Cannot Unlink device from account

[Dennisbman]

Hey,

I have a smart switch linked to my account through GE Cync, that I no longer have access to physically. I unlinked it from my GE account but it still stays linked to my Google account. I’ve tried to move it to a different Home and deleted that home, but it reappears under my current Home as a ‘Device linked to me but not in home’. 

[Snager]

I'm having the same issue but with MULTIPLE devices. This all started when I invited my wife to help manage my Home. Things were not working right so I booted her from my Home. ALL my devices that are linked via Works with Google stop working. I tried to link them back but nothing gets added and i have many devices that are linked to me but disconnected. When i go into the device and try to unlink it, it takes me to Works with Google page to link the devices again (TP-Link, Wemo, etc.) I tried deleting the Home, removing the application, even factory reset my device. NOTHING works! All my devices that are added via "Works with Google" DOES NOT work with google. I can still control all these devices via their own apps (Wemo, Kasa, etc.) but unable to use them in google home, i just get a disconnected icon on my home deck.

[Aiden1]

I have the same issue with Cync(C by GE) devices.  By any chance were they originally using the seamless setup?  I was eventually told I have something called a cloud sync error on my Google account itself which is apparently quite complicated to sort out.  Been back and forth for about 8 months with various support techs for me with no solution in sight so far.  

[Dennisbman]

Don’t know wether it was setup as seamless or not, but I imagine it was.  Where did you get the info to know you had a Cloud Sync error?

[Aiden1]

From Google Home support.  I spent 3+ hours on the phone and so many emails later only to find out that I could basically wait for it to maybe sort itself out eventually.  That was after my case was escalated to a higher tier of support because she had never encountered anything like it before.  I've factory reset everything multiple times and I'm tired of dealing with it.    Well it's been 8 months so that didn't happen.  I have 7 lights and a smart plug that are offline as ghosts in Google Home is the best way I can put it.  They're unlinked and everything so that's not the issue. 

Like others with this problem, naturally I assumed that my home was the issue so early on in my own troubleshooting steps I deleted my home and started from scratch.  I nearly cried when as soon as I signed into Google Home, all 8 devices came right back under the "Linked to You" section.  The problem wasn't my home but my Google account.  

Basically Google Home support has told me I can use a different account for Google home but I have 10+ years of movie purchases, cloud DVR content in YouTube TV, music migrated from Google Play music into YouTube music, etc, a Google One membership that backs up content from my phone, every picture I've ever taken, etc...  The list is extensive.  Unless Google can migrate my entire presence on my existing account to a new one, their proposed solution is just way off-base and clearly not understanding why people even use their services in the first place.  If I wanted to give up everything that makes Google, well Google...  I'd just move to Alexa devices.  I went with Google nest because so much of my life was already using their apps and services, you know what I mean?

[Snager]

I have tried moving to another account, it worked for a day but as soon as I tired to move a device over from my bad account, all the ghost devices moved over! Now I have two accounts with ghost devices that say link to you but they all show up as disconnected. This is so frustrating. I so am heavily invested in Google ecosystem. If not for my accounts all linked to Google services, I would move to Amazon Alexa. Google is also removing support for IFTTT that I use heavily for custom commands using home assistant. So much of Google service is going south. I Google this issue and SO many customers are having them for years. Please fix this bug.

[Aiden1]

That's incredibly useful information for me!  Thanks for sharing what happened when you tried to move a device over to a different account.  I was actually considering trying to export the contents of my Google account somehow so I wouldn't lose everything but from what you're saying, the error seems to follow not just the Google account but all the speakers and displays previously registered to it.  Google Home is a hot mess and has been since the beginning of 2022 at least.

I remember when things worked well and you didn't have to reboot every device twice a day.  I miss that.  I heard about the loss of IFTTT support.  I hope they bring it back after a rework of the integration.  As per usual that will most likely take forever though if it's planned at all.

[Aiden1]

So, I tried to setup another light in Google Home today.  It was still an older C by GE one that had previously used the seamless setup and get this, it no longer used the seamless setup.  I'm not sure what exactly happened there but maybe that's why I can't get those devices cleared off my account.  It's just really frustrating at this point.  

[chanson]

Having the same issue here. Has anyone found a solution?

[Aiden1]

No progress at all.  I have an open trouble ticket for escalation with Google Home support but honestly my expectations are extremely low seeing as it is my fourth or maybe fifth time opening a support ticket for the same issue since January.  

[Jake]

Hey all,

Sorry for the late reply. I wanted to follow up and see I could be of any help. I found an article with more details on how to remove a product. Please let me know if you are still having any trouble from here, as I would be happy to take a closer look and assist you further. 

Best regards,
Jake

[Aiden1]

Yeah, thing is, cannot remove a product that Google thinks isn't there.  These don't have a "remove" option.  They must've added that in a later update but older setups don't have that.  

The only workaround I've been able to find is to create an entirely separate "home" for these ghost offline devices, move them there and make sure to leave the new home intact as it's meant to essentially trap the offline devices and keep them out of your main home.  It's definitely a workaround and not what I'd like to be doing but it's the only thing that worked.  You cannot delete the additional home though, otherwise the ghost devices go right back under "linked to you".

 

[Snager]

I still have this issue and I have not been able to use google home to control any of my devices since the IFTTT support has been removed.

Like others in this tread, I have ghost devices in my home setup I can not remove. BUT when I go into works with google and add the device e.g. WEMO, I do get the option to unlink but when I try nothing happens and the ghost device is still there. 

Also another issue I see when I add devices in works with google, nothing shows up on the top. It's like it never got added even though I get a confirmation saying it was added successfully.

 

 

[Aiden1]

You should be able to see anything you've linked to your Google account here:

https://myaccount.google.com/accountlinking 

I'd check there and make sure it's actually linked.  You can also unlink things from there.  Heads up, you might have to sign in again depending on your settings.

[chanson]

I tried that.

• When I unlink the ghost device service (SmartLife in my case) they are still in my Google Home app.
• When I relink the ghost device service, the devices are still offline, and the service reappears on that website.

[Aiden1]

Yep, that sounds familiar.  I had the same problem with C by GE.  It just layered the error over itself somehow.  I had unlinked everything but it didn't matter.  I had to change the names of the offline devices to get that to stop.  Instead of Living Room Floor Lamp, I assigned the light a numerical name.  I had 7 lights and one smart plug.  Those became 1-8 instead of the actual device names.  That stopped some of the fighting with the lights when I tried to relink everything.  Then moving the offline devices to the different home seems to have solved it.  I mean they're still there but not interfering with anything.  

I can say: Hey Google, sync my devices and it doesn't even mention Cync (C by GE seamless) anymore.

I don't know if that might help you, but it's worth a shot.

[Aiden1]

Yeah, if you move it to a different home, leave it trapped there.  It's the only workaround I've been able to find.  Deleting the home you've trapped it in will bring it right back as you said. It's not a fix but the best I've been able to find.

[JDL75]

I got the same problem no linking or unlinking of third-party services possible. Linked services in the GH App shows 6 services I can't unlink via app, but that I already unlinked via above mentioned website. 

"Reconnect account" or "Unlink Account" via app does NOTHING. Same behaviour while trying to connect a new third party service.

[Dan_A]

Hi folks,

Thanks for all the information you provided.

This has been difficult for you. Give these steps a try:

• Go to your Google Home app, tap your profile on the upper right corner then choose Manage Google Account. 
• Then, go to Security > scroll down to where your devices are linked to. 
• From there you can choose the account and devices you want to unlink.

Let us know if these steps work.

Best,
Dan

[chanson]

Thank you for the suggestion but this did not work for me. Even though I clicked 'unlink' following your instructions, my ghost devices still show as 'offline' in the Google Home App.

[Dan_A]

Hello there,

I appreciate your efforts!
 

To set your expectations, to remove devices from your Home app, they must be connected to Wi-Fi and are working at the same time. That way, we can access their device settings. If the devices are not available, try creating a new home structure and move your active devices there.

Check this link for the guide on how to create and move to a new home structure.
 

Keep us posted.

Regards,

Dan

[Snager]

Hi Dan, 

I have tried everything and only thing that seems to work is move it to another account. THIS IS NOT AN OPTION FOR ME since my main account is linked to many many google services that I PAY for. All the devices that are not able to setup or remove or add back (ghost devices) are all on the network on the same wi-fi. Here is an example of my Wemo devices that works fine from the application but UNABLE to add or remove from Google Home on my current gmail account. As a work around i have Amazon Alex working to control my devices! I really dont want to have two different home assistant. 

Wemo CAN NOT be added in works with google. I get no errors during linking of the application...and it does not appear or show up as linked in my google home "works with google" section. 

[Dan_A]

Hey folks,

We appreciate all your efforts. Since the steps didn't work on your end, we'd be happy to take a look into this for you. Please fill up this form with all the needed information then let me know once done.

Let's do this.

Regards,

Dan

[chanson]

I filled out the requested form

[Juni]

Hi everyone,

@chanson, we got your form — thanks for filling it out. Our team will reach out to you via email anytime soon. Please continue the conversation there.

@Benj, thanks for trying the steps provided in this thread. Since the steps didn't work on your end, we'd be happy to take a look into this for you. Please fill up this form posted in this thread with all the needed information, then let me know once done.

Thanks,

Juni

[Benj55]

I was finally able to solve the problem from my account, unlinking the mi Home service from my partner's phone account, hence the ghost devices disappeared from my account, and I could link the devices again.

It was a real headache to solve this issue.

All this should be doable from a  website, and not from the Google home app only. I wouldn't have had access to my partner's phone, that I would never have been able to solve the issue with my account.

[chanson]

This could give some insight as to where the issue is coming from because I also have a partner in my home. I checked Linked Accounts on her account, but she did not have anything linked. My issue persists.

[Aiden1]

For me, this started when I added a new device.  I'd had no issues prior to adding the 2nd generation Nest Hub and afterwards nothing wanted to work right.  It was a total nightmare.  I've never had another member of my "home".  Just myself and adding that new device was the only change I'd made recently.  I don't think this error cares what change you've made, but rather simply that a change was made and the result is the sync error.

[chanson]

UPDATE: Your post gave me the idea to try link my 3rd party account to her Google Home account. From there I was able to add the devices to our home (and moved the duplicate ghost devices to another fake home). The ghost devices still exist for me, but now at least my Google Home responds with something other than "A device is offline".

[Jake]

Hey Benj55,

I wanted to check in and see if you managed to see Juni's post. Please let me know if you have any trouble with the form. I would be happy to assist, and make sure you are good to go.

Best regards,
Jake

[nyuz]

Hi,

I have the same problem with 2 different third parties integration. I've tried all the steps suggested in the thread, nothing worked. I'm going to fill out the form, hope this can help me and others with the same issues.

[azakmuzak]

Hi, I filled out the form as well. 

[Juni]

Hi there,

We got your form — thanks for filling it out. Our team will reach out to you via email anytime soon. Please continue the conversation there as this thread will be locked after 24 hours.
 

Regards,

Juni

[Dan_A]

Hi folks,

Apologies for the late reply.

Let me get more information. Could you click this link Update the Google Home app. If an update is done or not, tell me what your Home app version is. 

Tell me once done.

Thanks,

Dan

[chanson]

I'm on version 2.59.33.2

[Muddi]

Hey Benj55,

We appreciate your efforts. To confirm, have you checked the "Assistant Settings" to see if have an option to delete those devices? Also, please check if you can see Mi Home under "Linked Accounts" on your Gmail account. Please follow these steps below to know-how:

1. Go to https://goo.gle/2OGzpIR
2. Scroll down at the bottom and look for "Linked Accounts."
3. Check if you see Mi Home, then unlink your account from there.

Keep us posted.

Cheers,

Muddi

[Benj55]

Hi

Nothing to unlink there. Ghost devices still in Google home, and not possible to move them to a new home, nor link or unlink mi home service from Google home

[Aiden1]

I'm not sure this step applies to me as I'm part of the Beta test group and am running Version 2.60.15.1-dogfood but I wanted to include this nonetheless.

[Aiden1]

Yeah, my service with the ghost devices isn't in that list.  Hasn't been for months now since this problem started.  That's kinda the entire problem.

[lmcintyre995]

This is unreal that this is an issue. I have had cameras linked to my account for a year now that I have already unlinked. I follow every little instruction but the service does not appear in the services menu. I have already unlinked it and the devices are still there. I just want them gone. I don't want them moved to another home. I want them removed from the app.