The Chromecast volume controls are disabled on Android 12 due to a “legal issue”

If we go back all the way to July this year, we can see a certain Android 12 “bug” being discussed on Google’s IssueTracker. The issue is related to the volume controls for Chromecast devices—they simply did not work.

Well, at least everyone thought it was a bug until a Googler wrote in the thread confirming the absence of the feature. Even more, he said it is actually an intended change, which will be fixed with Android 12 Beta 5.

Some time passed, and Android 12 Beta 5 came and went. In fact, the full-fledged Android 12 is out and about right now, but alas—no fix. Why is that? Twitter user Mishaal Rahman has spotted another comment from a Googler regarding the matter. The Googler reconfirms that you cannot control Chromecast sessions with the volume rocker on an Android 12 phone Pixel. (via 9to5Google)

Interestingly, this second statement we get gives us a sneak peek at the reasoning behind this change. Now we know that it is due to a “legal issue”, even though any specifics have been excluded. Despite that, one can speculate that the issue was maybe related to the legal battles with Sonos, which started back in early 2020.

Somewhat annoyingly, you can still see the option to control your Chromecasts volume in the audio settings of Android 12, but it is greyed out. Thankfully, though, a comment from the same Googler who explained it was all due to a legal issue tells us a fix should come with Android 12L (or Android 12.1 as he calls it).

Unfortunately, that leaves Pixel 3 owners hanging in uncertainty since they will most likely not get the update in question. Google could address the problem in a specific separate update for the Pixel 3 series, although the search giant has not come out with any official statements regarding the matter as of yet.

Until that happens, you can still control the volume of your Chromecast device by tapping the Chromecast notification and then using the slider or your volume rocker. Admittedly annoying, but not a big deal after all.