Some Chromecast users may worry that the device doesn’t have an on/off button, and they don’t want to leave it on all the time. Well, it’s pretty simple to turn off Chromecast, but there are good reasons why you shouldn’t. In this post, we address the subject in more depth.
How to turn off Chromecast?
When you turn off your computer, Chromecast goes into standby mode. It continues to receive electrical current, even though it is not working. The same happens when we change the TV to the HDMI input in use, when we exit the Chromecast’s HDMI to activate the cable TV port or the antenna TV port (open).
You need to effectively turn off Chromecast (apart from unplugging it from the mains, which is a pretty obvious option) to click on the Chromecast icon on your device (computer, smartphone, or tablet). There, in the scrollable menu that appears, you click on the item to end the transmission.
If you have a device in the Google Home family and a Chromecast connected on the same WiFi network, there are other options. You can use voice commands to turn Chromecast on or off. The only two requirements are: 1) the TV where Chromecast is installed must support HDMI-CEC and with this option enabled, and 2) you must have Chromecast connected to the mains, not the TV’s USB port (for that the TV is independent of Chromecast in operation).
The Advantages of Keeping Chromecast On
Some arguments are quite interesting in favor of leaving Chromecast always connected and active, or in standby mode.
For users who are very concerned about energy consumption, the arguments below can help to reassure:
1. It’s super efficient: Chromecast consumes little energy, and the theoretical expenditure as if it were a ‘ghost consumption’ is somewhat anecdotal.
2. Transparent updates: Always being connected results in updates being installed as soon as they become available, and the device is always ready to use when we need it.
3. Preserve the health of your HDMI port: The physical design of this port is not designed to connect and disconnect devices all the time. For this reason, some products have an HDMI cable extender to prevent the dongle from suffering potential physical damage.4. HDMI-CEC: This standard allows you to control the TV from the HDMI device connected to the screen (provided, of course, there is support for this technology), and makes Chromecast receive the signal sent from the smartphone, turning the TV on automatically.