It seems that USB Audio Routing on Chromecast with Google TV has now been removed after the Android 12 update! As is evident from its name, this function disables the automatic routing to USB Audio peripherals and has been baked deep inside the Developer Options on your Android device. However, with the update to the twelfth iteration of the OS, it seems that this feature is no longer supported.
At the time of writing, only the official Google USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter seems to be working. While it would do its job but it is nowhere close to what a good DAC is capable of performing. And yes, you should forget about the 192KHz bitrate with Google’s DAC, 48 might be the maximum that it could possibly provide you with. So why did Google decide to dismantle such an important feature all of a sudden?
Why USB Audio Routing on Chromecast with Google TV Was Removed?
While there is still no official confirmation or the reason for its removal, but going through this Google Forums page, the writing is on the walls. So why did the Silicon Valley giant take such a drastic step? One major reason for the same could be the fact that USB audio can circumvent DRM. So the service providers like Netflix and Hulu who deal with DRM-protected content might have a say in this decision!
Do note that it’s all speculation at this point and you should take this with a pinch of salt. Another interesting point to note is that Google never officially listed this functionality as one of Android’s features, so removing it wouldn’t be much of a hassle either. But this then begs the all-important question- is there a fix?
How to Fix USB Audio Routing on Chromecast with Google TV
As of now, there are just two ways to deal with this problem- either get your hands on an official Google USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter or buy an audio extractor with optical output. While none of them is a viable or feasible method, but for now, [and maybe in the near future as well] this is our best bet. If the search engine giant had indeed decided to bid adieu to this feature, then it should have done so in a more standardized manner.
Or at least, it should have informed the users beforehand of this decision and more importantly why it was doing so in the first place. Anyways, this is how things stand at this moment, and don’t expect it to get any better either. As far as the official stance on this matter is concerned, the developers are yet to acknowledge it, let alone give out any ETA for the rollout of a fix. As and when any of these two things happen, we will update this guide accordingly.
