Chromecast is an excellent streaming device for the home, but things change. Perhaps you’re upgrading to a new device, a new smart TV is enough for you, too many Chromecasts are on your account, or you’ve become disenchanted with Google altogether. If you decide to say goodbye to Google’s signature casting device, it’s important to know how to remove it from your Google Home account and Wi-Fi for good.

There are plenty of methods for removing a Chromecast device from your Google account, removing Chromecast notifications, or just removing the casting capability of the software from an Android device. We’ll take a look at all of these methods below.

How to Remove Chromecast with Google Home App

Like any smart device that’s tied directly to your Google Home, Chromecast devices are simple to remove. To remove Chromecast from your network:

  • Open the Google Home app.Locate the room you labeled for your Chromecast.Tap Settings.Select the Chromecast followed by Remove Device and then confirm the removal.

This method will remove your Chromecast from your Google Home account and app. (The app layout is the same with either an iOS or Android device.)

How to Remove Chromecast with Google Chrome

This method is useful on either a Mac or Windows computer. While this doesn’t eliminate Chromecast from your Google Home app, it does remove the “cast” icon that can easily be confused with your computer’s own version of casting software.

  • Open Google Chrome and type “load media router component extension” into the search bar.You’ll see a drop-down menu on the bottom right with three options: Default, Enabled, and Disabled. Highlight and select Disabled.Select the search bar again and type “Cast Media Route Provider.” Once again, select Disabled.You’ll have to follow up the changes by restarting the browser, not your computer.

You can either exit out and open Google Chrome again or select the Relaunch tab when it pops up.

How to Remove a Linked Account on Chromecast

If you’re looking to remove a linked account—something that can happen pretty easily with Google’s Guest Mode feature—there’s a way to do that as well. To unlink two Google accounts:

  • Sign in to your Google Home app and select your profile pic at the top of the screen.Select Assistant Settings. You’ll see multiple tabs at the top where you need to select Assistant.In the following drop-down menu, locate your Google Home device and tap it.This brings up the Device Settings menu, and you will see Linked Account(s) at the top.Tap and hold down the account you want to remove—in some cases, there will be an X next to the device, and you will select that instead—and then remove it.

With linked accounts, you run the risk of family or friends accessing your Chromecast, or rather, accessing your Chromecast while thinking they are opening their own, and casting on your TV from their device.

Unless both accounts are yours, it’s best to remove one to keep shady family members from hilariously sabotaging your TV while watching your favorite show.

You can also remove your Chromecast device from your network by accessing the very same Chromecast device you want to be removed. You can do this on the home screen:

  • Select your User Profile Icon followed by Settings.Select Accounts & Sign In > Remove > Remove Account. If your Google Chromecast is a part of this account, it will be removed as well.

How to Remove Chromecast Notifications

This where Guest Mode comes into play. For a while, Google made it difficult for Chromecast owners because anyone that walked in could access and begin to cast on the Chromecast device.

Thankfully, Google remedied the issue—throughout several updates and complaints—but the notifications remain.

Anyone in your household that has permission to use your Chromecast will get notifications that they are accessing your Chromecast as well as yourself. To remove that setting:

  • Open the Google Home app and select the room in which you installed your Chromecast.Select Settings and scroll down to Let Others Control Your Cast Media and disable it via the slide tab.To turn it off on your phone, go to Settings, followed by Google, and then turn off the slide tab under Cast Media Controls.

Now, you’ll no longer get hammered by notifications every time a family member accesses your Chromecast or vice versa.

Final Thoughts

Just because you’ve removed your Chromecast device doesn’t mean you’re finished. Don’t forget to physically remove the device from your TV.

Chromecast runs in the background, even with your TV off, and the device is in standby mode. Once you’ve removed the Chromecast, you don’t want it to avenge itself by chewing up your data.

Thankfully, removing Google Chromecast from your network is a pretty simple process. Whether you are upgrading to a newer generation of Chromecast or moving on, you never want to have old and unused devices sitting idle on your smart home network.