Google Home/Nest still not playing radio stations problem (Canada)

[AndrewInCanada]

Read some posts worldwide about this. Google says it's fixed but I'm still experiencing problems in Canada.

"I looked for (insert radio station name) but it either isn't available or can't be played right now."

This started a few days ago and still persists. The usual "Hey, Google - play (radio station)" used to be very reliable for everything. Now just getting above message no matter what I reboot. 

Anyone else in Canada or worldwide still getting this error?

[Roxy1]

Same issue and not been able to resolve

[Carlos32]

If you are still experiencing issues with playing a specific radio station on Google Home or Google Assistant, you may want to try the following steps:

1. Check if the radio station is available in your country/region: Some radio stations may have limited availability based on your location. Check if the station is available in your country or region.

2. Check if the radio station is currently experiencing technical difficulties: The radio station you are trying to play may be experiencing technical difficulties. Check the station's website or social media accounts for any updates.

3. Reset your Google Home device: Try resetting your Google Home device by unplugging it from the power source for a few seconds and plugging it back in.

4. Clear cache and data for Google Home app: Go to your phone's settings, select "Apps & notifications," find the Google Home app, select "Storage & cache," and then clear the cache and data.

5. Update your Google Home app and firmware: Make sure your Google Home app and firmware are up to date. You can check for updates in the Google Home app.

If the issue persists, you may want to contact Google support for further assistance.

[pocomotion]

Same frustrating issue. My 'good morning' routine included the play radio function with the name of the station "News 1130" and was working fine since I purchased the Hub a couple of years ago. I had to change the routine's wording to "AM 1130 Vancouver Canada" and now works fine again. One thing I noticed after the change, is it went straight into streaming the radio station. A few months ago, I had noticed either Google or TuneIn was playing ads before streaming the radio station. Still not working for SiriusXM, but will keep trying to sort that out.

[Cytuser1]

I am having the same issue. The only thing that seems to work is to simply say play radio. Sometimes it plays the last station I was listening to. The other thing that occasionally works is to say play iHeart …. With your specific station number. I hope this gets fixed soon.

[AndrewInCanada]

Hmmm. 'Play radio' does play the last station. Very interesting. At least I can get one station til further notice. lol Thanks.

[Zed]

Hello,

Are you still experiencing problems with this?

I'm in Ontario and since Victoria Day, every time I ask for CBC Music (CBL FM), my Nest streams either CBC 1 in Halifax or Nunavut. 

I've reset and reloaded Google home several times, but nothing works for that specific station. The other stations on my rotation are ok, though.

[AndrewInCanada]

Hey Zed. 

I have had this problem return a couple of times since my original posting and the subsequent solution posted by 'Muddi' - did you see that, btw? So I've done TWO things that seem to remedy it for me and I just repeat these solutions til one work. lol

1. Muddi's solution of switching the 'Languages' in the Assistant App Settings - I toggle it between English (United States) and English (Canada). 

2. I have found Google Home/Nest to be particularly finicky about CBC Radio. Sometimes I have to vary how I ask for it to play - IE: "Hey, Google. Could you stream 99.1 fm CBC Radio Toronto.' or 'Hey, Google. Play CBC Radio 1 Toronto' or just '... play CBC radio 1' (and hope it gives me Toronto). 

Hope something works for you. 

Is it ideal? Nope. But usually something above works. 

[Zed]

Hello Andrew,

I didn't see Muddi's answer, so thank you for sharing it with me.

I've tried varying my commands in the past, but that stopped working for me around Victoria Day.

The language change wasn't on my rotation and that seems to have restored my access to 94.1 FM Toronto, but I've lost 99.1 FM Toronto (CBC1) when I use my basic command. 

It's progress. I didn't have access to any CBC Radio 2 stations anywhere, and it seems to be back.

CBC Radio one is a toss-up between Halifax or Nunavut now. 

Much appreciated. 

[Zed]

Oh, I have a follow-up question, do you use TuneIn? 

I reached out to Made by Google on Twitter and after a number of troubleshooting attempts, they recommended reaching out to TuneIn's support team.

[AndrewInCanada]

I don't remember 'selecting' TuneIn but it seems to be the carrier that my Nest uses by default for some reason. Yup. 

[jeb2]

Thanks! I just listen to Jazzm.91 so this has solved my problem. too lazy to cast from phone. whole point of google home speaker was voice commands!

[OldNavy35]

Same issue here. I have a radio station as part of my Good Morning Routine. Worked great from initial set-up, then now only the frustrating "Not available...." message. Tried everything. Radio station is broadcasting. I have to manually Cast it every time. Nest no longer responds to the "Hey Google Stream xxxxx (radio station). Same frustrating response.....

[Roxy1]

Thanx. Have tried all the above to no success. Can get Sirius xm and Spotify but nothing from TuneIn or IHeart etc.  Will contact google support by phone I guess. Seems to be a larger problem I would hope they could resolve. Frustrating to say the least

[Cytuser1]

Hopefully, if enough people contact Google directly they will try to fix this frustrating issue. By the way, Apple doesn’t have this issue. 

[ldaven68]

I have the same issue and have tried everything. Been in contact with google help via  twitter and they have had to escalate it because they ran out of ideas. 🤷‍♀️. i can get the last station that played as well when i say radio or if i use the google assistant on my iphone 

[MLD1]

Yes same issue for the past week in Toronto. No radio

[WendyKO]

Same.  I tried rebooting the device and it still doesn't work.  Tried playing a few different stations to no avail.  Some occasionally work when I say "stream *channel number and name* from TuneIn.  

[Roxy1]

May try to get a subscription to Tune In with a "free" trial period to see if that would link? Not sure how to bring issue to Google attention??

[ldaven68]

I have done this.  It will okay with google assistant on my iphone but not directly to google. Google tried to help me but said they couldn’t figure out out so had to escalate. Have t heard back from them since ( Sunday) 

[Roxy1]

Thanx Idaven68.  I can get Newstalk 610 on Tune in and thats it?? 🙂 Any info on how I can get contact with Google on this? Maybe more people contacting helps and so far have not been able to chat line or online with anyone. thank you

[jeb2]

google probably monitors this forum to find out was users are experiencing

[WendyKO]

Hi Muddi

thank you.  That worked for me. I did have to also go into the weather settings and switch from Celcius to Fahrenheit and back to Celcius to fix that issue after changing to US English but it’s all working now. 

[AndrewInCanada]

Thanks for all the responses and info sharing. I thought my Google Nest Mini was just being a jerk to me - but good to know (sort of) that it's just being a jerk to (seemingly) all Canadians right now. 

[Muddi · Accepted solution]

Hey everyone,

My apologies for the late response. Seems like we've been seeing quite an increase in reports, regarding issues streaming radio on the Google Home/Nest devices, and thanks for sharing your feedback on this thread.

The team would like to check if this is a localized issue. Could you try switching the Assistant language to EN_US, and see if your device will have the same behavior?

Change Assistant language
 

1. Open the Google Home app.
2. At the top-right, tap the Account icon.
3. Tap Assistant settings and then Languages.
4. Tap English (United States).

Let me know how it goes.

Cheers,

Muddi

[Cytuser1]

Hi Muddi,

I live in Victoria, BC, Canada. I tried changing the language to US-English. Now when I say “hay Google play CKNW the response I get is “Sorry, I can’t do that yet”. It also doesn’t play anything when I say “play radio”. So it’s getting worse. Tom

[Cytuser1]

Hi Muddi, my initial response was premature. It seems to work. Thanks. 

[Roxy1]

Thanx Muddi!!! I followed that and can stream my radio again. Live in Hamilton. Not sure how anyone figured that solution out but much appreciated

[AndrewInCanada]

OM(F)G. Muddi.

This TOTALLY solved it. This is amazing. Future generations should sing songs about you. 

Thank you. Brilliant.

[jeb2]

it's weird that that works, but it works. Why did it happen in the first place? Google needs more software engineers. I still occasionally get "it's minus 18" When I ask what the temperature is, even when it's 22 centigrade.  

Thanks!

[ldaven68]

well i was fling to change to the US assistant but radio all of a sudden works now on all our speakers before i tried that.  So hope it continues tok 

[dipakga]

Hi Muddi,

I'm in BC, Canada. and I updated it ( two different speakers) to English (United States) and it still does not work. 

[CanadianClub]

Nothing.  This is the same problem I  had about a year ago.  TuneIn is not mapping what Google is gathering from my voice to their radio service.  It's an API thing, not an end-user thing.  I am sure CBC Radio would not be impressed to hear that anybody on Google Home who says "Hey, Google Play CBC Radio" gets CFGT, 97.7 Rock in Grand Prairie.   Actually, that reminds me of what I did a year ago when I gave up on a Google fix.  I spread the word around in social circles about this misdirect to CBC.  Things started to happen after I did that.  Somebody is paying for advertising revenues here, and I am sure it is not Google. 

[Joedacosta1]

Same problem here but no ansers

[AndrewInCanada]

Hey. There was a reply from Muddi, above, that worked for a lot of people, including myself. Did you see it or give it a try? 

Change Assistant language
 

1. Open the Google Home app.
2. At the top-right, tap the Account icon.
3. Tap Assistant settings and then Languages.
4. Tap English (United States).

[Joedacosta1]

Did not work tryed  everthing she wont even turn off speaker says nothing playin this thing has gone mad

[AndrewInCanada]

Crap, sounds like she needs to be shot behind the barn like Old Yeller. Sorry. 

[DcB55]

Have tried all suggestions  - changed language, reboot, cleared cache... nothing. So frustrating. 

[Joedacosta1]

You think with all the moneys google has they would of resolved it by now time to change over to alexa and google can kiss our asses

[mountain_pass26]

Hi, I am still experiencing this issue since Friday. My assistant language setting was already set to English (United States). I tried changing that to a different language and then back to English (United States). I still found the same problem. I tried removing the second language from my list, but the problem persisted. I am no longer able to play any SiriusXM radio stations, except the last one by saying "Play radio".