Google has launched a new $15 accessory for Chromecast which allows users to hook it up with an Ethernet lead to avoid that troublesome Wi-Fi dropout.
The Google Chromecast is a handy bit of kit, a compact and portable gadget which is able to magically (via Wi-Fi) transform any TV with an HDMI port into a smart TV for media streaming from smartphone and tablet apps such as Netflix and YouTube.
In theory this is a great concept and for just £30 you can’t really go wrong with it. But there are reports where streamers using the Chromecast have experienced picture break-up, lagging and on some occasions the content has just frozen, requiring the device to be completely reset.
This issue, that has troubled owners since the arrival of the Chromecast in July 2013 initially in the USA, has been down to the gadget’s receptiveness (or lack thereof) when it comes to the data-carrying wireless signal. An extender is provided in the box with the Chromecast that quite often does the trick but on rare occasions it’s not enough to resolve the problem. But Google is finally offering a work around in the form of an official Ethernet adapter.
The Chromecast Ethernet adapter is basically a power adapter that features an Ethernet port thus allowing it to be connected with a LAN network cable from a modem. The network cable (not supplied) gives the Chromecast its internet data directly and more reliably than Wi-Fi, while the other non-removable lead comes out of the adapter and goes into the Chromecast’s power input port to give the gadget its charge.
Unfortunately the Chromecast Ethernet adapter is not yet available over here (despite being shown with a UK 3-point plug) but like the Chromecast itself we expect it to arrive a short time later. For those who can get one now, it’s up on the Google Store and will solve your network connection woes for a lowly $15.