The firmware of any device is a crucial governing factor for the user experience it can offer. If you own multiple streaming devices by the same manufacturer keeping the firmware of your smart devices up to date is quintessential. Not only will this allow the devices in the environment to communicate seamlessly but also help you in getting the most out of the smart ecosystem.

Using a device with an older firmware can degrade your user experience and also provide lesser functionality when compared with devices running newer versions. So if you are planning to replace your older streaming device because of its deteriorated performance, getting a new firmware before making that decision is a good idea.

For devices like Googles Chromecast, firmware updates are pushed to devices automatically, and in most cases, your device will be running the newest firmware available. Due to this reason, you can’t look for updates using the Google Home app and if you are stuck on an older version of firmware things can get a little frustrating. If for some reason, your Chromecast is not up to date you can follow any of the three guides given below to update its firmware

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How to check the current and latest firmware for Chromecast?

Before updating the firmware on your Chromecast, it is a good idea to check the firmware running on your device and if updates are available or not. To check the firmware on your Google Chromecast, follow the steps given below.

• Open the Google Home app on your device
• Select the device whose firmware you want to check
• Tap on the Settings icon on the top right corner to open device settings
• Scroll down to find the Cast firmware version of your device

Click here to check the latest versions of firmware available for your Chromecast. If you have an older version installed, follow the steps given below to update the firmware of your Chromecast

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Reboot your Chromecast

Rebooting your Chromecast will force it to restart and look for any updates available by contacting Google servers. To reboot your device follow the steps given below

• Open the Google Home app on your device
• Select the device you want to reboot
• Click on the Settings icon in the top right corner
• Click on the three dots menu icon at the top right corner
• Click on Reboot in the drop-down menu

Once your device has rebooted, you can check the firmware of your device to make sure if it has upgraded or not. If for some reason your Chromecast did not update to the newest version you can force it to look for an update by using your PC in the guide below.

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Fetching updates for Chromecast using Windows power shell

To force your Chromecast to look for updates online, you can use your computer connected to the same network as your Chromecast. To update your Chromecast, you will have to look for its IP address; follow the steps given below

• Open the Google Home app on your device
• Select the device whose IP address you want to check
• Click on the Settings icon on the top right corner to open device settings
• Scroll down to find the IP address of your device

Once you have the IP address head over to you windows computer and follow these steps

Step 1: Click on the Start menu and search for PowerShell

Step 2: Once PowerShell is open type the following command in the window and place your Chromecast’s IP address and remove the square brackets.

 Invoke-WebRequest -Method Post -ContentType "application/json" -Body '{"params": "ota foreground"}' -Uri "http://[YOUR_CHROMECAST_IP]:8008/setup/reboot" -Verbose -UserAgent "curl"  

This will force your Chromecast to look for updates and if your Chromecast cant find updates and is stuck while fetching then type the following command to restart your Chromecast.

Invoke-WebRequest -Method Post -ContentType "application/json" -Body '{"params": "now"}' -Uri "http://[YOUR_CHROMECAST_IP]:8008/setup/reboot" -Verbose -UserAgent "curl" 

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Register your Chromecast in Google’s preview (beta) program

If your Chromecast did not update even after forcing it to look for updates, you could register for Googles preview program. This allows your Chromecast to run newer versions of firmware which is not available for the public users yet.

To register your device to the preview program, follow the steps below.

• Open the Google Home app on your device.
• Select the device..
• Click on the Settings icon on the top right corner to open device settings.
• Click on Preview Program under the Device settings.
• Click on Join Program to register your device in Google’s preview program.

After doing this, reboot your device and if it does not work, try to force-fetch the updates using the methods given above.

We hope that after trying all these methods, your Chromecast will be running the latest version firmware. If not, feel free to contact us using the comments section, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Also read: How to factory reset Google Chromecast?