For years, the ritual was simple: Check into your hotel room, connect your phone to the Wi-Fi, and tap a single button to beam the latest season of Stranger Things directly to the TV. It was a relatively frictionless way to bypass clunky hotel interfaces and avoid typing complex passwords into a laggy screen with a plastic remote. But as of this week, that convenience is largely history.
Netflix has quietly removed the ability to cast content from its mobile apps to the vast majority of modern TVs and streaming devices, according to the company’s updated help page, which was first spotted by Android Authority. The change effectively forces subscribers to abandon their phones as controllers and instead log in directly through the native Netflix app installed on their TV or dongle.
“Netflix no longer supports casting shows from a mobile device to most TVs and TV-streaming devices,” the company’s help page says. “You’ll need to use the remote that came with your TV or TV-streaming device to navigate Netflix.”
The rationale behind the move appears to be a forced migration toward native apps, which offer Netflix more control over the user interface, data collection, and ad delivery. While the company has not issued a press release explaining the strategic shift, one customer service representative allegedly told one Reddit user the decision was made “to improve the customer experience” and “if the device has its own remote, you can’t cast.” Netflix did not immediately respond to Fortune‘s request for comment.
