By: Nick Gambino
Netflix just made another controversial decision that has subscribers up in arms. It was reported a few days ago that the streamer removed the ability for people to cast from their smartphone to a TV. Why would they do that? Well, that’s a good question.
Subscribers who regularly cast to a TV from their Android or iPhone suddenly found the casting button just gone – poof. There were reports that some people were still able to cast using old devices, but it wasn’t clear what was working and what wasn’t.
Netflix didn’t break this news to anyone or give any sort of heads up. They simply removed the casting option and updated a Help article deep on their support page stating that you can’t cast to a TV. Not cool, Netflix.
“Netflix no longer supports casting shows from a mobile device to most TVs and TV-streaming devices,” the article said. “You’ll need to use the remote that came with your TV or TV-streaming device to navigate Netflix.”
Once this made the rounds on the internet and ticked off those users who were blindsided by the removal of the TV casting option, there was some fancy footwork on Netflix’s part. The article no longer contains this statement. It’s been updated to be more friendly and roundabout.
“If you tap the cast button, but aren’t seeing your cast-compatible device, it means a setting or network issue is stopping Netflix from finding your device on your Wi-Fi network,” the article now reads. Note the slick way they fit the words “cast-comptaible device” in there.
As news continued to spread and angry customers took to Reddit, Netflix updated their Help article as above and also listed all the devices that are still technically compatible with TV casting. Of course these are all older gen models, indicating this is truly a feature Netflix is trying to dead.
But why would they remove this convenient feature from the mobile Netflix app? You would think it was somehow related to password and account sharing which the streaming platform has started diligently policing. However, a Netflix spokesperson stated that one has nothing to do with the other. They simply retired the casting feature because not enough people were using it.
Whatever the reason, it’s not one that feels customer-forward. They just made things harder for many of us who want the easy option to cast from our phone when we need to.
