If your internet connection has been going down, your Google Home and Chromecast devices could be to blame.
If your internet connection has been going down, your Google Home and Chromecast devices could be to blame. The issue initially seemed to be relegated only to those who owned the Google Home Max speaker and TP-Link Archer C7 router. New issues have been reported involving other devices by both companies, and with routers from other brands, like Asus, Linksys, Netgear, and Synology.
The issue, according to TP-Link, stemmed from the line of Google Cast products. The Cast feature normally sends packets of information at regular intervals to keep a live connection with products like Google Home. However, if the device is awakened from a «sleep» mode, it will sometimes send a burst of information at once, which can overwhelm a router. The longer a Cast device has been in «sleep» mode, the more information it might send at once. According to the engineer, that could exceed over 100,000 packets, an amount that «may eventually cause some of router’s primary features to shut down — including wireless connectivity.»
TP-Link has fixed the issue in one model of its router, the C1200, but a broader fix from Google’s end has not been found. Google tells 9to5Google it is «working quickly to share a solution,» but as of now, the only recourse would be to reboot your router if you encounter this problem or disconnect your Cast device altogether if it’s not in use.
More from The Verge:
