How To Use Chromecast With IPad: Complete Guide

My cousin’s children love their iPad and watch all their kids’ shows after they are done with the day.

She, my cousin that is, got a new 75-inch OLED TV just for movies and TV, and she wanted to let her kids enjoy their cartoons on the big screen.

Giving them the remote wasn’t possible, so she came to me to find out if I could use her Chromecast-enabled TV to get the content on the iPad onto it.

I accepted her request, and before going over to her home, I sat down for a few hours of thorough research on the topic by going to Apple’s and Chromecast’s support pages and asking around on the user forums for more practical advice.

After I was done with my research, I compiled everything I found and went over to help her; finally managing to get the iPad mirrored to her TV over Chromecast.

This article contains everything that I had found that works and a few pointers so that you’ll easily be able to use Chromecast from your iPad.

To use your Chromecast with your iPad, install the Google Home app on the iPad and start casting from any Chromecast supported app.

Read on to find out why I recommend AirPlay over Chromecast and some of the common issues you might run into when using Chromecast.

Setting Up Chromecast

If this is your first time using your new Chromecast, you’ll need to set it up before using it.

If you have already set up the Chromecast or Chromecast enabled TV with another device; you won’t need to go through these steps again.

These steps apply to both Chromecast streaming devices, and Chromecast enabled Google TVs.

To set up your new Chromecast or Chromecast enabled TV:

• Plug in the Chromecast if it’s the stick. Otherwise, turn your Google TV on.
• Install the Google Home app on your iPad from the Apple App Store.
• Launch the Google Home app and log in to your Google account.
• Make sure the iPad is in the same network you’re going to connect the TV too.
• Turn on Bluetooth on your iPad. You can also proceed with the set-up over Wi-Fi. Tap No thanks, then connect the iPad to your Wi-Fi network if you wish to.
• Let the Google Home app discover your Chromecast or Chromecast enabled TV.
• Make sure the privacy settings on the Bluetooth feature on your iPad is set to be open for anyone on the same local network. Go to your Bluetooth settings to do so.
• Follow the steps in the Google Home app and the Chromecast itself to set it up for use.

There might be some issues for iPads running iOS 14 where they run into a local network access error when setting up.

To fix this, try restarting the Chromecast as well as the iPad.

After setting up the device with your iPad, you are ready to start casting content.

How To Cast From Your iPad

Now that you’ve finished setup and the Chromecast is ready to go, you can begin to cast the content that you want to watch.

To do this:

• Make sure the Chromecast or Chromecast enabled TV and your iPad is on the same Wi-Fi network.
• Open the app you want to cast to your TV on the iPad.
• Look for a Cast icon; it looks like the icon on the left side of the picture above. Do this when the content is being played.

• Tap the icon.
• Select your TV from the list of devices.
• Wait for the TV and iPad to establish the connection.

You can stop, pause and resume with your TV or Chromecast controls and the controls on the iPad.

Tap the Cast icon again once you’re done casting and select your device from the list.

What Can You Cast From Your iPad Over Chromecast

The most important thing you’ll need to know when using Chromecast is that it cannot share or mirror the entire screen to your TV.

You can only cast from one app at a time, so make sure you have the app open before you start casting.

You can also cast tabs from your Chrome browser to your TV in addition to being able to cast from any streaming service.

Having an app that can cast content will depend on how the app deals with casting, so while some apps are open to being cast to a big screen, some may not work because of copyright reasons.

You’ll need to check with each app to know if they can be cast, but rest assured, all popular ones like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and the like let you cast to your TV from your iPad.

Guest Mode For Chromecast

Chromecast has a guest mode that allows guests in your home to cast content from their devices temporarily.

Guest mode keeps them away from your Wi-Fi network, but they can still be cast to your Chromecast or Chromecast enabled TV.

To enable Guest Mode on the host device:

1. Open the Google Home app.
2. Select your Chromecast or Chromecast enabled TV.
3. Tap the Settings cog on the top right of the screen.
4. Go to Recognition & sharing > Guest mode.
5. Turn Guest mode on.

Make your guests follow the steps below so that they can start casting:

1. Make sure the device is connected to the internet. You can use a different Wi-Fi network or your mobile data connection.
2. Open Settings.
3. Go to Google > Device connections.
4. Then go to Cast options, then Guest mode.
5. Allow Google to scan your network to find compatible Chromecasts.
6. Launch any app that has Chromecast features and tap the Cast icon.
7. Tap Nearby devices, and follow the steps to connect.
8. Enter the PIN that you’ll get from your host to finish connecting.

Guest mode will automatically turn off after two hours, even if you’re casting at the moment after the two hours are over.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

You might run into issues when using Chromecast with your iPad, but you can fix the most common issues pretty quickly.

Restart Your iPad

If you’re having trouble casting, you can try restarting your iPad to fix the issue.

To do this:

1. For iPads without a Home button, press and hold either volume button and the power button until the slider appears. Press and hold the power button at the top for those with a Home button.
2. Drag the slider across and wait for the iPad to turn off
3. Press and hold the top button to turn the iPad back on.

Try casting again to see if the issue comes back.

Restart Chromecast

You can do the same restart with the Chromecast as well.

To do this:

1. Open the Google Home app.
2. Tap the Chromecast.
3. Go to the device’s settings. If you can’t access the device settings, try restarting the Google Home app.
4. Then go to More settings > Reboot.

To do this for Chromecast enabled TVs, turn the TV off and back on again.

After restarting the Chromecast, check if the casting issues were fixed.

For simple things like listening to music or podcasts, you can connect to your Chromecast via Bluetooth.

Restart Your Router

When restarting your router and Chromecast doesn’t work in fixing the issue, you can try restarting your router.

To do this:

1. Unplug your router from the wall after turning it off.
2. Wait for at least 30 seconds.
3. Plug the router back in and turn it on.
4. Wait for all the lights to come back on.

Wait some more so that the Chromecast and your TV can finish connecting to the Wi-Fi.

Try casting again to see if the fix worked.

Reset Chromecast

If all else fails, you can factory reset your Chromecast, but doing this will restore the device to factory defaults and will get logged out of all accounts associated with the device.

You’ll have to set up the Chromecast again after resetting, so make sure you understand the consequences.

To reset your Chromecast:

1. Go to Settings on your Chromecast.
2. Scroll all the way down to System, and then select About.
3. Then select Factory reset to begin the process.

After the factory reset, the device will restart and take you back to the initial setup screen.

Final Thoughts

iPads and iPhones work well with Chromecast, but the issue that is most often talked about is the setup that you need to do to start casting.

This is noticeable, especially with the fact that AirPlay exists.

It is Apple’s native casting protocol which lets you mirror your entire screen and has the rest of the features that the Chromecast has.

Most TVs today support both Chromecast and AirPlay, so if you have an Apple device, I would always recommend you use AirPlay instead for a more seamless experience.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Will Chromecast work with iPad?

Chromecasts are compatible with iPad; all you have to do is play the content you want.

Look for a cast iron on the player controls and tap it to cast to your Chromecast from your iPad.

Can I mirror my iPad to my TV with Chromecast?

There isn’t any native method to mirror your iPad to your TV over Chromecast.

You’ll need third-party remotes to do so, and you’re better off using AirPlay instead for mirroring.

Can you AirPlay to Chromecast?

You cannot AirPlay to your Chromecast because both are different casting protocols.

To cast your device to a Chromecast, you’ll have to do so from any of the Chromecast-supported apps you have installed.

Do I need Chromecast if I have AirPlay?

Even though Chromecast handles audio and video slightly better than AirPlay, the difference in quality between the two is a good enough tradeoff for the convenience that AirPlay brings to the table.