Mine still "work" but something changed around 2017 and they became so unreliable I don't bother any more.

The Chromecast to Device connection is lost after about 10 minutes, making all controls not work. Can't pause, skip, select a new episode, etc.

The fix is seemingly random - maybe 50% of the time recasting from the app (Netflix, Hulu, etc) works. 30% of the time mucking around in the Google Home app will work, and 20% of the time I just have to unplug it.

Near as I can tell it's agnostic of client device, casting app, Chromecast gen (I've got 3 different versions around), or router.

We've kindof just given up and gone back to Roku.

I bought two of them and loved them for a couple years, at least for the content it opened up.

However casting was unreliable. I never figured it out but I remember posting on HN about it years ago and other people had the same complaint.

Then the YouTube app on my android phone would hang or crash. My Android phone kinda rotted after 4 years or so. I had a dedicated one for chromecast.

Now I just use a wireless keyboard and an Ubuntu box connected to the TV. Works quite well, I can get all the apps and content I want through the browser.

The only issue I have with OG Chromecasts is that YouTube channels with 1080p60 videos tend to make the system stutter like crazy. Other than that the original Chromecasts I bought still work pretty much flawlessly.

i feel so sorry for your wireless network. They used an ancient chip that totally soaks airtime.