Your Chromecast or Google Home Might Be Screwing Up Your Wi-Fi

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rgMekanic

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Google Home and Chromecast devices are reportedly knocking out people's Wi-Fi. Originally reported by Android Police, the problem was thought to be isolated to the Google Home Max, and the TP-Link Archer C7 router. However there are now reports from users experiencing the same issues with different models and brands of routers, as well as less expensive Google Home devices.

I must admit, I don't understand the appeal or the need for a product like the Google Home, this is a serious problem that will hopefully be resolved by Google quickly, especially if products as ubiquitous as the Chromecast are affected.

A TP-link engineer explains the issue on their FAQ.

This issue stems from these devices’ “Cast” feature, which sends MDNS multicast discovery packets in order to discover and keep a live connection with Google products such as Google Home. These packets normally sent in a 20-second interval. However, we have discovered that the devices will sometimes broadcast a large amount of these packets at a very high speed in a short amount of time. This occurs when the device is awakened from its “sleep” state, and could exceed more than 100,000 packets. The longer your device is in “sleep”, the larger this packet burst will be. This issue may eventually cause some of router’s primary features to shut down – including wireless connectivity.
 
OMFG. Could this be causing my spotty wifi suddenly? My wifi would suddenly drop out even when i'm next to my router.
 
Sums these speakers up nicely:
 

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My max stream 1900ac linksys does this and the system needs rebooted.

Told my bro to unplug his chrome cast when its off. Everytime the Wi-Fi goes down that stupid thing is plugged in it magically causes the router to go bonkers if it has been more than a day.
 
I should test this, I just bought a TP-Link AD7200 and a ChromeCast and my WiFi has always been spottier than my previous router. It works great after first boot (very fast speeds/low latency) but within a week or two the 5ghz will just completely shut off or there will be other intermittent problems.

Going to check again for new firmware and try it out.
 
Something post-xmas has recently been knocking out my dad's wifi, and we're about to wire up instead, pita.
 
"I must admit, I don't understand the appeal or the need for a product like the Google Home"

How are you a writer here yet don't understand this?
 
I think these devices are stupid, and I will never have one.

That being said, I can understand how this error occurred.

It seems like a code error results in multicast packets not being sent while the device is asleep, get sent all at once when the device is woken up overwhelming the router.

Easy mistake to make, should be an easy mistake to fix.
 
Google Home, Google Home Mini and 4 Chomecasts in our house that never shut off. Thankfully I haven't experienced anything like this. I'm using the standard FiOS Quantum router.
 
jnmunsey said:
"I must admit, I don't understand the appeal or the need for a product like the Google Home"

How are you a writer here yet don't understand this?
Click to expand...

I'm 100% with him.

Huge fan of tech, have multi thousand dollar desktops and servers in my home. Into everything from gaming, to overclocking, to audio setups, to networked attached storage and Virtualization. As tech goes, I'm up there.

Personal assistants however? They seem like a complete waste of time effort and money to me. Nothing about them appeals to me, and the risks of having one seem unacceptably high. They are silly fad of a trinket to me, and the sooner they die off and go away the better.

If I want to know something, I'd much rather sit down with a mouse and keyboard and search for my exact search terms and expressions. I don't trust any AI to get it right and properly interpret what I want or need. I never want to relinquish this control.

It is the equivalent of - in the 90's - saying "Hey, you are into gaming, how can you not love Tamagochi's?"
 
criccio said:
For some people who like technology, its a fun product. Not everything in the world is about solving a problem. We're enthusiasts.
Click to expand...

What is fun about it? Paying a company with questionable ideology to record everything in my home then blow up my router when sending it back to the mothership doesn't sound like something I would get enthusiastic about.

EDIT: I guess it could be "fun" if you enjoy troubleshooting your network o_O
 
I just don't look at it that way. It was $30, i can ask it to remind me to stop the oven or pick someone up without touching my phone. Its as simple as that for me. If it's recording everything that happens in my home and sending it back to the "mothership"... eh, is it, really? Reallly? Is some dude listening to the hundreds of thousands of people jerk off? Comon.

Either way, you don't have to buy one.
 
rgMekanic said:
What is fun about it? Paying a company with questionable ideology to record everything in my home then blow up my router when sending it back to the mothership doesn't sound like something I would get enthusiastic about.

EDIT: I guess it could be "fun" if you enjoy troubleshooting your network o_O
Click to expand...
So what companies have infallible ideology? You pick your poison. You can live in a hole and keep your information safe until Equifax leaks it, or you can make educated risks and give Microsoft, Google, and Apple some information to make your digital life simpler.

I want to set a timer, I call out to the Home Mini and it sets one. I remember I need a new alarm for tomorrow morning, I just tell it to set one and it does. It controls my TV without needing to find the remote. It turns my lights on and off, and it plays music when I just want some background noise.

It doesn't really fulfill a need because my smartphone can do all these things in one way or another. But it does make doing all these things easier, especially when I've left my phone in another room.

As far as privacy concerns go, I'm not really worried. Google can have my information and feed me targeted ads. I couldn't care less. You want to hear me talk about my shitty job or get some, by all means, listen in. I'm just a number in a database.

I'm not going to knock someone for having privacy concerns, in fact, when people ask me about these kinds of devices, I tell them as much. I don't have any fucks to give personally.
 
I am as big of a nerdy-tech-geek as anyone, but all I see in these devices is the ability to further intrude on my privacy. It does not matter if they are doing it now, they have the ability to do it all the time and I am not going to put my trust in any company whose revenue stream is augmented, or solely based, on knowing everything there is to know about me.

By the way, that last part is paraphrased from Google's mission statement.
 
Ehh chromecast I like, worked well for the longest time as a Plex streaming agent. Very cheap yet effective.

Eventually replaced it with a mini itx once enough parts were upgraded throughout the house.
 
Hakaba said:
Ehh chromecast I like, worked well for the longest time as a Plex streaming agent. Very cheap yet effective.

Eventually replaced it with a mini itx once enough parts were upgraded.
Click to expand...

I agree completely with this, Chromecast serves a purpose, I have an HTPC in my main living/threatre room, but for the gym or bedroom, devices like the chromecast are excellent, affordable options vs. building a PC.

Home or Alexa? Nah.
 
Yeah, the Chromecasts at this point are the only HDMI devices plugged into two of my TVs. They're used constantly. Super convenient for the price.
 
I have had a Chromecast for a good while and have had no issues. But I turned my NetGear R7000 into a switch/wireless access point and bought a Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X.

Smart phones are constantly listening, else how would it know you said, "Ok Google"? If there can be money made by our devices listening to us then it will happen.
 
otherweeb said:
For First Worlders it is the most immediate immediate gratification possible. Coming soon, Amazon Teleports for those who hate waiting for shipping.
Click to expand...

I kind of agree, but Teleportation from Amazon could be handy, pump goes out in my PC, I'm not waiting 48 hours to get up and running again, broke your cordless vibrating nipple clips? New set arrives before you can go {s}

Solves a problem ;)
 
I come from a security background. Remember the ban of FURBIES?

This thing is just a Furby that's been skinned.

They're essentially voluntary spying devices.

I don't care HOW functional or entertaining they are. I simply don't want one and refuse to allow one in my home or at my place of work for security reasons.
And I am working in a place where security doesn't necessarily need to be "airtight".
But I have a few clients whose security makes government projects look like some granny on a Windows 95 machine straight-lined into a cablemodem with no firewall or AV.
They'd basically pull their business if we had something like this in our main or one of our remote offices. (We've been told this explicitly.)
 
I'd love it if 1o57 would chime in on one of the Allexa/Home/ IOT type threads with his massive knowledge and drop a truth bomb on all of us.

Paging 1o57 :)
 
If I ever engage in something illegal or shady or start handling government secrets I'll probably get rid of my IOT devices. Until then if I lose my phone my thermostat can ring it and Google knows what I search for and caches it.

One day I may run for a public office and my Google history will just indicate I do what other guys do.

Again nothing sensative or shady so I am fine.

My neighbor on the other hand needs to stop using his spy van. Knocks my Wi-Fi out :(
 
WiFi, at least in crowded areas, is likely doomed. Too many devices too close to each other with too few channels. Many built as cheaply as possible with crap firmware. One fubar device can pretty much screw up a lot of folk's networks and they won't know why.
 
Never once seen an ad on my Chromecast. So... not sure what you're on about (but I'm sure you probably more meant the Google Home thing).

LigTasm said:
Nah its just got to send everything it recorded in a burst to the servers back home so they can tailor some more ads for your dynamic life experience.
Click to expand...
 
By that logic (and I'm just being pedantic here), you could say. What's the fun in dealing with water cooling? It's a whole bunch of extra money, added weight, and it might leak all over your case and destroy your computer. Just so you can run a bit faster?

I'm only saying that because that's the kind of logic you just expressed here. NOT because I think water cooling is "useless". ;P

There are people who like to buy some things and figure out novel things they can do with them. Tinkering, perhaps you've heard of it? (you better have, or you should revisit which website you contribute to)

rgMekanic said:
What is fun about it? Paying a company with questionable ideology to record everything in my home then blow up my router when sending it back to the mothership doesn't sound like something I would get enthusiastic about.

EDIT: I guess it could be "fun" if you enjoy troubleshooting your network o_O
Click to expand...
 
Are... you hiring?

Chas said:
I come from a security background. Remember the ban of FURBIES?

This thing is just a Furby that's been skinned.

They're essentially voluntary spying devices.

I don't care HOW functional or entertaining they are. I simply don't want one and refuse to allow one in my home or at my place of work for security reasons.
And I am working in a place where security doesn't necessarily need to be "airtight".
But I have a few clients whose security makes government projects look like some granny on a Windows 95 machine straight-lined into a cablemodem with no firewall or AV.
They'd basically pull their business if we had something like this in our main or one of our remote offices. (We've been told this explicitly.)
Click to expand...
 
Also, I have a bunch of Chromecasts, and I actually may have observed this quite a few times (not 100% sure).
 
LOL I have like 3 archer c7’s spread around.

No google homes though.
 
criccio said:
I just don't look at it that way. It was $30, i can ask it to remind me to stop the oven or pick someone up without touching my phone. Its as simple as that for me. If it's recording everything that happens in my home and sending it back to the "mothership"... eh, is it, really? Reallly? Is some dude listening to the hundreds of thousands of people jerk off? Comon.

Either way, you don't have to buy one.
Click to expand...

So data from an Amazon Echo has been used to prosecute crimes, right? That doesn't make you concerned? Amazon and Google routinely hand over info to the DOJ. How long before people are investigated for things said out of context? You wanted to watch "How to get away with murder" but your kid misremembered the title and instead asked "How to cover up a murder?"

So "who cares if Google Home is listening to you have off?" Well fellatio is still illegal in 13 states. Your birthday blowie just gets that much more exciting when you can get prosecuted for it.

Yeah I'm paranoid but I'm really only connecting dots. Very real dots about things I care about, things like BJs.

BloodyIron said:
Also, I have a bunch of Chromecasts, and I actually may have observed this quite a few times (not 100% sure).
Click to expand...

Got a couple of Chromcasts myself and an Archer router. Wonder if this is what cause my every other week router lockup?
 
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