Over the weekend, multiple second-generation Chromecast devices turned into fancy paperweights without warning. Users took to Reddit to express their frustration and confusion, and a trend soon became clear: only the second-gen models were affected, while first- and third-gen devices continued to work without a hiccup.
Many initially thought Google had ceased support for the devices, but the search giant has made no indication of its intent to stop support. However, Google has said that it is aware of an issue with Chromecast devices and is working on a fix. The root cause of the glitch isn’t clear, but it seems the problem lies with Google and not the end user; in other words, you might just have to wait for a server-side fix to roll out.
According to Reddit user u/tchebb, the cause is the expiration of the Chromecast’s device authentication certificate. By digging through Chrome error logs, u/tchebb was able to narrow down at least part of the problem to an intermediate certificate authority, or CA. The CA was set to expire on March 9, 2025 — and it looks like it did.
The problem arises when you try to cast content to the Chromecast. This results in an error message: “Untrusted device: [name] couldn’t be verified. This could be caused by outdated device firmware.” The error message doesn’t allow you to move beyond that point; all you can do is close out of the dialog box. This reportedly happens with apps like YouTube, and the timing comes at a particularly bad time since many Pixel users report screen brightness issues since the most recent update.
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Let us repeat: This message doesn’t mean support is ending for Chromecast devices. Even Google has confirmed there is a problem with the second-gen Chromecast and a solution is already in progress. The company has a history of killing off devices, but it announces the end of support before shutting off service. Google announced it would stop support the first-gen Chromecast in May 2023, but those devices still work today.
With any luck, Google will resolve the issue and your streaming device should begin working again before long.
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