How to Connect Chromecast to a Mobile Hotspot

Connecting your Chromecast to a mobile hotspot can be a great trick for casting content onto a TV without a regular Wi-Fi network. This page will walk you through the best strategy for using a mobile hotspot with a Chromecast device that’s been tested on both iPhone and Android smartphones and tablets.

How Do I Connect Chromecast to a Mobile Hotspot?

Here’s the best way to connect a Chromecast device to a mobile hotspot created on an iPhone, iPad, or Android smartphone or tablet.

You will need:

• A Chromecast device.
• A smartphone or tablet with a cellular connection.
• A second smartphone, tablet, or computer for casting media.
  

1. Open the mobile hotspot settings on your smart device and change the Wi-Fi network’s name and password to match that of the Wi-Fi network that you usually use to connect to your Chromecast. You can customize the hotspot’s information on Android or customize the hotspot information on iOS devices.
   

   To change the mobile hotspot name on iOS, you also need to change your Apple device’s name.

2. Turn off your regular internet modem or router to disable the Wi-Fi internet connection.
   

   If you’re in a different location than your home Wi-Fi network, you won’t need to disconnect it as your Chromecast will likely be out of range from its signal.

3. Activate the mobile hotspot on your iPhone or iPad. If you’re using an Android tablet or smartphone, turn its Android mobile hotspot on.

   

4. Connect the Chromecast to a power source and your TV. Turn the TV on.

   

5. After a few seconds, your Chromecast should automatically connect to your mobile hotspot. You won’t need to change any settings or connection preferences.

6. To cast content to your Chromecast, connect a separate device to your mobile hotspot and cast as per usual.
   

   You can’t cast content from the device creating the mobile hotspot. It’s usually best to use a smartphone for making the hotspot and a tablet, iPod touch, or computer for casting content.

Can I Use Chromecast With a Mobile Hotspot?

It's possible to connect a mobile hotspot to a Chromecast device, but it’s important to realize that this functionality isn’t officially supported by Google and thus can be incredibly unreliable.

While a common strategy for connecting a Chromecast to a mobile hotspot is to change the Chromecast's current network connection to that of your smartphone’s hotspot, this doesn’t always work for everyone.

For example, sometimes the Chromecast can completely fail to detect the mobile hotspot, while other times it can see the hotspot network but will refuse to connect to it.

These issues can occur when using a variety of smartphones, tablets, and computers. So it's best to avoid this strategy and use the one shown at the top of this page which tricks the Chromecast into automatically connecting to a mobile hotspot that it thinks is your usual Wi-Fi network.

The Chromecast Mobile Hotspot Data Usage Problem

Using a mobile hotspot to connect to a Chromecast device may be convenient when traveling or in a location without a Wi-Fi network, but it’s important to use this feature wisely as it can get expensive.

If you’re planning on streaming a movie or TV show over your mobile hotspot, keep in mind that this method will use your smartphone’s cellular data.

One way to save data is to download media beforehand while connected to a Wi-Fi network and then mirror your screen to the Chromecast when using cellular.

However, if you’re using a portable mobile hotspot device that allows for large downloads, you likely won’t need to worry about how much media streaming you do.