Help! Chromecast Issues - Erratic Multiroom and CD Playback

Help and Support
1

Hi, this is my first post after just a few days using Volumio and a Raspberry Pi.

I’m having various Chromecast issues and need some help as a newbie here.

I don’t have any knowledge base about using Volumio and also a Raspberry Pi beyond a few hours of set up and trying to figure out the issues using Gemini but haven’t been able to resolve them.

Hardware:

EE Router (Smart Hub SH31B); EE Extender (Smart Wifi SW30A) - UK internet provider
Raspberry Pi 3b (WiFi)
Various Chromecast speakers (WiFi)
Powered USB hub
Google Pixel 6 Pro

Software:

Volumio (Premium): System Version 3.832
Playback settings, ‘Multiroom’ is enabled.
The ‘Chromecast (Experimental)’ feature is not on. Even when turned on, it shows an empty list of devices.

Audio from:

Turntable (USB - through powered hub)
CD ROM (USB - through powered hub)
USB stick (directly into Pi)

Chromecast issues:

Multiroom (all three ‘audio from’ above): It won’t work, only casting to a single speaker at a time.

CD ROM: In addition to the above, when casting an album the playback stops after every track. I have to manually reconnect to the speaker to play the next song. When I cast through the TV instead, it still does the same. Also, the playback timeline and progress bar in the Volumio app do not update.

Considerations:

Buffering: I’ve raised the buffering options but it hasn’t helped.

Ethernet: Would connecting the Pi via ethernet through a Powerline help?

Extender: I did try turning the extender off as while it’s on the same WiFi as the main router, when I checked the settings the hardware listed above we split. Some connected to the main router and some to the extender. Multiroom worked once through the USB stick, but hasn’t since. I use the extender for my work set up.

Many thanks for your help!

2

In addition to the above, this morning I:

Added the Spotify plug in.

Then I turned off the router, then the speakers and then the Pi. I waited about 15 minutes and turned them back on in the same order. (I turned off the extender and left it off for the test below)

Hardware locations:
Downstairs: main router, kitchen speaker, living room speaker
Upstairs: office speaker, bedroom speaker

Multiroom: It didn’t work through any source. Sometimes it would play one speaker from a group of two but not both together.

Spotify: Every speaker worked individually across the house. Also played through my phone.

Turntable: Only the kitchen speaker worked each time. Living room was erratic. Neither speaker upstairs worked. Playing through phone worked.

CD ROM: Kitchen, living room and office speakers worked individually. Not the bedroom one. It also played through the phone. I had the same issue with it not playing more than one track as outlined in my initial post.

USB stick: didn’t test.

The bedroom speaker is above the router but with a floor between them. The router has more open access to the other speakers as I kept the doors open.

I also did a speed test in the middle of the house on the stairs. It’s a two story three bed, so not large. I was about 3-5 meters from all the hardware mentioned with open doors.

Speed to hub
Download 73
Upload 18

Speed to phone
Download 71
Upload 18

With the Spotify check, it really seems like the Multiroom and CD ROM issue is with Volumio as all the hardware seems to work… I’ve ordered a powerline set today so will test that when it arrives and update this thread