Browser state and timeout

[Myredeye]

When a web page is opened via voice command, the browser screen will eventually time out. There doesn't appear to be any way to go back to the opened page, or to set the page to not timeout. This is incredibly frustrating when following a cooking recipe from a site. In fact, it makes one of my primary uses cases entirely useless.

[Dan_A]

Hi Myredeye,

That certainly isn't the experience we want you to have with our devices ― for confirmation, what Nest device are you using? Does it freeze when a web page is open or when looking at cooking recipes? It would help a lot if you could do a sequential reboot first. Unplug the power cord of your router followed by your Nest device. Plug them back in after 3 minutes or 5 minutes tops. Restarting your phone might also help.

Keep us posted.
 

Best,

Dan

[Myredeye]

Hi Dan,

Following is a picture of the unit and also a shot of the device info screen. It's a nest hub max. I've rebooted it.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gMOvFl_Fr-KrqJ_8qIslNT1Qdtdq9yBN

The screen doesn't freeze, it times out when I'm looking at a recipe on a web page. After the timeout, it shows the clock. If I then touch the (clock) screen, my web page is gone and I can't find it anywhere. I then have to call up the web page and navigate back to the recipe. ...so basically, I can't use it for cooking, which was my main intended use for it.

Here are the exact steps:

1) "Hey Google, go to AllRecipes.com"

2) Pick a recipe and work on it.

3) Hub times out and shows clock.

4) The recipe page is now gone.

Thank you so much,

Erik.

[Dan_A]

Hey there,

Thank you for your response. I've tried the webpage https://goo.gle/3GNdjPS using the same command as you did on our test device and it worked. It would help a lot if we could do a factory reset to revert it back to its default and original settings. Setting it up is a must. Before doing the factory reset, please remove your Nest Hub Max from your Google Home app. Tap your Nest Hub Max and go to the gear icon on the upper right corner and find the option to remove/delete. Once done, do the factory reset and re-do the set up.

Tell us how it goes.

Regards,

Dan

[Myredeye]

Hi Dan,

The problem isn't that it can't open the web page. The problem is that once the web page is open, it disappears after the 10 minute display timeout. This makes following a recipe from a web page impossible. I've deleted the hub max from my home app, and done the factory reset, then added the hub max back to my phone home app. The behavior is the same.  One solution would be to extend the timeout. Is that possible?

Thanks, Erik.

[Dan_A]

Hi Myredeye,

Thanks for the update. It would also help a lot if you could confirm ― during those 10 mins, have you scrolled it or touched the screen or was it on an idle state before it went to its ambient mode? 

Cheers,

Dan

[Myredeye]

Hi Dan,

No touching. If I interact with the screen it's fine. The problem is that when cooking, I'm often busy doing something away from the screen for longer than 10 minutes.

Thanks for the quick response,

Erik.

[Dan_A]

Hey there,

Got it! Let's check the settings on your Google Home app. Pull up the Google Home app, select your Nest Hub Max, go to the gear icon on the upper right corner and look for "Display". Scroll down, search for "Screen timeout" and switch off the option to "Turn off the screen after 5 minutes of inactivity".

Let's bring this home.

Cheers,

Dan

[Myredeye]

Hi Dan,

The 5 minute timeout is currently set to off. Attached is a screenshot...

 

[Dan_A]

Hi Myredeye,

Thank you for the update. It would be of big help if we can isolate this ― could you try other websites, may it be with cooking recipes or any other that you can monitor while your device is on idle? Also, is the behavior the same when playing music? Thanks in advance.

Kind regards,

Dan

[Myredeye]

Hi Dan,

No music playing. In fact, after the reset, I haven't reconnected it to any additional services. I have tested it with other websites and the behavior is the same. It is interesting that the timeout when displaying a web page is 10 minutes. (Not 5, and not infinite) Q: On your test nest max, does the web page still stay displayed after 15+ minutes of inactivity?

Thanks for your diligence,

Erik.

Q: On your test nest max,

[Dan_A]

Hey there,

When we opened the specific webpage that you opened, it was on an idle status however, there is a pop up that slides from the bottom of the screen showing the option to play recipe or video then disappears again. Do you see that option on your screen from time to time when on idle on the webpage?

Thanks,

Dan

[Myredeye]

Hi Dan,

The timeout behavior is the same, no matter what website is open. I just tested the following:

1) "Hey Google, open google.com"

2) ~ wait 10 minutes ~

3) The web page times out, and the clock is displayed.

...Does the same thing happen on your test hub max?

Thanks,

Erik.

[Harrincourt]

Hello,

Same behaviour on 2nd generation nest, but the browser times out after 5min. It would be  nice to have it configurable, either by Google  Home or by the assistant. 

System firmware version: 324896
Cast firmware: 1.56.324896


BR

[Myredeye]

Yes, or that the screen timeout option be extended to include the browser. - Or whatever screen is currently active. The problem is that setting "no screen timeout" currently kills whatever you're looking at to show you the clock. What it should do (imo), is leave the screen alone and keep displaying the last screen display state. A separate option could be added for "display home screen after X minutes". (...if that's something anybody would want.)

[Dan_A]

Hi folks,

Apologies for the late reply. Is the behavior still the same with your Nest displays? I'm still waiting for an update about this behavior from our team and will keep this thread open until then.

Kind regards,

Dan

[Myredeye]

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the follow up. Yes, the behavior is still the same. It's likely  reproducible on similar nests. If you get the chance, It would be interested to know if your test nest does it too. Again, I really appreciate your attention to this!

Cheers,

Erik.

[OlPainless]

I'm have the exact same issue as Myredeye, same purpose trying to read recipes while cooking and not interacting with the screen it reverts back to the clock/photo frame. Would appreciate an update if there is a simple setting to extend the time from idle to home page.

[Dan_A]

Hi folks,

I’m sorry for the delayed response. We could do more tests to figure out the reason for the screen time out even though a recipe is active. Let’s make sure the ambient mode is not set in auto:

1. Swipe up on the screen.
2. Tap the icon found at the bottom left corner of the screen.
3. If you see the letter “A”, it’s set in auto > disable it.
4. Make sure screen timeout is off.
5. Open the recipe page and leave it untouched.
6. Monitor and see if it goes to ambient mode or clock face depending on your settings.

Thanks,

Dan

[Harrincourt]

Hi Dan,

Disabling auto-ambient mode does not help. After 5 min it goes to clock face.

System firmware version: 324896
Cast firmware: 1.56.324896


BR, JM

[Sushigladiator]

I would like to add that in having the same issue as myredeye. Nest hub 2nd Gen. It doesn't seem like a bug, just a setting that would ideally be customizable. 

[Myredeye]

Hi Dan,

Sadly, it didn't help.

Disabling auto-ambient mode goes to clock face for me too.

Thanks for keeping at trying to get this to function in a way that is useful for me/us.

Cheers, Erik.

[Dan_A]

Hi folks,

@Myredeye, thanks for the effort. I'm now waiting for an update from our team on the next steps. We will find a way.

@Harrincourt, @Sushigladiator, I'm sorry that you're also having this kind of trouble. Could you confirm if you've done the steps provided above so that we would know which didn't work?

Thank you all for your patience.

Regards,

Dan

[Mansun79]

I have the same issue. There is a radio station I like, I go to the website, start playing, and then after a few minutes the music stops and the screen reverts back to photos. It's extremely annoying and defeats the purpose of the browser, in my opinion. It'd be great if we can customize the behavior/timing as others have suggested

[Dan_A]

Hi Mansun79,

I'm sorry you are also experiencing this kind of function, could you follow these steps:

1. Swipe up on the screen.
2. Tap the icon found at the bottom left corner of the screen.
3. If you see the letter “A”, it’s set in auto > disable it.
4. Make sure screen timeout is off.
5. Open the recipe page and leave it untouched.
6. Monitor and see if it goes to ambient mode or clock face depending on your settings.

Once done, pull up the Google Home app, select your Nest Hub Max, go to the gear icon on the upper right corner and look for "Display". Scroll down, search for "Screen timeout" and switch off the option to "Turn off the screen after 5 minutes of inactivity".

Tell me how it goes.

Thanks,

Dan

[Mansun79]

Thanks for the suggestion @Dan_A but it did not work. After a few minutes, the screen reverted back to show Photos

[Dan_A]

Hello everyone,

We appreciate all your efforts. We'd be happy to take a look into this for you. Please fill out this form with all the needed information then let me know once done.

Kind regards,

Dan

[Juni]

Hi Mansun79,

We got your form — thanks for filling it out. Keep your lines open, as our team will reach out to you via email anytime soon. We are still waiting for other users in this thread to fill out the form so we can move on to the next step.

Thanks,

Juni

[Myredeye]

Hi Dan,

I just filled out the form. Thanks for keeping on top of this and have a great weekend.

/Erik.

[Juni]

Hi Myredeye,

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.
 

Cheers,

Juni