Initiate and control YouTube videos to any TV with Chromecast or Chromecast Built-In – using only your voice.
Note: If Digital Wellbeing is enabled, this feature may be restricted or blocked by Downtime, Filters or Do not disturb.
Step 1. Link TVs using the Google Home app
Link TVs to your speaker or displayLink a device
Note: The following steps are optional if you only want to control your TV with your mobile device or tablet. However, if you want to use voice commands through your speaker or display to control your TV, follow the steps below.
- Make sure that your mobile device or tablet is connected to the same Wi-Fi or linked to the same account as your Chromecast, or speaker or display.
- Open the Google Home app
.
- At the top right, tap your account.
- Verify that the Google Account shown is the one linked to your speaker or display. If correct, tap Close
to return to the previous screen. To switch accounts, tap the dropdown icon
, then tap another account or Add another account.
- Go back to the home screen, then touch and hold your Chromecast or TV with Chromecast Built-in's tile.
- At the top right, tap Settings
Recognition and sharing.
- Look for a banner at the top of the page entitled 'Enable voice control and more'.
- If the banner appears, tap it and follow the steps to link your TV.
- If the banner doesn't appear but your email address appears under 'Linked account(s)', your TV is already linked.
Note: If you get an 'Error when linking device' error message, you must factory reset your Chromecast device.
Unlink a device
- Make sure that your mobile device or tablet is connected to the same Wi-Fi or linked to the same account as your Chromecast, or speaker or display.
- Open the Google Home app
.
- Tap Favorites
or Devices
- Tap and hold your device's tile.
- Tap Settings
Remove device.
The following Cast devices can play YouTube videos on TVs using your speaker or display:
- Chromecast
- TVs with Chromecast Built-In
- Android TV devices
Important: Some smart TVs may appear to support cast technology because the functionality is similar to casting. Learn more about smart TVs that support cast technology.
Step 2. Control YouTube videos on TVs using voice commands
Below are some ways to talk to your Google Assistant on your speaker or display to play YouTube videos on TVs:
To do this: | Say 'Hey Google', then: |
---|---|
Play general videos from TV show, YouTube channel or artist | 'Play [artist] videos on [TV name]' 'Play [YouTube channel] videos on [TV name]' 'Play [TV show] videos on [Chromecast name]' |
Play specific videos or songs | 'Play [video name] trailer on [TV name]' 'Play [song name] on [TV name]' |
Play videos by category | 'Play [topic] videos on [TV name]' |
Turn on subtitles or captions
Turn off subtitles or captions |
'Turn on subtitles' 'Turn off subtitles' |
Turn on subtitles for a specific language Note: Supported languages depend on the content service and the video title. |
'Turn on [language] subtitles' |
To control videos on a remote device, add 'on [device name]' to any of the basic voice commands for music. | 'Pause on [device name]' 'Resume on [device name]' 'Skip on [device name]' 'Stop on [device name]' |
If you only have one linked voice-supported cast device, you don't have to say its name in your command. Instead, you can say 'Hey Google, …<on TV>' or 'Hey Google, …<on Chromecast>'.
Other ways to control video
From the Google Home app- Make sure that your mobile device or tablet is linked to the same account as your speaker or display.
- Open the Google Home app
.
- Tap Favourites
.
- Tap the current media session for:
- Playback controls
- Volume control (media and Google Assistant)
- Playback device selection
On the media player, you will get the following information for the current session:
- Content provider
- Title (song name, show episode name or radio station program)
- Artist (if available)
- Collection (playlist, album, show series, or radio station, if available)
You can also pause or resume, stop, and control the remote device from the device card.
Fix problems
Need help? Try these troubleshooting steps- Make sure that you've correctly linked your devices, including:
- Make sure that the Cast device is voice-supported and is running Cast version 1.32+.
- Make sure that you linked the devices via the Google Home app:
- Open the Google Home app
.
- At the top right, tap your account.
-
Verify that the Google Account shown is the one linked to your Google device. If correct, tap
to close the account window. To switch accounts, tap the dropdown icon
, then tap another account or Add another account.
- Tap Assistant settings
Devices. You'll find a list of all your linked devices.
- Open the Google Home app
- Name your speaker or display and Chromecast/Chromecast Built-In devices
To ensure proper playback on your TV, follow these tips when naming your devices:
- Give your speaker or display, Chromecast or Chromecast built-in devices different names, and avoid using the same words in the names. This helps your speaker or display correctly understand your command and play content on the right device.
- Good:
- Name your speaker or display 'Living room'
- Name your Chromecast 'Family TV'
- Ok:
- Name your speaker or display 'Living room home'
- Name your Chromecast 'Living room TV'
- Good:
- Make sure that the name is easily pronounceable.
- Avoid using emoji or special characters.
- To change the name of your devices:
- Open the Google Home app
.
- Touch and hold your device's tile
at the top right corner, tap Settings
Device information
Device name.
- Delete the current name and type in a new name. Tap Save.
- Open the Google Home app
- Give your speaker or display, Chromecast or Chromecast built-in devices different names, and avoid using the same words in the names. This helps your speaker or display correctly understand your command and play content on the right device.
- If the voice commands seem to stop controlling your remote devices, or you get a response saying 'Nothing is playing', be more specific in your request by adding '… on <device name>' to your request. This will re-initiate media focus and allow you to better control the device.
- Try adding "videos" or "trailers" to the request. Examples: "Play funny videos on TV", "Play film trailers on TV."
- If you hear an error message like, "I can only play videos on devices using Chromecast, or on cast-enabled TVs", try renaming your devices.
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