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We’re all familiar with how companies cripple their older devices as time goes on to push people to buy the newer models. Apple (and later Samsung) slowing down their older iPhones is just one example of this. Now, it seems that Google broke the YouTube app on the original Chromecast to get the same effect.
Google introduced the Chromecast almost exactly nine years ago. That’s about 70 in tech years. While that was so long ago, there are still people rocking the first-generation devices, and they seem to be doing just fine.
Google broke the YouTube app on the original Chromecast
Actually, they WERE doing just fine until a couple of days ago. A user posted a tweet regarding an issue they had with their original Chromecast. The tweet shows the user’s TV showing the sign in screen for YouTube. The next image shows the message reading “Can’t sign in. You can still watch YouTube as a guest on this TV while you share videos, add comments, and more from your mobile device.”
At first, this seemed like a software bug, but the official Team YouTube Twitter responded and confirmed that it was on purpose. “…this is intentional. Signing in directly to YT on older Chromecast devices is not supported anymore.”
In essence, Google broke the YouTube app on its original Chromecast in order to bring more people over to newer devices. That’s unfortunate, as the older devices seem to be working just fine. This means that an update was sent just a few days ago that disallows the YouTube app to work while signed in.
You can still watch YouTube while not signed in. However, you won’t have access to your history, preferences, recommendations, or anything else you get when you sign in. No doubt, Google will get some criticism over this. If you’re planning on upgrading to a newer Chromecast device, you’ll be able to find some that aren’t too expensive.