topic Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024? in Home Automation

Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

Camcom — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 16:11:37 GMT

Hub and mIni device to device calling DISCONTINUED?? Answers please!

Life has been great and super convenient... We have Google minis , and hubs set up in most parts of the house or bedrooms. To simplify communication, we use them for Calling from room to room as in an intercom system. My Google mini announced that in February 2024 the device to device calling will be discontinued and only broadcast ability would be available. I Haven't been able to find any information to expand upon this. Firstly, I am incredibly disappointed. This is a step backwards in technology and accessability features that google Prides itself in. Secondly i'm incredibly annoyed. I can't find any information about This Feature change. Does anyone have any information?

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

JillG — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 17:40:56 GMT

Hi @Camcom

Here's the Help Center article with all the info and also the Blog post from the Assistant team.

Please send feedback about any changes you want to comment on! Just tell your device to share feedback and record your message.

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

Ricktaylor44 — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 18:40:55 GMT

My view is it is absolutely unacceptable to stop calling between Google Hubs. This is the primary reason I bought them as I can communicate between homes. You can still do this with the Alexa Hub so I will be switching and tossing my Google hubs in the trash.

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

kenjix3c — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 21:28:15 GMT

I think this is not fair as it helps me call my kids for dinner and my wife when I'm away from my 0hone in the house. It's a major feature so why is it going away? We really do need answers and clarifications

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

Gregynard — Sat, 10 Feb 2024 11:46:56 GMT

Why would they want to remove this feature. This really helps my visually impaired brother communicate with us from his room and when we are away from home.

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

yousafsajjad — Sat, 10 Feb 2024 20:30:47 GMT

This is very disappointing. We use google home device call feature a lot throughout the day.

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

AnkurBedi — Sun, 11 Feb 2024 04:22:31 GMT

This feature was really helpful. When we go away, we don't want to leave the phone with our kids as they keep playing games on it or watch movies and shows.

This was a very convenient way to very in touch with them without giving them a phone.

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

ABED — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 19:44:11 GMT

I don't understand that. I basically filled the house rooms with minis for that reason.

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

John123321 — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 21:48:16 GMT

This is ridiculous we use calls to other rooms all the time the product we brought (30 of them) was partial for this feature so do we get half the money back as we can now use half the software originally advertised?

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

Boompie — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 11:47:18 GMT

I also bought a mini for every room, because of this function. Is there any way I can get a refund?

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

skeptikal — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 19:54:53 GMT

This is honestly infuriating.
I invested heavily into Google Home and its ecosystem since early 2019.
The most significant functions I needed and still use are Family Bell (as an ADHD life assistant / reminder broadcaster) and room-to-room calling/intercom.
Both of these core features/functions are being disabled abruptly with no in-kind replacement?

Google... I really don't want to go to Amazon. I really don't...

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

Larsstille — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 21:37:40 GMT

Same question from my side..Our main use case was calling Google Devices from the outside. We just bought a nest hub max and another nest mini in addition to 2 existing minis..

Is there maybe now another way to call google devices from the outside that was just not provided from Google inside the message of discontinueing the current method?

@Google please provide some Feedback here.

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

Larsstille — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 21:52:07 GMT

Thanks JillG,

But your Links do not answer the question above.

This is not an advancement or an improvement its only taking away a feature without providing any reason or alternatives.

My Feeling is that this is now taken away and the feature might be introduced again later with another name and under a payed model.

If that's the case just let us know and be open about it.

I think the preparation of this feature going away, could have been better done for your users. I am sure you know who was using this feature in the past and you could have given these users an earlier heads up when you made the descion to turn off this feature. This might be something to consider for similar future cases.

Can someone please just answer if there is an alternative existing or anything planned or if we users need to find another solution for this without google?

Thanks in advance,

Lars

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

Ricktaylor44 — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 22:22:50 GMT

My understanding you you have to switch to the Amazon product. Google isn’t going to respond. They killed Dropcam in similar fashion. They don’t care. Period.

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

rossco33100 — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 02:38:20 GMT

I don't have a home phone. I use the nest hub max as a way to call my kids when they're home & I'm going to be late, or to see if they need anything from the store if I'm going, etc.

What's the point of just switching a feature off?!

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

gooworsewithage — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 14:48:06 GMT

Google does not care. They are degrading the Home offering bit by bit so they can eventually murder it entirely, as is custom. The gambit of making it actually useful to lure people in so they can sell data hasn't paid off, as there is little value in data regarding when people turn lights and air conditioners on and off.

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

WhyDidYouKillIt — Sat, 24 Feb 2024 00:58:24 GMT

What on earth have you done!? This is absurd. A key feature of this product - and its removal affects those who have invested the most.

This was the best possible solution to a "smart speaker in every room" - with its mic on/off switch for privacy and the ability to call into home and out from it as well as from room to room.

Our family loved it and we recommended it to others who spent out as well.
Now we're feeling tricked by the company and nobody has a decent answer for why it's happening.

Honestly - we should have just gone with Echo like other friends.

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

WhyDidYouKillIt — Sat, 24 Feb 2024 01:00:38 GMT

Exactly this. If this were X or Reddit I'm sure someone would say "first world problems" and mock the idea we have to return to the old fashioned ways, but this is a tech company abritrarily removing features from products we have invested in.

For us, it's like removing the ability to call from a telephone.

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

WhyDidYouKillIt — Sat, 24 Feb 2024 01:01:12 GMT

I feel tricked by them. What do they gain??

Re: Discontinuing calling between home devices as of feb 2024?

CJ411 — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 03:07:16 GMT

Agreed. I have various hub devices and a Pixel phone but if this isn't resolved before I am ready to upgrade my phone, I'm moving to an iPhone and Alexa devices.