Fix: Cast to Device not working

Cast to device is a feature in Windows 10 which allows users to cast their content to other devices such as smart TVs, multimedia hardware etc. This makes it rather easy to share any content which you want to share by cutting the hassle of manually transferring the picture or video. This feature has gained immense popularity after other cast giants such as Chromecast have started to become visible in the tech market.

Recently earlier this year, there has been an increasing number of reports by users who could not get their ‘cast to device’ to work. This situation can occur if the network is wrongly configured or if the network drivers are not up to date. We will go through all the solutions one by one and see which one does the trick for us.

What causes ‘Cast to Device’ option not to work?

Since the mechanism of casting media to another device is so complex and involve tons of modules, there can be a lot of issues which may be the culprit. Here are some of them:

• Network adapters play a key role in communicating with any other device. If your network drivers are outdated or corrupt, you cannot communicate with any device properly.
• Windows 10 have specific Streaming options which allow the user to have complete control on which media gets shared. If the permissions are not set correctly, you will not be able to cast anything.
• Network discovery is another aspect which must be set correctly in your PC. If your computer is not discoverable to other devices nearby, how will you cast data to them?
• Last but not least, sometimes the problem is with the device itself. If it is not started properly or its communication not defined, you will not be able to cast media to it.

How to fix cast to device not working

Many users have reported that they cannot find any devices on the cast to device functionality. There have also been instances where because of an unexpected device error, the cast do device doesn’t work. If your network configuration is at fault, your computer will keep searching for devices but will not display any useful results. We will go through all the steps one by one and attempt at troubleshooting your problem.

Solution 1: Running Hardware and Devices troubleshooter

There have been numerous positive responses by users who used the hardware and devices troubleshooter to solve the issue. This method will solve any issues while connected to your device to cast media or sometimes, even fixes the configuration of your sharing mechanism. Perform this step before moving forward.

1. Press Windows + R, type “control” in the dialogue box and press Enter. Once in the control panel, search for “troubleshooting” and open the window.

2. Now click on View all from the left navigation pane.

3. Click on “Hardware and devices” and click on Next on the prompt which comes forth.

4. Complete the troubleshooting process and restart your computer. Check if the issue is solved.

Solution 2: Updating Windows

This problem has been identified officially by Microsoft and it has even released updates to fix the issue. It is possible that you are in a backward version in which the problem persists. Therefore, it is recommended that you update Windows to the latest build and see if this fixes the issue we are having.

1. Press Windows + S, type “windows update” in the dialogue box and press Enter.
2. Once in the Windows update, click on “Check for updates”.

3. If there are any updates, download and install them accordingly in your computer. After installing the updates, restart your entire system and check if the issue is resolved.

Solution 3: Updating Network adapter driver

Before we move on to more complex methods, we should check if your network drivers are up to date. Since we are casting information ‘through’ the network driver, it is necessary that they are not broken and are updated to the latest build available.

1. Press Windows + R, type “devmgmt.msc” in the dialogue box and press Enter.
2. Once in the device manager, expand “network adapters”, select your hardware, right-click on it and click “Update driver”.

3. Now you will be asked whether you want to update the drivers automatically or manually. Select the automatic method and move on with the updating. You can also download the driver manually to an accessible location and install using the manual method.
   After updating the drivers, restart your system and try the feature ‘cast to device’ again.

Solution 4: Turning Network Discovery on

If you want other devices to locate your computer and vice versa, it is essential that you turn your network discovery on. If network discovery is off, you will not be able to locate other devices from your computer and if other devices are not located, you will not be able to cast content to them in any way.

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings. Once in settings, click on Network and Internet.

2. Click on Status from the left navigation pane and click on Network and Sharing Center from the right-side of the screen.

3. Click “Change advanced sharing settings” from the left navigation pane.

4. Select the option “Turn on network discovery” and “Turn on file and printer sharing”. Do the same for all type of profiles (Guest, Private, All networks). Save your settings and exit.

5. Restart your computer after setting the new permissions and check if you can cast to device without any issues.

Solution 5: Resetting Streaming options

Streaming options determine whether you allow other devices to get access to your media to be streamed by other devices over the internet. These permissions get reset after a potential update and if they are not set properly, you will not be able to cast to any device in any way. We will set the proper permissions using the Windows media player and see if this fixes our issue.

1. Press Windows + S, type “windows media player” in the dialogue box and open the application.
2. Once the media player is opened, click on Stream > Allow Internet access to home media.

3. An UAC will pop up asking you to confirm your actions. Press Allow Internet access to home media.

4. Now check the option “Turn on media streaming”. Once the media streaming is enabled, you can open it and change your default PC name and your advanced sharing settings.
5. Restart your computer after setting the proper permissions and check if you can successfully cast to device.