Play media from Chromecast-enabled apps to Google Home

Playing music on Google Home is simple way to enjoy your favorite audio apps optimized for your speaker. You can even use your mobile device or tablet as a remote and control everything from playback to volume.

Step 1. Cast from Chromecast-enabled apps to Google Home

  1. Make sure your phone or tablet is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as Google Home. 
  2. Open a Chromecast-enabled app.
  3. Tap the Cast button Inactive cast extension .
  4. Tap the Google Home you'd like to cast to.
  5. When you're connected, the Cast button will turn color, letting you know you're connected.
  6. You can now cast audio to Google Home.
  7. To stop casting, tap the Cast button in the top right corner. Tap Stop Casting.

Note: Some music providers, like Spotify, require a subscription to play music from its Chromecast-enabled app. Also, YouTube content is only supported from the YouTube Music app (not the YouTube app) and you must have a YouTube Red account. YouTube Music is only available in the U.S. and Australia. 

Step 2. Control Chromecast-enabled apps using voice commands

The following commands should work with almost all Chromecast-enabled apps.

To do this... Say "Ok Google" or “Hey Google," then...
Pause  "Pause," "Pause the music"
Resume "Resume," "Continue playing"
Stop "Stop," "Stop the music"
What’s playing  “What’s playing?”, “What song is playing?”, “What artist is playing?”
Control volume  "Set volume to 5," "Set volume to 40%" 
Don't forget! Check out the advanced voice commands for Chromecast-enabled apps like Spotify, Google Play Music, and more. 

Other ways to control your music

You can also control music by touching the top surface of Google Home or by using the Google Home app. 

From the Google Home device
Google Home Google Home
To do this: Touch the device like this: Image
Play / Pause / Stop alarm or timer   Tap once on the top of the device
Turn up the volume 

Swipe clockwise on the top of the device.

Note: This only adjusts the volume of media. You can adjust alarms and timers volume anytime in the the Google Home app.
Turn down the volume 

Swipe counterclockwise on the top of the device.

Note: This only adjusts the volume of media and your Google Assistant. At volume level 0, all media will be muted but your Google Assistant will still speak at a minimum level.  It doesn’t adjust the volume of alarms and timers.
Start your request  Press and hold down on the top of the device
Google Home Mini Google Home Mini
To do this: Touch Google Home Mini like this: Image
Turn up the volume 

Tap on right side of Mini.

To reach maximum volume, tap to volume level 10.

Note: This only adjusts the volume of media and your Google Assistant. At volume level 0, all media will be muted but your Google Assistant will still speak at a minimum level.  It doesn’t adjust the volume of alarms and timers.
Turn down the volume 

Tap on left side of Mini. 

10 total taps will mute all audio except your Google Assistant.

Note: This only adjusts the volume of media and your Google Assistant. At volume level 0, all media will be muted but your Google Assistant will still speak at a minimum level.  It doesn’t adjust the volume of alarms and timers.
Play / Pause / Stop   

Note: You can't tap on the top of Mini to control media.

Instead, say "Ok Google <pause/play/stop>".

  
Start your request 

Note: You can't press and hold the top of Mini to start a request with your Assistant.

Instead, say "Ok Google" to start your request.

  
From the Google Home app
  1. Make sure your mobile device or tablet is connected to the same Wi-Fi as Google Home.
  2. Open the Google Home app Google Home app.
  3. In the top right corner of the Home screen, tap Devices Devices to see available Google Home devices. 
  4. Scroll to find the device card for the Google Home.

On the device card, you will see the following information for the current music session:

  • Content provider 
  • Title (song name / show episode name / radio station program)
  • Artist (if available)
  • Collection (playlist / album / show series / radio station) (if available)

You can also pause/resume, stop, and control Google Home’s internal speaker from the device card. 

Related Links

Play audio on speakers and TVs from Google Homes
Play video on TVs using Google Home
Listen to radio
Listen to podcasts
Control restricted content on Google Home

Elise is a Google Home expert and author of this help page. Leave her feedback below about the page.

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