Chromecast connected to wifi, but not interacting with devices

I understand some buildings are able to use Chromecast so we purchased one for our building. While setting it up it connected to the building wi-fi and recognized my phone as being on the same wi-fi network. However, it said the router settings would not allow the devices to interact. I have attached a picture of the steps it gave to fix the problem. I spoke with our STS and he said he didn't know how to fix it. Can anyone tell us how to fix this? Do we need to talk to our FM?

Picture text:
Step 1: Disable Access Point/AP isolation, also known as Client isolation or guest mode, on your router
- Your wi-fi network configuration preventsdevices from communicating with Chromecast. In order to resolve this issue, you will need to disable AP (access point) isolation, also known as client isolation, on your router. Please refer to your router documentation to learn how to disable AP isolation.
- If you do not have access to your router settings, or if you are attempting to connect theough a guest, hotel or public network with AP/client isolation, you will be unable to set up your Chromecast.
- If you are attempting to connect through a wi-fi extender, please check your extender settings. You need to disable SP isolation on your wi-fi extender before setting up Chromecast to work with your wi-fi network.

Step 2: Enable UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) also known as Mulitcast on your router.
- UPnP (Universal Plug and Play), also known as multicast, allows for the discovery of UPnP enabled devices on the same wi-fi network.
- You will need to enable the UPnP in your router settings. Pleae refer to your router manufacturer's documentation to learn how to enable UPnP on your router.

This will be tricky, since local stakes are not able to change settings on the Church-maintained firewall/router.

lajackson wrote:This will be tricky, since local stakes are not able to change settings on the Church-maintained firewall/router.

Very true. Even worse, the church will NOT consider changing the settings for any individual firewall. It would make it far too complicated to roll out new firmware updates. In other words, I hope you have a good return policy for your Chromecast device.

Mikerowaved wrote:

lajackson wrote:This will be tricky, since local stakes are not able to change settings on the Church-maintained firewall/router.

Very true. Even worse, the church will NOT consider changing the settings for any individual firewall. It would make it far too complicated to roll out new firmware updates. In other words, I hope you have a good return policy for your Chromecast device.

I understand they won't make firewall changes. Why are there posts about others being able to use Chromecast? Don't we all have the same settings? If I must return the Chromecast how do we help teachers connect devices that only allow casting?

I'm not sure how the network can prevent two items on the same WiFi network from interacting. It may be that the system wants to "phone home" and is getting blocked.

Those who are successful, may be using some kind of point-to-point wireless and not using the meetinghouse network.

BrendaWagner wrote:Why are there posts about others being able to use Chromecast? Don't we all have the same settings? If I must return the Chromecast how do we help teachers connect devices that only allow casting?

Beginning at this post and that post and earlier in each of those threads, there may be some clues as to how they are doing it.

My stake purchased a Chromecast for each meetinghouse in the stake earlier this year. I was able to get it to work when I was the only person in the building, but not while any number of other Wi-Fi users occupied the building. So for now, it just sits on the shelf. I wasn't streaming a video. I had downloaded a video to my phone, and then cast it from my phone to the Chromecast.

drepouille wrote:I was able to get it to work when I was the only person in the building, but not while any number of other Wi-Fi users occupied the building.

You might try it again after the Cisco APs have been replaced. It might have been something to do with the number of connections that AP could support.

When other members were in the meetinghouse, and I cast a video from my phone to the Chromecast, it looked more like a buffering issue, rather than a connection issue. I certainly hope that casting a video that has already been downloaded does not require any external internet packets. The casting should all be done within the LAN, and not require any WAN traffic.

drepouille wrote:When other members were in the meetinghouse, and I cast a video from my phone to the Chromecast, it looked more like a buffering issue, rather than a connection issue. I certainly hope that casting a video that has already been downloaded does not require any external internet packets. The casting should all be done within the LAN, and not require any WAN traffic.

But Chromecasting still requires a connection between your phone and the TV set - which I believe requires the services of the AP. If the AP is saturated with connections, that may be what's causing the problem. When the new APs roll out, that may fix your problem.

You might also look at the WiFi channels being used. It might also be that another AP is on that channel and the combined traffic is overloading it. Espeically if someone brings in an older devices that forces the channel to drop to an older standerd with a lower thoughput rate. Not much you can do about channels since the APs pick it themselves, but it would give you some hints.

Channel selection has always been my biggest complaint about our meetinghouse WAPs. We have no way to change the channel to avoid conflicts with neighbors, and the WAPs apparently don't care if neighbors are using the same channel.

drepouille wrote:Channel selection has always been my biggest complaint about our meetinghouse WAPs. We have no way to change the channel to avoid conflicts with neighbors, and the WAPs apparently don't care if neighbors are using the same channel.

I think the APs change channels based on the amount of traffic. I don't think they search for the best channel, they just move if they find the channel congested. As a result, their pick may not match what our tools show based on signal strength (like WiFi Analyzer).

russellhltn wrote:Those who are successful, may be using some kind of point-to-point wireless and not using the meetinghouse network.

It's very possible they're doing something like what's described in this article:

How to use Chromecast without Wi-Fi

While the title is a bit misleading, the Chromecast device basically creates its own mini wireless network and invites [beacons] other devices to connect to it. None of the devices need to be connected to the local network to make it work, hence, no router/firewall interference issues.

Another option is to find a device that supports Miracast/Wireless display as it does not need the be on the wifi (like the chromecast) but is based off of Wifi direct an just make a direction connection from the Miracast enabled device to a Miracast receiver (like an Actiontec or Diamond Multimedia model for example) It sounds like the chromecast may not the best solution in the meetinghouse due to the dependence on a building wifi (in the default setup of the chromecast reciever), but may be an option at home if desired. Miracast usually is found in Window 8.x and Windows 10 devices (not Windows 7) including Windows phone and Windows 10 mobile devices. For Andriod, it really depends if it has that feature or not. Just another alternative to consider.