Device rename not working

[Schnoogemetzger]

Hi,

there seems to be a bug: I can't rename the Google Chromecast device. After renaming the device, the new name will be shown in the device information overview, but the device name is still "Living Room TV" (the default after the factory reset).

If I'm going to edit it again, the "Living Room TV" Name is shown in the dialog, but changing and saving it again, doesn't make a difference.

What I've done so far:

* Reboot of my phone

* Reinstall of the Home App

* Factory Reset of the Chromecast

Edit: I'm not alone: https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Apps-Account/Can-t-change-my-device-name/m-p/2918

[JenniferV]

Hi Schnoogemetzger,

Thanks for reaching out and for being a step ahead of us. Let's sort this out.

When did the issue start? Could you please use a different mobile device and try again? Also, please check for system updates on your phone. It's best to have updated OS for a seamless experience.

Keep me posted.

Thanks,

Jennifer

[Schnoogemetzger]

Hi Jennifer,

thank you for replying.

Renaming the device is a one-time thing, so there is no exact start date and time. We can say that it started on the date of my post.

Everything is up2date. Android 11 and Version 2.50.1.7 of the Google Home App. I've tried an older version of the app and a different mobile device, but the problem persists. Maybe the problem is on the server side.

Jennifer, did you try to recreate the problem?

[thedriver]

Came here to post this exact problem, with two Google Home speakers.

I've reported it via feedback in the app already, but really need a solution.

Exactly as described above, the Device Information section (in the Google Home app) shows that it has been renamed. But in the main screen of the Home app, the device still shows as the old name and Assistant only recognises it by the old name, not the new name.

Also, in Device Information (where it shows the correct name), if you click to try and rename it again, whey you actually get to type the name,  it shows the old name AGAIN!

E.g. My speaker appears in the Home app as Study, if I rename it to Garage, it will display as Garage in the Device Information section, but still remains as Study everywhere else. 

I have also tried on an iPhone and it makes no difference. Rebooting the device makes no difference. 

[thedriver]

Here's a video of me trying to rename a speaker called Study in the Nursery room.

https://youtu.be/t9KHvxDd-C

[JenniferV]

Hi folks,

Schnoogemetzger, may I know if you have previously added this Chromecast in a group? Could you try to rename it through Rooms and Group option in the Google Home app and check if it will be a success?

thedriver, do you have a Chromecast device? If you only have a Google Home speaker and you're also having an issue to rename it, I'd suggest you post your concern to the Speakers and Displays Community forum. Our Community Specialist will be more than glad to help you.

Thanks,

Jennifer

[thedriver]

I have a Chromecast, but the problem is renaming the Google Home speaker. The problem is otherwise identical to the OP though. This seems to be a bug in the app, not the device. 

[Schnoogemetzger]

Hi Jennifer,

thank you for helping. Yepp, the Chromecast was and is part of a group. Please explain in more detail what you mean with:

"Could you try to rename it through Rooms and Group option in the Google Home app and check if it will be a success?"

No matter how, when renaming you always end up under General => Device Information. And that's what's not working.

@JenniferV

as I asked you several days back: Did you try to recreate the problem with your devices?

And please have a look at https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Apps-Account/Can-t-change-my-device-name/m-p/2918

It's the very same problem

[serban]

Hello!

I am having the exact same issue when I try to rename the Chromecast device. I am stuck with the default name set upon the initial setup: "Main Room TV".

Here is some technical data that might help:

System firmware version: 291998

Cast firmware: 1.56.291998L

Language: en-US

[EricaH121]

Same exact issue with a Home Mini that was part of a speaker group. Removed it from the group, from the room, rebooted, forced app closed and cleared cache, performed factory reset, and cleared cache again. Name under Device Information is showing what I changed it to, but everywhere else will not update. At least after the factory reset, the name of the room it's in is correct. This is a pretty stubborn bug.

[JoeBerg38]

Same exact issue here as well with a Chromecast device. After resetting WiFi network and reconnecting the device I am unable to rename the Chromecast in any way, I've tried all approaches advised here and in the other thread as well yet nothing works. 

I can rename the group, room and my lighting groups no problem, it's just the Chromecast for me that's causing the issue now. 

[wmmaac]

Same problem here. Tried all of the above. Nothing works. Please file a bug report with the developers.

[thedriver]

@JenniferV is anyone at Google going to fix this?

[The_Miser]

I am also having this problem shuffling around chromecssts (renaming so I can add another).  Any updates?

[thedriver]

@JenniferV We don't even have a response and this is clearly growing...

[SanDiegouser]

Same issue. It's frustrating especially with speakers. My whole home is Google and I can't rename. 

[Basmus]

I'm also having this issue with a chromcast. I was able to factory default it to change rooms but I am stuck with the default name. 

[stkc]

Also having this issue with my CCU.

Home app version: 2.50.25.3
Device: Pixel 6 Pro, Android 12

[MrDrummin]

So really, F Google for not addressing this WTF you jerks.  You are wasting all of our time and can't be bothers to fix the problem.  I so hat the vendor locking on all of this crap.

[MrDrummin]

What seems to have worked for me finally is removing the problematic devices from the Google Home app, then factory reset the app, and then re-add the app.

I noticed the when I would try to rename the device, it would show me the right name even though the Google app and the device itself were showing the wrong name.

[MrDrummin]

That last bit should be, "and then re-add the device".

[Livelyconvo]

Chiming in with identical problem Renaming and moving Google Nest display. Renaming device and changing device location do not work. Stuck with original name and location forever, even reset doesn't work.

[wmmaac]

I solved this by sideloading an older version of Google Home (I went back a few versions to google-home-2-40-1-10-apk), doing the rename, and then updating Home to the current version.

[serban]

Can you please explain the steps for downgrading Google Home?

[thedriver]

@serban  Sideloading means installing from somewhere other than the Google Play store.

First ppen Google Play, and and Uninstall your Home app.
Go to https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/google-home/google-home-2-40-1-10-release/google-home-2-40-... and click on the red button that says Download APK 65.32MB.
When that's downloaded, click to install it. You'll be prompted to go to Settings to allow installation of APK files form unknown sources. Open the Settings and change the app to allow installing from Unkown sources. 
The Google Home app should install the older version. Open that and try to rename you device.

Note: It didin't work for me. When I clicked on me device name, it didn't ever give me an option to rename it.

[serban]

Ah, yes! I misunderstood and was thinking about manually flashing the firmware into the Chromecast device 🙂

[thedriver]

@wmmaac  That's interesting - that means it's a problem with the Home app and NOT the Chromecast.
Will try this.

[Scribbious]

Add me to the list of people with the same problem. Monitoring this thread to hopefully find a fix or notice if/when google updates the app. Given that it worked for others by trying a previous version, one can hope they can find/fix it.

[serban]

I have managed to rename my Chromecast device using Google Home app for iPhone, latest version from App Store 2.52.104.

So, I guess there is a bug only with the Android app. My version is 2.52.1.6.

[thedriver]

Awesome @serban  - I had tried this previously on an iPhone but it hadn't worked either.
But this has worked with Home version 2.52.104 from Apple App Store.

This isn't a solution, but for those with access to an iOS device, you could rename your device this way as a work around. For those without an iPhone, find a friend with one, invite them to your Home app, get them to rename it and then remove them from your Home app.
Just refresh your Android Home app (Swipe from top to bottom on the manin Home screen) to show the updated name.

[Scribbious]

Great idea! It worked for me. What does it tell us that they can't fix it in their native OS but can in the enemy OS?

[Atoro]

Adding myself to the list of people this bug is affecting. Been an issue for months but never cared long enough to look into it, but apparently this is a huge issue with many people.

Google, you pay your engineers hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, you have dozens of people on this team, and you're telling me you can't fix a 'device rename' and 'device room change' bug for *this long*?

[thiagoinnz]

I have exactly the same issue as other people described

[peter79]

Yep I have the exact same issue.  Google seriously get your act together this should not be a hard bug to fix! 

[DrLuveno]

Things like this make it really hard to stay with Google products.  Bugs happen, but this is taking far too long to address.

[waffles]

I am also unable to rename my Chromecast devices. I've tried with two different Chromecasts. Also tried on my phone and Chromebook, but it isn't working.

I go to the Google Home App, click on the device like Chromecast1234, go to settings, device information, Name, change the name to living room Chromecast, hit save. In the Device Information screen it shows the name as Living Room Chromecast. But when I back out to the main Google Home screen, it shows no change and is still Chromecast1234. 

[ITClown]

My workaround to rename my Chromecast device was to create a temp room with the name I wanted the Chromecast to have so that it takes the name of the room that it's being added to when initially reconfiguring it after a factory reset. After resetting the device to factory and then having added it to the "temp room" (the room that has the name needed for the Chromecast), you can then move it from the "temp room" to the "real room". If you can't move it by using the device properties and selecting the right room to be in, instead, go to the real room where you can manage the selection of the devices in the room and add the Chromecast to this real room. The temp room will then be empty and can be deleted. Your Chromecast device will still be named with the name of the "temp room". If you want to rename it again after, do the same steps over again. Hopefully this will help you until Google figure out the fix for this issue with renaming a Chromecast device.

[peter79]

Quick update, I tried the factory reset on the chromecast again and I was able to rename it without any issues not sure why this didn't work first time.

[JenniferV]

Hi folks,

I apologized for the late response. I checked this in our end and our team is aware of the issue. However, this should be fixed by now. If you're still encountering the issue, try this workaround: Create a new Home structure > Rename > Move back to the old Home structure. You may also try the steps shared by the other community members. 

Also, I'd suggest you submit feedback about this via the Google Home app to let the Google Engineering team know about this. While they won't respond directly back to you, this is the best way to let them know about the issues. Every bit of feedback and logs on the subject helps a ton. Here's how.

Thanks,

Jennifer

[serban]

No, it is not fixed. No, moving it to another newly-created home and renaming it doesn't work. It only shows the new device name on the Device Information page, but once I click on the "Name" filed to rename it, the "Device name field" still has the current name.

System firmware version: 291998

Cast firmware: 1.56.291998

Google Home app version: 2.52.1.6