground

I'm trying to Chromecast with the pandora app but I can't. I try a factory reset on my phone and devices I'm trying to connect, I also tried different phones but none worked. I made a fresh account which managed to work so that's how I keep to the conclusion that there is a problem with my account.

Any help with a possible fix would be appreciated.

mod edit: changed title for clarity

0 Kudos

AlyssaPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi there, @kidatech. 👋

It sounds like you do see the casting option, however, it doesn't connect to your Chromecast successfully. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

I’ve enabled a trace on your account to help us better understand what’s happening. For this trace to be useful, we’ll need you to run through our troubleshooting steps once more.

 Please try the following:

  1. Check to see if there are any updates available for your Pandora app and update if needed.
  2. Make sure your mobile device is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Chromecast device.
  3. Try reinstalling or clearing app data for Pandora on your device.
  4. Restart your Chromecast device by unplugging the power source and plugging it back in.
  5. Restart the Pandora app on your device.
  6. Run the Chromecast app to set up your Chromecast device again.

If you are still having trouble with Chromecast, please refer to Google's support page here.

Let me know how it goes. 🎧

 

Alyssa | Community Manager
Let's talk music in Community Chat
Share yours here: Q: What's your favorite anthem by a female artist that inspires you?
Check out this month's newsletter: The Listener Lounge: March 2024
0 Kudos

kidatech
Underground

I have done all the tips but nothing works only other accounts but mine works even on a different phone and Chromecast devices. I attach 2 pictures of what happens when I connect with my account.

Screenshot_20210527-145048_Pandora.png     Screenshot_20210527-145101_Pandora.png

0 Kudos

AlyssaPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

Thanks so much for sending over those screenshots, @kidatech

I'd like to report your issue to our engineering team. Can you send over a bit more info about your device?

  • Model:
  • Carrier:
  • Android version (Settings > About Phone):
  • Pandora version (Go to Profile, then select Settings. Scroll to the bottom of the screen for the version number):
  • Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data when this is happening?

Thanks again for your help with this. 🎧

Alyssa | Community Manager
Let's talk music in Community Chat
Share yours here: Q: What's your favorite anthem by a female artist that inspires you?
Check out this month's newsletter: The Listener Lounge: March 2024