Microsoft Edge is showing media controls for YouTube videos playing on the TV in my living room. From my laptop, I can pause, play, and resume the video through Edge, even though I never signed into YouTube on the TV or intentionally connected the two devices. I also disabled the "Connect to Cast devices on all IP addresses" flag in Edge, but the behavior continues. Is Edge actually casting, or is it detecting and controlling the TV through another feature on my network?
2 Answers
This may not be browser casting at all. Many smart TVs can run YouTube as a guest, and devices on the same network may automatically discover the TV’s media session. Edge can then display controls for nearby playback through its media integration, even if you never signed into the TV or explicitly paired it. If Edge were casting a browser tab, you would normally see the tab or desktop being sent to the TV, rather than merely controlling the YouTube app already running there.
Check whether the laptop and TV are connected to the same Wi‑Fi network. Smart TVs and streaming apps commonly advertise playback controls over the local network, and browsers can detect those devices automatically. Look through Edge’s media controls, casting settings, and site permissions, and disable media-device discovery or local-network access if you do not want the TV to appear. You can also disable YouTube’s “watch on TV” or pairing features on the television and router, depending on the model.
The controls appear in Edge’s media panel on my laptop, and they show the exact YouTube video playing on the living-room TV. I can pause or resume it from there, even though I never connected the devices manually.