If these days you tried to play your favorite series from your mobile phone to the TV and confusedly searched for the familiar icon for broadcasting (Cast), you are not the only one and it is not a question; about an application error. Netflix has confirmed what is already being rumored on the forums. weeks – the streaming giant has started shutting down support for Google Cast on newer devices, forcing users to change their viewing habits.
This change, which caught many off guard, marks the end of the era in which the smartphone served as the primary control; for selecting content on the big screen for users of modern streaming devices.
You will have to use the remote control.
The first indications of this change appeared in mid-November 2025, when users on Reddit began reporting the disappearance of the Cast button within the Netflix mobile application. Although at first it was thought that the wordč about the bug, the company soon updated its support page with a clear message.
“Netflix no longer supports streaming shows from a mobile device to most TVs and TV streaming devices. You will need to use the remote control that came with your TV or streaming device to navigate Netflix,” reads the official statement.
This is a drastic change compared to the previous practice, where the Cast function was one of the favorite ways to use the service due to the simplicity of searching on the touch screen.
Who is most affected?
The rule is actually very simple – if your streaming device has its own physical remote control; and interface on the screen, you can no longer “throw” a picture from your mobile phone onto it. This primarily applies to newer models such as Google TV Streamer and Chromecast with Google TV.
On the other hand, owners of older generations of Chromecasts (those models that functioned exclusively as signal receivers from mobile phones and did not have a remote control) are safe for now. Since these devices do not have the ability to run the original Netflix application, the company left them with the ability to watch, but the question is how long this support will last considering the age of the hardware.
Fighting against sharing and controlling ads
Although the user service states that they made this decision to “improve the user experience”, experts believe that the real reasons lie in technical and commercial aspects. Namely, Netflix alreadyć has been offering cheaper packages with advertisements for some time, and technically it is much more difficult to ensure correct display and the impossibility of skipping ads when the content is broadcast from a mobile phone than when it is played within the native application on the TV.
This is not the first time that Netflix has restricted wireless connections. Back in 2019, they ended support for AirPlay on iOS devices, and now a similar fate has befallen Google’s ecosystem. Also, users on packages with advertisements completely lose the ability to watch, even on older devices.
For most users, this means adjusting the “old-fashioned” way – pick up the remote, open the application on the TV and search for a movie there. Although it is less practical than typing on a mobile phone, it seems that Netflix has no plans to reverse this decision.