Audio Stutter on Chromecast Ultra

[CheezWhizard]

Hello,

I am having a really bad audio stuttering issue when trying to play games on my Chromecast Ultra via a wired ethernet connection. My connection says it is good enough to play 4K and the video looks fantastic but the audio stutters a lot. 
I have tried resetting the Chromecast Ultra and it did not fix the problem. When I use the Chromecast Ultra through WiFi (Ethernet cable disconnected) the audio stutter goes away. I do not have any audio issues when using the wired Chromecast Ultra to watch other content like Youtube or Netflix. My wired connection goes from my Google Fiber modem to a Google Wifi router to a Netgear switch then to my Chromecast Ultra. I am not using power line ethernet.

I would like to be able to play Stadia through my Chromecast Ultra using a wired connection. 

Please help me troubleshoot this issue,

[JohnZoidberg]

Hello @CheezWhizard 

The only time I've heard about anything similar is when a CCU is connected directly to a Nest WiFi Router (not through a switch), and putting a switch in between fixes it. In that case, it's not just audio glitches, but video glitches as well. The suspected cause in that case was that the CCU has a 100Mbps Ethernet port, and the Nest WiFi Router may have been attempting to renegotiate a 1Gbps connection periodically. In your case, you already have a switch in place, which should be perfectly happy to negotiate 100Mbps and leave it be. I would start investigating this by swapping out components one at a time. If you can try connecting the CCU directly to the Google WiFi router and testing that first to make sure you aren't still seeing the issue, then try putting the switch back in place and swapping Ethernet cables. If necessary, try a different switch.

[CheezWhizard]

Update (Solved)

Thank you @JohnZoidberg  for your support on this. 

I was able to track down the audio issue to my downstream switch.  When I bypassed it I had no audio issues so I bought a new switch and the problem did not return. For people looking at this in the future, the switch that was causing my audio stuttering was a D-Link GO-SW-5G. 

Thanks and hope this post helps someone else in the future with a similar issue.

[JohnZoidberg]

Really glad to hear you figured this out and solved it!

[GattoPazzo]

I have audio stuttering when Chromecast is wired to an ASUS RT-AC56U router. No matter when it's connected straight to the modem.

[JohnZoidberg]

Hello @GattoPazzo 

When you say "no matter when it's connected straight to the modem", do you mean this issue doesn't occur in that case? If so, I would focus on the Ethernet linkage between your Chromecast and your router. I would try replacing the cable between them, trying a different port on the router, or inserting an unmanaged Ethernet switch in between them. If you can get to a point where you're sure the Ethernet connections are reliable, then you may need to start investigating the router itself. I am not familiar with that router, but if it has any QoS features, it may be worth looking at those.

[GattoPazzo]

Hi @JohnZoidberg, thanks for your answer.

I meant that when my Chromecast ultra is connected to a lan port on my ASUS RT-AC56U i get the audio stuttering, and that doesn't happen when I take away the router and connect my Chromecast directly to the modem with the same cable. I already tried a different cable, but nothing changes. I was wondering that something could be wrong about lan speed negotiation between the Chromecast and the router (all four ethernet ports are gigabit) but I'll dig deeper into router setup to find out if the problem can be solved with a different configuration.

I'll keep you posted.

[GattoPazzo]

I couldn't solve the problem with any setting on RT-AC56U, so I bought a new ASUS RT-AX58U and now everything is perfect.

[GattoPazzo]

I have an interesting update: since I love custom firmware, I installed Asuswrt-Merlin (384.19), as I did on my previous router, and the audio stuttering was there again. Then I went back to the most recent stock firmware (3.0.0.4.384_10177-g33723e4) and the stuttering was gone. I think there's something wrong with this firmware, so maybe someday I'll try to flash the stock firmware on my old RT-AC56U and see if that solves the problem as well.

[Etienne_salut]

Hey everyone, I just got the chromecast ultra and stadia to play cyberpunk and I'm having a similar problem as listed here.

My connection test say it's very good but I'm getting audio lag which can be pretty annoying. I read through your recommendation but I'm not sure what you guys mean by *switch*

The chromecast is plugged in my router/wifi thingy which is provided by Bell as I live in Canada. 

Any guidance? It seem to be an uncommon problem as i'm not finding anyting online about it. 

[JohnZoidberg]

Hello @Etienne_salut 

An Ethernet switch is a box that connects to one of the Ethernet ports on your router and provides more Ethernet ports for nearby equipment. A 5-port Ethernet switch should be around $20 or less. You'd need one more (short) Ethernet cable to make it work as well (it will come with a power supply, but no cables). However, I would suggest keeping the packaging and receipt, since it's possible this isn't the root cause for the issue you are experiencing, and if you're short on money, you may want to be able to return it if it doesn't solve the problem.

[GattoPazzo]

I had several tests and I suggest you to try to use WIFI connection instead of ethernet cable and see if that solves the audio problem (in my case it worked).