Asking Google Home speaker to "play music" no longer plays random music.

[NobleKen]

When I ask Google Home speaker to "play music" it no longer plays random music, but specifically it defaults to playing the album "Music" by 311. This has been happening for quite some time (months). 

[tajennifer]

Hi NobleKen,

Thanks for posting. I'm sorry to hear that you are having this situation with your Google Speaker. I understand how frustrating this situation can be. But don't worry, I can help. To assist you effectively, I'd like to know a few things:

• What model Google Speaker do you have?
• Which provider were you trying to play music from?
• Which music provider have you configured in the Google Home app?

Once I have this information I can provide the specific steps for this situation.

In the meantime, you can also check the Google Home app for any updates or errors related to the music service you're trying to use.

Please keep me posted and let me know if you have more questions. I'll be more than happy to help.

Best regard,

Jenny

[NobleKen]

Hi Jenny,

Thanks for taking the time.

• I have a Google Home Nest Audio, Google Home Classic, and Google Home Mini. I've experienced this issue across all three devices.
• I have YouTube Premium
• YouTube Premium

Probably a separate issue, but the other day when I asked the Google Home Classic to play music, it told me I didn't have YouTube Premium and played music with commercials. I checked my Google Home app and clearly shows I have YouTube Premium connected.

If I'm being honest, I could probably write up a laundry list of issues I've experienced with the Google Homes over the last few years, but one thing at a time.

Thank you for your time.

Ken

[tajennifer]

Hi NobleKen,

Thanks for following up! I understand you're experiencing trouble playing music across all your Google Home devices. Let's troubleshoot this together.

We have to make sure that the restricted mode is off. This is a YouTube setting that customers can use to filter out potentially mature music and videos on their device. If this feature is enabled, their device may not play the media they request.

To turn it off:

1. Open the Google Home app.
2. Tap Favorites or Devices.
3. Tap and hold your device tile > tap Settings.
4. Tap Notifications & digital wellbeing > YouTube settings.
5. Under "Use Restricted Mode," turn off Restrict for me and Restrict when someone isn't recognized. Under "Filter content for YouTube TV," turn off Filter for me.

Please let me know if this works or if you have more questions. I'll be happy to help.

Best regards,

Jenny

[NobleKen]

Hi Jenny,

I made those changes to all three Home devices via my Google Home app yesterday and immediately tested by asking my Google Home Classic and Nest Audio speakers to "play music," but no change. It's still defaulting to playing the 311 album "Music." I tested several more times since including this morning.

I also confirmed I have the Restricted Mode turned off in my YouTube Music app.

I will note that I do have this 311 album in my YouTube Music app under my Uploads and Device Files, but don't see why that should matter.

Thank you.

[tajennifer]

Hi NobleKen,

Thanks for your reply and the update. I'm sorry about the situation still happening with your Google Home Speakers. But don't worry, we can try any other steps to solve this. 

• Try deleting the album, If you keep getting the same album playing unintentionally, try deleting it from your YouTube Music library. This can help ensure the speaker doesn't default to that specific album.
• Request music by song or artist, be specific with your requests. Instead of saying "Play music," try giving a command like "Play my favorite playlist." or "Play (song name) ".

In this case you can check the "Plays incorrect song, playlist, artist or album" article for detailed information about the commands that you can try to make it work.

Regards,

Jenny