This $12 accessory gave my Chromecast with Google TV a new lease on life

It’s safe to say that the Chromecast with Google TV is a basic Android streaming device. It packs exactly one USB-C port used for powering the device and an HDMI tongue to output video — that’s it. This design, while perfect for travel and keeping cable mess to a minimum, is rubbish for those who perhaps want a little more functionality.

I wasn’t looking for everything and the kitchen sink when I purchased my Chromecast with Google TV, but rather a compact portal to streaming services I could use while traveling. I bring it along on road trips and plug it into my accommodation’s TV. This saves me from whipping out my laptop or logging into my accounts on a stranger’s TV, and also gives me far more control over the content I have access to. However, due to the untimely death of my media PC, I have used the device at home almost daily.

While the experience has been pretty solid thus far, the Chromecast with Google TV falls short of being a full-duty media center. Its Wi-Fi performance is appalling on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies. It struggles to connect to the latter, while the slower network just about manages to stream in 720p on a good day. Clearly, I needed a fix. So, I did what any idea-oriented tinkerer does: I experimented and devised a solution.

The Chromecast with Google TV’s USB-C port may be intended to deliver power from the wall, but Google doesn’t tell you that it also freely accepts data connections. This means that if you can find a USB-C dongle or hub supporting data and power, you’ve just leveled up your little pebble into an impressive, rock-solid streaming platform with all the ports you could need. This is precisely what I’ve done.

This super cheap USB-C dongle was initially purchased for my Samsung DeX experiments. It packs three USB-A 3.0 ports, a USB-C port for power input, a full-size SD and microSD card slots, and an HDMI port. While there’s no Ethernet port on the dock, I had an old gigabit Ethernet USB dongle lying around. I plugged one end into a USB-A port, connected the Ethernet cable to the other, and my Chromecast’s connection automatically switched to wired without any intervention. Now I get speeds of around 80Mbps, enough to reliably serve the content I want to watch. I’ll admit, a USB-C hub with tentacle-like cables spiraling all around it is rather hilarious, but it works!

Beyond wired internet, plugging a dock into the Chromecast with Google TV has other benefits. For instance, the other two USB-A ports can accept external storage and a keyboard/mouse dongle, making the Chromecast the perfect lay-back, travel-ready, offline streaming device.

The USB-C dock I purchased was a generic unit from a local retailer, so you may have trouble finding the exact one. However, there are plenty of alternatives available. If you’re stuck, know that any product that supports Samsung DeX should also work with the Chromecast for Google TV.

Based on value, the UGREEN Revodok 105 USB-C hub is the best option for the Chromecast with Google TV. It’s slim, lightweight, and has enough ports to expand the Chromecast’s utility. This includes two USB-A 2.0 ports, a single USB-A 3.0 port, and a USB-C port that supports up to 95W input. This means it’ll also be perfect for other devices, like laptops.