If you are used to casting shows and movies from your mobile device to your TV or Chromecast using the Netflix app, the streaming platform has some bad news for you. Quietly and without any announcements, the company discontinued the casting feature, taking away the ability to cast movies regardless of your subscription tier.
According to one user on Reddit, a Netflix representative said that the change was implemented to "improve the customer experience," but the overwhelmingly negative tone on Reddit threads suggests the opposite. Many users claim that having the ability to cast shows from their mobile devices to Chromecasts or TVs is a much more user-friendly convenience, as they can do everything from their mobile device. How taking away this feature is supposed to enhance the user experience currently remains unknown.
Here is what Netflix says on the now-updated support page:
"Netflix no longer supports casting shows from a mobile device to most TVs and TV-streaming devices. You’ll need to use the remote that came with your TV or TV-streaming device to navigate Netflix."
The same page adds that casting is still supported on older Chromecast devices and TVs with Google Cast. However, you can only cast if you are on a more expensive plan without ads. If you are on an ad-supported subscription tier, no casting for you, even when you try to cast to supported devices:
"If you"re on an ad-supported experience, you won"t be able to use your TV as a display for Netflix content playing on your mobile device (casting or mirroring)."
You can read more about casting from the Netflix app on mobile devices on the official Netflix support website. It contains troubleshooting steps for those who do not see the casing button in the Netflix app on Android, iOS, Windows, or macOS.