Disconnect your TV from YouTube on your phone or computer

YouTube connects to your TV through a feature called casting, which lets you send video from your phone, tablet, or computer to a TV that's on the same Wi-Fi network. To stop this connection, you need to either remove the TV from YouTube's list of available devices or turn off the casting feature itself.

The fastest way is to open YouTube on the device you've been casting from (your phone or computer), tap or click the Cast button — it looks like a rectangle with curved lines in the corner — and select Stop Casting. This ends the current connection when ready.

If you want to prevent YouTube from showing your TV as an option in the future, you'll need to remove it from your Google Home app or change your Wi-Fi settings. The steps differ depending on whether you're using a Chromecast device, a smart TV with built-in YouTube, or a TV connected through another device.

Key Takeaways

  • Tap the Cast button in YouTube and select Stop Casting to end a connection right away.
  • Remove your TV from the Google Home app to prevent YouTube from showing it as a casting option.
  • Disconnect your TV from Wi-Fi or move it to a different network so YouTube cannot find it.
  • Turn off casting on your phone or computer through your device's settings if you don't want to use the feature at all.
  • Restart your TV or casting device if YouTube keeps reconnecting even after you've stopped casting.

Remove your TV from the Google Home app

Most smart TVs and Chromecast devices appear in YouTube because they're registered in your Google Home app. Removing the device from that app prevents YouTube from listing it as a casting target.

Open the Google Home app on your phone, find the TV or Chromecast device in the list of your home devices, tap and hold it, then select Remove device. Confirm the removal when prompted. Once it's removed, YouTube won't show that TV as an option to cast to, even if it's still on the same Wi-Fi network.

If you want to use the TV with other apps or services later, you can add it back to Google Home at any time. Removing it only stops YouTube and other Google services from finding it — it doesn't disable the TV itself.

Disconnect your TV from Wi-Fi

YouTube can only connect to a TV that's on the same Wi-Fi network. If you disconnect your TV from Wi-Fi entirely, YouTube won't be able to find it or send video to it.

Go into your TV's settings, find the Wi-Fi or Network section, and select Disconnect or Forget Network. Your TV will no longer be visible to YouTube or other casting apps. You can reconnect it to Wi-Fi later if you need to use streaming services or smart features again.

This is the most complete way to stop YouTube from connecting, but it also means your TV won't have internet access for any other purpose. Use this method only if you don't plan to use your TV's smart features or streaming apps.

Turn off casting on your phone or computer

If you don't want to use casting at all, you can disable it on the device you're casting from. This removes the Cast button from YouTube and prevents any casting attempts.

On an Android phone, go to Settings > Connected devices > Connection preferences and turn off Cast. On an iPhone or iPad, open Control Center, tap Screen Mirroring, and make sure no device is selected. On a computer, the Cast button will disappear from YouTube if your TV is not on the same Wi-Fi network or if you've removed it from Google Home.

Turning off casting on your phone or computer doesn't affect your TV — it just prevents you from sending video to it from that particular device. If you use multiple devices to cast, you'll need to disable casting on each one separately.

Restart your TV or casting device if it keeps reconnecting

Sometimes YouTube or your casting device remembers a previous connection and tries to reconnect automatically. A full restart usually clears this.

Unplug your TV or Chromecast device from power for 30 seconds, then plug it back in. Let it fully restart and reconnect to Wi-Fi. Once it's back online, open YouTube on your phone or computer and check whether the TV still appears in the Cast menu. If it does, follow the steps above to remove it from Google Home or disconnect it from Wi-Fi.

If your TV keeps trying to connect even after a restart, check whether someone else in your household has a device on the same Wi-Fi network that's still casting to it. Ask them to stop casting and remove the TV from their Google Home app as well.

Prevent casting on a specific YouTube account

If you share a TV with other people and want to stop casting only on your own account, you can change your YouTube settings to disable casting for that account.

Open YouTube on your phone or computer, tap your profile picture, select Settings, then go to Playback and performance. Look for an option related to casting or connected devices and turn it off. This prevents YouTube from showing the Cast button when you're signed in, but other people using the same TV with their own accounts can still cast if they want to.

This method works best if each person in your household has their own Google account. If you share an account, you'll need to use one of the other methods above to stop casting entirely.

What to do if your TV is a smart TV with built-in YouTube

Some TVs have YouTube built directly into the TV's operating system rather than using a separate Chromecast device. These TVs can still receive casting from your phone, but the process to stop it is slightly different.

Go into your TV's settings, find the Apps or Applications section, locate YouTube, and select Disable or Uninstall. This removes YouTube from the TV entirely and prevents it from receiving casts. Alternatively, go to your TV's network settings and disconnect it from Wi-Fi, which stops all casting regardless of which app is being used.

If you want to keep YouTube on your TV but just stop it from receiving casts, check your TV's casting or screen mirroring settings — some smart TVs have an option to turn off casting while keeping the app installed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does stopping casting delete my YouTube watch history?

No. Stopping a cast or removing your TV from Google Home does not affect your YouTube watch history, saved videos, or account settings. Your viewing history stays the same on all your devices.

Can I stop casting to one TV but keep it for another?

Yes. You can remove individual devices from the Google Home app one at a time, so you can stop casting to one TV while keeping another TV available for casting. Just remove the specific TV you don't want to use from Google Home.

What if I want to cast again later?

If you disconnect your TV from Wi-Fi or remove it from Google Home, you can reconnect it at any time. Add the TV back to Google Home, reconnect it to Wi-Fi, or turn casting back on in your phone settings. YouTube will find it again within a few seconds.

Why does YouTube keep showing my TV even after I stopped casting?

YouTube shows devices that are on the same Wi-Fi network and registered in your Google Home app. If your TV still appears, it's still connected to Wi-Fi and still in Google Home. Remove it from Google Home or disconnect it from Wi-Fi to make it disappear from the Cast menu.

Does turning off my TV stop YouTube from casting to it?

Turning off your TV stops the current cast, but YouTube will still show the TV as an available device the next time you turn it on. To permanently prevent casting, remove the TV from Google Home or disconnect it from Wi-Fi.