Broadcast and Announce issus

[lizhe980529]

I added a new Routine to the Google Home automation. At a specific time, the Google Speaker is supposed to play an announcement I wrote. I have configured the settings to ensure that the announcement plays simultaneously on all Google Speakers. However, when the scheduled time arrives, different issues occasionally occur:

1. Since I set two announcements to play, both should be played at the scheduled time. However, during the first announcement, some Google Speakers remain silent. When the second announcement plays, the previously silent speakers start playing, but the ones that worked the first time remain silent. In the end, only some speakers play each announcement.

2. The Google Speaker stops playing midway through the announcement.

3. The Google Speaker only plays the last word of the announcement.

Another problem is that when I use the broadcast feature, I say the full sentence, but the Google Speaker only beeps once and doesn’t play it properly. Sometimes, it plays only the first word, and other times, just the last word.

[DJSubterrain]

Have you tried adding all the speakers to a group and sending to the group instead?

[WorldOfJohnboy]

There exists a "global" issue with Broadcasts as you describe.   This behavior occurs for me regardless if it's a Family Bell announcement, an Automation Announcement, or a Broadcast message I try ("Hey Google, broadcast 'Time To Eat'").   It's all over the Google communities, Reddit, etc.  I've spoken to Support, tried a zillion things (including factory reset all Hubs/Speakers) and still the issues exist.  

We need Google to acknowledge the global issues and get a fix out there.  It's ok if they are divesting Family Bell, but when the issue exists with the recommended replacement (Automations), that's a huge problem.

[WorldOfJohnboy]

UPDATE: I did another Troubleshooting session w/Support today and my case is now with a Senior Engineering Team. More to come.

Also, I have noticed if I set up a new Household Automation Routine to make an Announcement, if I choose only ONE device (can be a Hub or Speaker), the Automation plays both the audio and visual. Any time I choose 2 or more devices, it will only "ding" and show the animation, but does not read the text announcement.

[AndersC]

Hi @lizhe980529,

Thank you for posting in the community. I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing some inconveniences after you created a new routine for Google Home automation. Let’s work together!

To effectively troubleshoot, please provide me with the following information:

• How many speakers or displays do you have?
• Did the routines work properly before you added the second one?

In the meantime, you can troubleshoot this inconvenience by following the steps below:

• Delete the routines you have created.
• Create new routines with different names.

For detailed instructions, please refer to this article: Create and manage routines for Google Home automations.
Please let me know how it goes.
 
Best regards,

Anders

[WorldOfJohnboy]

Update 3/19/25: After a lot of back and forth with support (set up a new Home and basically removed devices from the main home, added to the new home and tested), I think I may have finally gotten through to them to resolve the Global issues we're all seeing. In short, I told the Senior Engineers that this all started sometime between February 15th and the 24th--suggested that perhaps a device or Home App update may have broken the broadcasts. Just got the following response:

"I have an update for you. The engineering team is aware of the issue and is actively working on a fix for the device. While there is no specific timeframe for when the issue will be resolved, they are doing their best to resolve it as quickly as possible. I will let you know as soon as I have an update from them or if the issue has been resolved. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."

[WorldOfJohnboy]

Update 3/24/25:  Today I decided to try another multi-device Test Household Announcement.  Several tests with 2, 3 and all (8 in my case) devices has been working!!!!

I'm still waiting for Support to email for actual confirmation on this (before I get my hopes up) but this is promising.  I checked my device firmware and it appears unchanged, so I am thinking this may be something not embedded into the devices (if it is fixed).

[WorldOfJohnboy]

Update on my Case, 4/2/2025:

This issue is still being actively investigated by the engineering department but is partially resolved. This means that a fix is being actively worked on, and the next roll out will include the complete fix for the issue. You may look for the next roll out and for the fix to be posted.