For years, the ritual was simple: Check into your hotel room, connect your phone to the Wi-Fi, and tap a single button to beam the latest season of Stranger Things directly to the TV. It was a relatively frictionless way to bypass clunky hotel interfaces and avoid typing complex passwords into a laggy screen with a plastic remote. But as of this week, that convenience is largely history.
Netflix has quietly removed the ability to cast content from its mobile apps to the vast majority of modern TVs and streaming devices, according to the company’s updated help page, which was first spotted by Android Authority. The change effectively forces subscribers to abandon their phones as controllers and instead log in directly through the native Netflix app installed on their TV or dongle.
“Netflix no longer supports casting shows from a mobile device to most TVs and TV-streaming devices,” the company’s help page says. “You’ll need to use the remote that came with your TV or TV-streaming device to navigate Netflix.”
The rationale behind the move appears to be a forced migration toward native apps, which offer Netflix more control over the user interface, data collection, and ad delivery. While the company has not issued a press release explaining the strategic shift, a customer service representative allegedly told one Reddit user the decision was made “to improve the customer experience” and “if the device has its own remote, you can’t cast.” Netflix did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
This new restriction also aligns with a broader strategy of tightening control over how subscribers access the platform, most notably seen in the company’s aggressive crackdown on account sharing. Starting in 2023, Netflix’s “paid sharing” initiative put official rules into place allowing for one account to access a single “Netflix Household,” defined by the primary TV’s internet connection, which also forced users sharing credentials across different locations to either transfer their profile to a new subscription or pay an additional $7.99 per month for an “extra member” slot. The gamble paid off pretty well for Netflix: The company added more than 9 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2024 alone, and executives said the crackdown converted “freeloaders” into paying customers and became a primary engine for revenue growth.
The new change to casting, which began rolling out in mid-November before being confirmed on Monday, affects most modern hardware, including the popular Chromecast with Google TV and the new Google TV Streamer. If your streaming device has a physical remote and an on-screen interface, the “Cast” button will likely no longer appear in your Netflix app.
For travelers, this is a significant regression in usability. Casting let users keep all their credentials secure on their personal devices while viewing content on a larger screen. Now, if you have a newer streaming stick—or are using a smart TV for a brief period of time, like in an Airbnb or hotel room—you must manually enter your email and password using a physical remote control, a tedious process that can leave your log-in data on a shared device unless you make a point to remember to sign out.
There are a few exceptions to Netflix’s new rule, but they do come with their own caveats. Casting will still work on “legacy” hardware—specifically first-, second-, and third-generation Chromecasts and Google’s Chromecast Ultra—because those older dongles lack an on-screen interface or remote control. However, this feature works only if you’re a subscriber on the Standard or Premium tiers. If you are on the cheaper, ad-supported plan ($7.99/month), casting is now completely disabled across all devices, regardless of their age.
This isn’t the first time Netflix has severed a connection between phones and televisions to prioritize its own app ecosystem. As MacRumors points out, the streaming giant eliminated support for Apple’s AirPlay in 2019, citing “technical limitations” at the time. With this latest update, Netflix has effectively closed the loop, ensuring that for the vast majority of its 300-million-plus subscribers, the “second screen” experience is dead.
