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What you need

This teardown is not a repair guide. To repair your Chromecast 2015, use our service manual.

  1. Chromecast 2015 Teardown, Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 1, image 1 of 1
    • Before we cast away this dongle's shiny new housing, let's see what Google has to say about it:

    • Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac

    • Multidirectional antenna array

    • USB-powered

    • 1080p HDMI output

    • Apparently, Google chose to withhold the specs on the magnet in the HDMI plug housing. We'll take their silence to mean something awesome is going on.

  2. Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 2, image 1 of 2 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 2, image 2 of 2
    • Before diving in, we line up the original Chromecast next to its new siblings—Chromecast 2015 in the center, and a hockey puck Chromecast Audio on the right.

    • The video models are functionally very similar, sharing the same HDMI output, reset button, and Micro-USB power port, as well as a single LED.

  3. Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 3, image 1 of 2 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 3, image 2 of 2
    • It's not burning a hole in your display—that orange halo is backscatter from the crazy "coral" colored case. Little coral-flavored photons are flying everywhere.

    • The previous Chromecast's cheeky model number appears to have given way to something more conventional: NC2-6A5. Is there a pop culture reference we're missing here? ...Anyone? ...Anyone?

    • Alert reader Commodore Bob points out that NC2 could be read as NCC, and 6A5 in hexadecimal converts to 1701. As you all know, NCC-1701 is the registry number of the USS Enterprise.

    • According to Google, the rubbery new HDMI cable will reduce Wi-Fi interference from nearby EMF sources, by putting some extra distance between the dongle and your TV.

  4. Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 4, image 1 of 3 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 4, image 2 of 3 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 4, image 3 of 3
    • Unlike its first iteration, the Chromecast 2015 proves to be rather tricky to open.

    • Around the rim of the casing sits a small ring of surprisingly stubborn adhesive. It took a fair bit of effort to separate the two pieces with our trusty pry tools.

    • After plenty of prodding and prying, the top cover finally comes free—giving us a preliminary peek at the new Chromecast, in all its tiny glory.

  5. Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 5, image 1 of 3 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 5, image 2 of 3 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 5, image 3 of 3
    • Having blown the lid off the new Chromecast, we encounter three T-5 screws securing the EMI shield and motherboard to the bottom case.

    • We spudger up the motherboard, only to find it held in place by... bubble gum?

    • On closer inspection that's actually thermal paste—a lot of it.

    • Hopefully that means this Chromecast won't have the overheating issues that plagued the original.

    • Those darker areas around the edge of the board are integrated dual-band PIFA antennas. Although this technology is similar to that used in the original Chromecast, this version actually has an adaptive three-antenna array to select the best signal.

  6. Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 6, image 1 of 3 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 6, image 2 of 3 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 6, image 3 of 3
    • Lifting away our first EMI shield reveals more Hubba Bubba thermal paste!

    • And even more underneath the second EMI shield. That's three—count 'em, three—gum-sized dollops of thermal paste, in a device roughly the size of a silver dollar.

    • The HDMI cable sports a super-durable design, what with its tough rubbery exterior, heavily-soldered connector, and bolted-down connector bracket.

    • If you're the type of person who likes to carry things around by their cables, you're probably safe in this instance.

    • After we pry up the bracket, the HDMI cable flies away free—leaving just the motherboard bits of the device.

  7. Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 7, image 1 of 2 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 7, image 2 of 2
    • With the pesky plastic set aside, we turn our attention to the heart of this device: Silicon!

    • Marvell Avastar 88W8887 VHT WLAN, Bluetooth, NFC and FM Receiver

    • Samsung K4B4G1646D-BY 4 Gb DDR3L SDRAM

    • And on the reverse...

    • Marvell Armada 88DE3006 1500 Mini Plus dual-core ARM Cortex-A7 media processor

    • Toshiba TC58NVG1S3HBAI6 2 Gb NAND Flash Memory

    • MRVL 21AA3 521GDT—likely Marvell Semiconductor DC-DC regulator

  8. Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 8, image 1 of 2 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 8, image 2 of 2
    • Can't get enough teardown? Neither can we! With one dongle deftly dispatched, we can now focus on its audio-only counterpart: model RUX-J42.

    • Specs on the Chromecast Audio:

    • Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac

    • Multidirectional antenna array

    • USB-powered

    • Combination 3.5 mm and mini-TOSLINK socket

    • Doubles as handy backup puck for regulation air hockey tables

  9. Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 9, image 1 of 3 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 9, image 2 of 3 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 9, image 3 of 3
    • Cracking open the Chromecast Audio gives us our first face-to-face with some familiar-looking hardware.

    • Just as in the video-streaming variant, only three Torx screws stand in the way of removing the motherboard.

  10. Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 10, image 1 of 3 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 10, image 2 of 3 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 10, image 3 of 3
    • Although the Chromecast 2015 and Audio have some external differences, they're very similar internally—right down to the gobs of baby blue thermal paste.

    • In addition to the heat sink, both models also house two functional plastic bits in the lower case: a light guide for the LED indicator light, and a nifty lil' reset button.

  11. Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 11, image 1 of 2 Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 11, image 2 of 2
    • We're finally in deep enough to see some differences between these two—some hardware components are the same as in the HDMI version, although we spy a couple Audio-specific ICs as well:

    • Marvell Avastar 88W8887 VHT WLAN, Bluetooth, NFC and FM Receiver

    • Nanya NT5CC128M16IP-DI/EK DDR3L 2 Gb SDRAM

    • AKM AK4430 192kHz 24-Bit Stereo DAC

    • On the reverse:

    • Marvell Armada 88DE3006 1500 Mini Plus dual-core ARM Cortex-A7 media processor

    • Toshiba TC58NVG1S3HBAI6 2 Gb NAND Flash Memory

    • Texas Instruments DRV632 DirectPath 2-VRMS pop-free stereo line driver

  12. Chromecast 2015 Teardown: step 12, image 1 of 1
    • We've arrived at the conclusion of our double feature teardown—and, once again, we've decided not to assign a repairability score to either of the 2015 Chromecasts.

    • Ultimately any device like those in the Chromecast family will be the same story—a board in a box. There is very little to repair in the event of an internal failure.

    • That said, we absolutely love the internally detachable HDMI cable. It adds longevity to the 2015 Chromecast by addressing what is likely to be the most common problem—a damaged plug or loose HDMI connection.

Evan Noronha

Member since: 02/05/15

223,163 Reputation

168 Guides authored

43 Comments

which hdmi version it has?

Enrico Cammarata - Reply

it should support HDMI 2.0

Buddhika Mahesh -

Wait... 2 gigabits of storage? That translates to 256 MB. Which would be a decrease from 2 GB of storage from the previous model.

Same thing for the RAM. The video model only has 4 gigabits of RAM? That translates to 512 MB of RAM, the same as the previous model.

Kevin Liebler - Reply

Its gigabyte bud. 1GB=1024MB

Alex -

Yes sir, that is correct. I double checked and referenced our old Chromecast teardown and it seems there was a major decrease in flash memory and the RAM has stayed the same.

All of the chip specifications were in Gb, just like the 2013 Chromecast.

Andrew W. -

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