Error message when syncing devices

[FJO]

When I ask the assistant to sync all devices (on my hubs, minis, phone or tablet), I get the response:

”Sure, syncing devices for 4 providers. 3 things aren't available. You might want to try setting them up again.”

This happens when asking using voice on Nest Minis or Nest Hubs, and also when asking the assistant app on my phone or tablet.

The 4 providers linked to Google Home are Philips Hue, Harmony, TP-Link Kasa and Nest (although Nest doesn’t explicitly show on the “works with Google” linked services list in the GH app). 

Including “virtual devices” from Harmony remotes, my Google home app lists 31 devices, so it’s hard to identify what is the assistant struggling to sync, as the error message doesn’t specify which “3 things” are not available and all my devices seem to work. 

If Hue is not available,  the error message from the assistant is “syncing devices from Nest, Harmony and TP-Link Kasa, Hue is not a available”,  and unlinking and relinking the Hue account resolves the issue.

This suggests that the issue may be Google Home struggling to sync with Nest devices (I have 3 devices added via the Nest app: a Nest Hello and 2 Nest Protects), but there is no clear way to unlink and relink the Nest service as it is not listed on the works with Google section of the app (it used to be), and all 3 devices seem to work.

Any ideas how to resolve this and how to identify which devices is the assistant talking about?

[kiltguy2112]

Why did you ask it to sync devices, was something not working?

[FJO]

It was after fixing an issue with Hue. The error went from 2 things to 3 things.
Syncing devices fixes many issues, and doing it regularly tends to keep all running smoothly. This issue has been around for a while, and is common across users, checking if someone has found a solution for it, or found which integration(s) or device(s) cause the problem.

[FJO]

Chatting with other users on Google Home groups, it looks like this is a common issue.

This happens when asking using voice on Nest Minis or Nest Hubs, and also when asking the assistant app on my phone or tablet, suggesting that is an assistant issue, i.e. not something device-specific.

I originally raised this issue on the assistant community, and quickly got a formal Google response to raise it here. I did that, and 2 weeks later,  still not a peep… even when this seems to be a quite common issue, that has been going for a long time.

I have also sent feddback on this from different devices, and know of people that have done the same.

Any chance on getting a formal response from Google Nest on this?

[Aquinox]

I have the same issue. Disappointing.

[FJO]

Does anyone from Google Nest reads or adds to these threads?

[Jake]

Hey all,

Sorry for the late reply. I wanted to follow up and see if you are still in need of any help? 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

[Jake]

Hey all,

I wanted to check in and see if you are still in need of any help with your device? Please let me know, as I would be happy to assist, and answer any questions you may have.

Best regards,
Jake

[Jake]

Hey all,

I want to ensure you are good to go, and everything is working properly. Please let me know if you are still having trouble, as I will be locking the thread in 24 hours due to inactivity. 

Best regards,
Jake

[FJO]

Hi Jake, 

Thanks for coming back on this. Please don’t lock the thread as the issue I described is still there, and no solution has been suggested. Hopefully you have a way to resolve this!

When I ask the assistant to sync all devices (on my hubs, minis, phone or tablet), I still get the response:

”Sure, syncing devices for 4 providers. 3 things aren't available. You might want to try setting them up again.”

The 4 providers linked to Google Home are Philips Hue, Harmony, TP-Link Kasa and Nest (although Nest no longer explicitly shows on the “works with Google” linked services list in the GH app). 

Including “virtual devices” from Harmony remotes, my Google home app lists 31 devices, so it’s hard to identify what is the assistant struggling to sync, as the error message doesn’t specify which “3 things” are not available and all my devices seem to work. 

As mentioned, This seems to be a very common issue… any idea of which devices can be the ones causing the issue and how to resolve it? Could they be the Nest smoke alarm and doorbell?

[DJSuprimeW]

here the same issue, but only when i say to google mini/google hub: sync my devices, its saying okey i sync your devices and then its says my phone is not avaible try to ad my phone again?... i tryed to delete and reset each product, delete my house in google home, and make a new one and added one for one again, but still that error.. someone an idea or fix ?.... 

[Aquinox]

what seemed to fix it for me was I had a few rooms that were not being used. I deleted the rooms and things started working as intended

[DJSuprimeW]

thank u for the answer! i have no empty rooms, i reset all, and delete the house. and making a new house, install all again.. but still the same.. and with my 7 cameras now  if i got a notification and i clik on it. for the videoclip, then its says an error for vieuwing that video... or an error to stream the live camera.. so idont know, i know one thing, that is i deleted my first house in the app. but i dont delete my devices from that house.. mabey my phone is still connected to that deleted house and connected to that devices in that old delted house?... but when i play music on youtube music and i cast it to my nest hub/nest mini speakers its all working.. something is F** up in my whole google system...  i deleted the google home app and nest app few times and resetting all, but no luck...  😞 

[FJO]

Hi Aquinox,

Thanks for the suggestion, but I don’t have unused rooms in the app, so that can’t be the cause…

[austwhite]

This issue has been on my system for a while.  It initially was just 1 device unavailable, but does not say which one.  Recently this has changed to 2 devices unavailable, again not saying which ones.   There are no unused / blank rooms on my system.  There are no unused entities.

It seems there are phantom integrations installed, maybe ones that no longer integrate with Google, but no way to see these and delete them.

Any ideas on this appreciated, so I am commenting and following this.    It has been an issue for a couple of years now that I know of.

This does not seem to affect operation of detected devices, but it is an annoyance to have it and of course it leads to the issue of a possible security risk having something unknown linked to the account, even if it is not working.

[FJO]

Mine started as 1 device, then 2, now 3... it never identified which device(s) are causing the problem and all devices seem to work.
This has been happening for years, and I sent feedback in several occasions, and finally posted this last December hoping that Google would acknowledge the issue and maybe someone could suggest a solution.

7 months since it was posted and not a peep from Google, despite several comments confirming that the issue is common...

I am starting to wonder if anyone from Google Nest reads or adds to these threads, or if we are all wasting out time...

[austwhite]

Either they don't read or care or they don't know how to fix it.   I've sent feedback via the devices multiple times also

[FJO]

My experience so far is that community specialists only comment that they will lock a thread if not replied to in 24 hs, but I never seen any helpful comments from them…

[FJO]

Anyone from Google has any suggestions?
I originally raised this issue on the assistant community, and quickly got a formal Google response to raise it here. I did that, and now, more than 7 months later,  still not a peep… even when this seems to be a quite common issue, that has been going for a long time.is the plan to fix this when Matter goes live?

[OGdropcam]

I'm also having a problem synching my nest mini so it can alert me when my doorbell is pressed. Spent hours on chat with support and at one point it worked for a few minutes. However, the next day it was back to not working and not synching. 

The nest app was supposed to be retired a looooong time ago and Google has been unable to integrate it into the home app with nest legacy devices so this is a very old problem they have never solved.

[FJO]

This has been going on for at least 2 years now (I think it's even longer). First the message was "2 things aren't available", then 3 things, now 4 things... and no acknowledgement from Google...
Keeping my hopes on the new Google Home app that's waiting for Matter to launch... hopefully Matter will stop the need to "Sync devices" (at least the compatible ones) and make this problem go away... time will tell...

[Juni]

Hi folks,

Sorry for the late revert. I know how it feels when something isn’t working as it should, let’s me help. 

A few questions: When the sync happens and you are getting that response are you able to control your devices from the Google Home app? Are you able to control them via voice command too?

If you did a reboot on your Nest speakers and third party devices try doing it on your WiFi router as well and see if it will make a difference.

Let me know how it goes.

Best,
Juni

[FJO]

Juni,.

I have rebooted everything and still get the message. In fact The message now says that 4 devices aren’t available now… evergrowing amount…

After that response I can still control all devices via voice and via the app

[Muddi]

Hey FJO,

How was your device? Feel free to update the thread if you still need help with your Google Home/Nest devices.

Cheers,

Muddi

[Muddi]

Hi FJO,

Due to inactivity, I'll go ahead and lock this thread in 24 hours. Feel free to start a new thread if you need assistance with your Google speakers and we'd be glad to assist you further.
 

Cheers,

Muddi

[FJO]

Hi Muddi,

it’s really shocking that, after the thread has been live for months with a lot of activity, and no solution has been provided, a community specialist gives a generic how’s  your device comment, and wants to lock the thread without even attempting to provide a solution,  

The problem is still there and no one from Google has provided any solution. Why close a thread that highlights a very common problem that has been happening for years without resolving it?

what is the point of this community if all that specialists do is locking threads instead of suggesting solutions to the problems raised?

[Muddi]

Hey FJO,

We understand how you feel. We apologize if we will close this thread sooner than you would have liked. As Community Specialists, we occasionally do a bit of housekeeping to keep the conversations in our community fresh and relevant. This includes locking threads after a period of inactivity.

Moving forward, could you list all the devices that you have? Also, are all the devices turned on from the switch?

Cheers,

Muddi

[FJO]

Muddi,

If an issue affects many users and has not been resolved, I would clearly class it as “fresh and relevant”.  The fact that Google sometimes takes long times to resolve some issues (years in this case, if you read the comments in this thread), and fail to  even suggest a potential solution, it doesn’t make the issue less fresh or irrelevant… it is still a problem that needs to fixed!

I have many smart devices at home, all with constant live power: nest thermostat 3rd gen, 4 nest mini speakers, 2 nest displays (2nd gen), 2 Nest protects, a Google Nest wired doorbell, 3 Google chromecasts, 4 Google Wi-Fi mesh routers, 8 Hue bulbs with bridge, 1 Kasa plug with a dumb light plug on it, 1 Sonoff smart switch controlling dumb lights, 2 Logitech Harmony hubs with remote, 6 Logitech pop switches with 2 hubs, a Samsung smart TV with Google assistant. I’m probably missing something…

The assistant must be confused when it suggests things aren’t available as all devices work, despite the error message… I did mention this on the original post…

I hope this helps resolve the problem

I can’t wait for Matter to go live, to see if it lives up to the promise of resolving smart home connectivity…

[VJB78]

I have the same issue (and have had for 2+ years now) today it is:

“Alright, syncing devices for 7 providers. VJB’s i Phone X isn't available. You might want to try setting it up again.”

The iPhone X was removed from my account months ago when I received my iPhone 13. Funnily enough, I ran sync devices through the assistant again and then received this:

“Okay, syncing devices for 7 providers. 2 things aren't available. You might want to try setting them up again.”

In the past couple of months I have had to delete my home and start from scratch. I reboot my WiFi modem and the Google WiFi weekly.
This issue comes up EVERY SINGLE TIME I sync devices. 

[FJO]

VJB78 how was your iPhone added or removed from your Google Home account? I suspect that all this mess has something to do with apple devices…

[Muddi]

Hey folks,

My apologies for the delays. Could you try enrolling your speakers to preview program and see if that makes any difference. You may follow the steps below or visit this link to learn more:

1. Open the Google Home app.
2. Touch and hold your device's tile.
3. At the top right, tap Settings > Device information > Preview Program.
4. If you can't find the "Preview Program," we're unable to accept new members at this time. Please continue to check back as opportunities become available.
5. Choose whether to receive email notifications by moving the slider to the right or left. Note: It is recommended to allow email notifications so you’ll know when new updates are pushed to your device.
6. If you opt-in to email notifications, you'll be asked to sign into your Google Account if you haven’t already.
7. Review the contents of that page, and tap Join Program.
8. Review the contents of the page, then tap Ok, got it.

Let me know how it goes.

Cheers,

Muddi

[FJO]

Hi Muddi,

All my devices are enrolled in the preview programme and it doesn’t make sny difference.

[Muddi]

Hey FJO,

We appreciate your efforts. We'd be happy to take a look into this for you. Please fill out this form with all the needed information. This form is only meant for you to use, so let me know once you’re done.

Cheers,

Muddi

[FJO]

Hi Muddi,

I have just filled in the form

[Princesss]

Hey there,

@FJO, thanks — we got your form and we've escalated it over to our higher level of support for further review. Please keep an eye on your inbox as someone will get back in touch with you soon. 

@everyone, can someone confirm if you still experience the same thing? Have you already filled out the form?
 

Best,

Princess

[FrankWest]

I’ve also filled in the form. Experiencing the same issue.

[Muddi]

Hey FrankWest,

Thanks — we got your form and has sent it over to our team for review. Please check your inbox from time to time as someone will be reaching out to you. 
 

Cheers,

Muddi

[titiviking]

I'm facing exactly the same issue... On my end it is an old android phone that I'm not using anymore... hence it is not linked to Apple like other seems to be suggesting...

Have you managed to find where such device may still be listed in your google account?

I've searched every where, my old phone is not configured for my google account anymore, and still Assistant complains when syncing my devices...

[VJB78]

Also, as a side note, I have read this entire thread and notice a trend….google’s interaction on this thread has been minimal except when they want to close this and it would seem that whomever from Google had responded may not have read the entire thread properly. Not one solution has been offered (I don’t count “rebooting your wifi” as a solution in this instance). 

[shadow101202]

I have just joined this thread and I am having a similar issue. Google home won't sync anything now. Device's show as offline with no wifi however when I access the device via a app using wifi then it works. Google home see the device for about 1 day. 

Google support is shocking on this one!