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Google Nest Hub "I don't know..."

sirwoodland
Community Member

‎10-14-2025 06:21 AM

I'm not sure what's going on but in the last year or so my Hub has become pretty useless. Half of the commands I've been using to play music are met with 'not supported' or 'can't do that', and the other half are met with 'I don't know, but I found this on search' type responses. It's become a running joke with my kids because 9/10 times that's the answer I get for basic inquiries. Pretty unimpressed with my Nest products recently, all of them with an assistant seem to have gotten 'dumb' in the last year. What gives?

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3 REPLIES 3

SmartHomeH-TAGS
Bronze
Bronze

‎10-14-2025 09:07 AM - edited ‎10-14-2025 09:11 AM

Depending on your subscription type would determine how you can ask Google to play music.

With your basic free Spotify "Play (artist or genre)" should work.

Have you selected your default music service?

You should be able to specify a service you want to use, like "Play Michael Buble on YouTube music"

Try rebooting your smart speaker through the Google Home app 

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HumanShield
Community Member

‎10-14-2025 12:05 PM

If you open the Google Home app there is a tab called Automations.

You can build your own workflow for what task needs doing.

I use it to manually select specific playlists on Spotify because the voice assistant gets the artist or title wrong all the time.

I have one of my automations set to play 4 hours of xmas music on every speaker in the house if I say "1234".

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EduardoN
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

‎10-17-2025 04:41 PM - edited ‎10-18-2025 05:12 AM

Hi @sirwoodland,

 

Thank you very much for contacting this community! I understand that for a year now, your Nest Hub sometimes doesn't understand the commands you use, and only responds with 'not compatible' or 'I can't do that,' and other times with 'I don't know, but I found it by searching.' That's why it's very curious how it has already become a family joke. But regarding the thoughts you've been having about your Nest products, don't worry, I'm here to help you!

To be able to provide you with the most accurate troubleshooting steps, I would like to ask you the following questions:

  • Which model of Nest Hub do you have (Nest Hub, Nest Hub 2nd gen, Nest Hub Max)?
  • In what country are you located? (This may impact the music providers they’re trying to use or what those providers have available in that country.)
  • What was the voice command you used to play the desired audio content?
  • Which provider were you trying to play music from?
  • Which music provider have you configured in the Google Home app?

In the meantime, I would like to provide some troubleshooting steps that may help you:

  • Check if Restricted Mode settings are turned on.
    • To turn it off:
      • Open the Google Home app.
      • Tap Favorites or Devices.
      • Tap and hold your device tile > tap Settings Settings.
      • Tap Notifications & digital wellbeing > YouTube settings.
      • 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.
  • Reboot Google Nest.

@SmartHomeH-TAGS and @sirwoodland, thank you very much for the recommendations about this issue!

Visit our Help Center to learn more about Listen to music on Google Nest speakers and displays.

Please feel free to share any additional details you think might be relevant.


Best regards,
Eduardo

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