Did you recently get a Google Home Max, Home Mini, or some other Chromecast device, and now your Wi-Fi isn't working? It could be due to a unique quirk with Chromecast-enabled devices, which send too much data at once, which causes the router to crash.
According to TP-Link, Google's Chromecast devices send MDNS packets to discover and maintain a connection to other devices, such as the Google Home. Normally, these packets are sent in 20-second intervals, but it appears that when one of Google's gadgets wakes from sleep, it sends a massive number of these packets all at once, which overloads the router and causes it to crash.
Currently, it appears that TP-Link routers—the Archer C7, in particular—are the most susceptible to this problem, which was first reported by Android Police. Fortunately, TP-Link has already issued a patch, which can be downloaded here.
Google also told 9to5Google that it is also working on a fix. In the meantime, if you find that your router is crashing, unplug your Google device, and make sure your router's firmware is up to date.
UPDATE (1/17): Google released this statement in a Chromecast support forum: "The team has identified the issue and is actively releasing a fix, which will start rolling out via a Google Play services update this Thursday, January 18. ln the meantime, try rebooting your Android phone, and check that your Wi-Fi router is running the most recent firmware version."
Updating your router's firmware is also important for making sure that it's protected against security holes and other threats. Here's our guide for updating the firmware for Amped, Asus, D-Link, Google, Linksys, Netgear, and TP-Link routers.
