Having trouble with Speaker groups? Read this first

[kelanfromgoogle]

Hi everyone, 

Thank you for continuing to notify us of the reliability issues you’re facing with your Speaker groups. I escalated these issues internally and the team is actively investigating a resolution. If you’re able, all feedback is appreciated! Please keep it coming by saying “OK Google, Send Feedback." Providing details, such as mentioning that the issue is with the "speaker group," is especially helpful.  As always, we appreciate your feedback and are working hard to alleviate the issues. 

Thank you for the patience,
Kelan

[kelanfromgoogle · Accepted solution]

Hey folks,

Thank you for your continued patience while our team has been working to address the issues with Speaker group functionality. I want to give you all an update and confirm that a fix was identified which will address a specific problem where some devices, when acting as the group leader, cause an issue with audio not playing on other speakers that are part of the same group. However, you may experience that the main (or leader) device will still play the media as expected.

The following devices will cause this behavior when used as the group leader:

- Chromecast with Google TV (4K)
- Chromecast with Google TV (HD)
- Google Home (Fixed as part of firmware update 3.73)
- Google Home/Nest Hub (first-generation)
- Google Home/Nest Mini (first-generation) (Fixed as part of firmware update 3.73)
- Nest Audio (Fixed as part of firmware update 3.73)
- Nest Hub (second-generation)
- Nest Hub Max
- Nest Mini (second-generation) (Fixed as part of firmware update 3.73)
- Nest Wifi Point
- Pixel Tablet
- A small percentage of third-party speakers were also affected

Note: the issue must be fixed on the device that is the leader of the group in order for the other devices in the group to start playing consistently

The fixes are specific to each device type, and are dependent on upcoming scheduled update rollouts. We will update this post as the fixes begin rolling out for each device so you can test your own speaker groups.

There may be some devices that take longer to receive the update so if you’re still encountering issues, you can try these temporary workarounds:

Cast directly: if you’re trying to play audio in multiple rooms, cast the audio directly to the individual speakers.

Restart your devices: If you’re having trouble with your speaker group and are unsure which device is the group leader, try restarting all devices that are part of the speaker group. This can often resolve the issues.

As always, we deeply appreciate the feedback and your patience. If you are still running into issues with Speaker groups, please leave a comment below with clear descriptions of the behavior you're encountering. This feedback will help the team further investigate and mitigate anything else that might be causing this feature to not work as intended.

Thanks again, we're working diligently to get everything back to how it should be.

Kelan

[Uncle-Googs]

45 mins in my garage again today...  waiting for my garage speaker group to show up.  Nope. No music for me.  Well done google.  What a joke.

[Uncle-Googs]

Just removed and factory reset EVERY nest speaker in my home (about 12 total mix of audio and minis).  Left my Hubs alone as I dont use them for audio - just for photo frames.  Going to let the dust settle overnight.  Than add back room by room.  I think I will avoid using any "stereo pairs"... but will set up groups.  See how that works... Will report back.

[Dastud]

Yo, kelanfromgoogle Community Manager (Admin). Why no word on any progress? When are you just going to admit that Google has absolutely no intention of correcting the problem. You string people along with the BS remove, reset, readd crap that has to be done weekly. Just be honest of your intentions

[Uncle-Googs]

Hey.  So I am impatient.  After removing and resetting everything.  I have re-added x3 stereo pairs.  (6 speakers total).  I went with stereo pairs again because I feel like it adds so much added depth to the music.

So fair what I have learned is...

Name changes to single speakers seem to process fine.  However - once you name and set a "Stereo Pair"... Name changes are very glitchy on stereo pairs.  You can rename it - but in various parts of the HOME app the stereo name change will not take.  For example the preview will have an old name.  You click on it... New name.  A different part of the config will have an old name... Click it to edit - nope... New name is there already despite showing old name.  Its either a broken process - or there is some replication/lag happening.

Do NOT rename a stereo pair.  Separate them first.  BUT - even that gets tricky cause once separated - one of the once paired speakers will retain the old Pair name.  Will make you think - was it separated??  I can see how some might assume the pair still exists per the name.  Its not like the icons are a great indicator. I suggest renaming them back both back to "Name L" and "Name R"... then forming a new pair - and giving it a new correct name.  Do not rename a stereo pair!  I am calling all of my stereo pairs "STEREO Room"... So like "STEREO Kitchen" for example.  This groups them nicely in the home app since everything I cast to is a Stereo pair.

Given how broken the rename process is for Stereo pairs  - and how separating them is confusing with the name being retained.  I wonder if this was part of my problem previously and all along. I have done a lot or speaker movement and renames in the last few months.  Maybe things were just a busted mess?

I will continue to add my remaining stereo pairs... and avoid any Groups for now.  Make sure I am happy with all my "STEREO" names first... Then venture into group territory.

Imagine busted stereo pair names... Then added to groups?  Maybe that was my group issue!?

Great product Google.  Thanks for all the help and guidance.  "By the way... The mics off"... on the voices of your customers trying to figure out you mess of broken process.

[Uncle-Googs]

A bit more one names.

I mentioned how broken or inconsistent renames of stereo pairs have been.  Prier to resetting everything, and taking the stance of NEVER renaming a stereo pair without breaking it apart and re-creating with the new name.  I used to have things in the home app that were unstable.  I would go to devices and some of my  stereo pairs would be correct.  Some would not.  Then they would update for a split second or two and be correct.  Then switch back an old name.  Change or show just one of the speaker names in the pair.  Names would be flopping all over the place in the Home app.  Just like names would be flopping all over the place in my cast list.  Now... So far... All my stereo pairs are stable.

Open home app devices... Stable list.

Open cast list from a music casting device - are a stable list.

I will get the rest of my stereo pairs re-added and stable today.  Once settled - I will build a "Garage group".... Which will consist of 2 stereo pairs (4 speakers).  As noted - my Garage setup has NEVER been stable.  But - I think it was because of the pair names this entire time?!.

Thanks Google for all the help and support. Oh wait - our Mic is off.  You dont listen to customers...

PS Google - you may want to look at your name/rename processes.

[Uncle-Googs]

Welp.  I have all my "STEREO - Name" pairs all recreated and very stable.  They all show up near instantly in my cast list.  A function that was completely unusable up until now.

If you recall from past rants - I would spend 45+ mins waiting for a  single Pair to show up IF it ever did show up.  Groups?  Same... nearly unusable.

Things look promising.

With stable STEREO pairs created - I have ventured to create a "GROUP Garage".  4 speakers total composed of 2 stereo pairs.

To my shock - my GROUP is stable.  Quick to show up - and plays like expected.

I am stopping here for a bit before I get Crazy and build a larger group like "GROUP Upstairs" --- which would be upwards of 8 speakers total (4 pairs).

From what I am gathering - all this trouble I have had was due to me renaming stereo pairs - and that rename processes leaving things in a broken state.

I repeat.  Do not rename stereo pairs!!!  Separate them first.  Name them L and R or whatever.... then "re-pair" them as a stereo pair to give them a new/changed name.

Rename "Stereo Pair" process is broken.  At least for me.

[Uncle-Googs]

I am 100% functional right now.  I may have one pair that is being a bit finicky on showing up.  HOWEVER I have done a lot in the last 24 hours.  So will give it a bit of time.  I am nit picking at this point considering the state of distinction I was in less than 24 hours ago.

My GROUPS are working!  - even my largest group that includes nearly all my speakers - hubs, and various stereo pairs works!!!  Shows up fast and it works.  Entire upstairs, bedrooms, livingroom, kitchen, dining, and garage... all playing in unison!  

Maybe their advice on reset everything has some merit?  HOWEVER - I still feel like Stereo Pair renaming is broken and where things break.  Even during my rebuild if I dared rename a stereo pair things started to crumble... Untill i split, renamed L and R speakers... and formed the pair again with desired name.

This could be it.  I might be back to a functional state!  Or at least I am the closest I have been in months.

I will stop the long posts - and give an update in a few days.  I hope this helps someone else.

[kelanfromgoogle · Accepted solution]

Hey folks,

Thank you for your continued patience while our team has been working to address the issues with Speaker group functionality. I want to give you all an update and confirm that a fix was identified which will address a specific problem where some devices, when acting as the group leader, cause an issue with audio not playing on other speakers that are part of the same group. However, you may experience that the main (or leader) device will still play the media as expected.

The following devices will cause this behavior when used as the group leader:

- Chromecast with Google TV (4K)
- Chromecast with Google TV (HD)
- Google Home (Fixed as part of firmware update 3.73)
- Google Home/Nest Hub (first-generation)
- Google Home/Nest Mini (first-generation) (Fixed as part of firmware update 3.73)
- Nest Audio (Fixed as part of firmware update 3.73)
- Nest Hub (second-generation)
- Nest Hub Max
- Nest Mini (second-generation) (Fixed as part of firmware update 3.73)
- Nest Wifi Point
- Pixel Tablet
- A small percentage of third-party speakers were also affected

Note: the issue must be fixed on the device that is the leader of the group in order for the other devices in the group to start playing consistently

The fixes are specific to each device type, and are dependent on upcoming scheduled update rollouts. We will update this post as the fixes begin rolling out for each device so you can test your own speaker groups.

There may be some devices that take longer to receive the update so if you’re still encountering issues, you can try these temporary workarounds:

Cast directly: if you’re trying to play audio in multiple rooms, cast the audio directly to the individual speakers.

Restart your devices: If you’re having trouble with your speaker group and are unsure which device is the group leader, try restarting all devices that are part of the speaker group. This can often resolve the issues.

As always, we deeply appreciate the feedback and your patience. If you are still running into issues with Speaker groups, please leave a comment below with clear descriptions of the behavior you're encountering. This feedback will help the team further investigate and mitigate anything else that might be causing this feature to not work as intended.

Thanks again, we're working diligently to get everything back to how it should be.

Kelan

[Dastud]

Thanks for the update!!!  You state "..a fix was identified which will address a specific problem where some devices, when acting as the group leader, cause an issue with audio not playing on other speakers that are part of the same group." Please explain "group leader" and how to determine/change it. Also "some devices" seem to be every audio device Google makes 😁. Looks like we are waiting on updates to fix each device, with no timeframe on when it will be released. Can you elaborate on what the fix actually is? Thanks!!

Todd

[rickjforbes]

Agreed!

There is no such thing as "Group Leader" from the user perspective. I can see how the devices would have to have a leader and sync the audio to that as I am aware that if you voice request the same audio stream (say a radio station) on multiple devices the audio is often the best part of a whole second out of sync, sometimes more.
The way the function is built is that the "Group" acts as if a single device.
I haven't been provided with any solution to this, however I reiterate that an agent (*Napoleon) told me that the issue was fixed, told me to check it and when I reported that it did not work, far from following up, he has ghosted me and continues to do so.

[RussdaFuss]

Thanks Kelan for giving us an update and letting us know the progress.

You say: "Restart your devices: If you’re having trouble with your speaker group and are unsure which device is the group leader, try restarting all devices that are part of the speaker group. This can often resolve the issues."

Not that regular restarts of all devices aren't routine anyway, how can you find out which device is the current group leader and can you influence which device takes the lead?

[scragin]

I have factory reset my Google Max speakers so many times I can't even estimate. The stereo pair stops working and both speakers have to be factory reset (again...), relinked to the Home app, and repaired. Then they work for a day or two and then stop. "Glad" to know this is a common problem and not specific to me. Extremely upset that a company of Google's means can't seem to fix it. Shame on you, Google.

[scragin]

I hope this helps diagnose the issues. Every time  my Google Max speakers lose their connection (which is inevitable and ongoing), I have  to reset to factory, re-link them to Google Home, rename them Left and Right, and then pair them as Stereo. Then they work for a while. But I did notice that when I went into the Spotify  app and changed the speakers to Stereo there, it shows up as Left instead of Stereo (still plays on both speakers). When I go into the Google Home app, it shows Stereo playing. 

How can this issue have been going on for years without a fix, Google?

[scragin]

Just a bit more info. When I go into the Spotify app and touch on the speakers icon, I get a list of available speakers (All Google Home speakers), including Stereo, which shows up as Stereo. But when I select it, Spotify then shows as Left playing, not Stereo.

[scragin]

One more data point. When I go into Google Home and the Device list, Stereo will show playing, but when I click on the device, that screen will show Left playing, though I just went to try this again and now it's saying Stereo is playing. I guess these can't even be consistent in their malfunctioning. Spotify is at least consistent in selecting Stereo from the device list and then Left playing. At least they're playing.

[scragin]

Okay, one final data point. When the Stereo pair disconnected in the past, I would have to reset speakers to factory, reregister on Home, and re-pair. The pair still sometimes disconnects, but it has recently been coming back to life without the total reset. One small blessing.

[marcolopes]

I already have the latest preview firmware, BUT, there is still a HUGE BUG with PAIRED STEREO devices, that prevents the firmware to be updated on BOTH devices!!! https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Speakers-and-Displays/Google-Nest-Mini-firmware-384934-NOT-li...

As usual, only the "right" DEVICE was updated!!

Can you please address this issue?

As you can see from the post above, users already tried separating the devices, but NO UPDATE was made! (even after reset / reboot). And YES... the standalone configuration of the device has AUTOMATIC FIRMWARE UPDATE ON!

[HansWSchulze]

I think I had trouble updating while paired last year. Turn off one of them while updating? 

One of my pair kept getting intermittent audio.

Then my Nest did the same casting to Shield which was on routers ethernet, complete cheese, been at least 6 months.

Casting anything to Google devices fails about half the time.

Asking assistant a question or to do something fails half the time, from any device.  Is Sonos and Google having "I heard him first" arguments? Sometimes they both answer (Move and Nest).

Then if I do get a response, 25% of the time it isn't sure of what I asked about, or didn't understand, or it's vocabulary or search prowess isn't up to par. 

Not much got better since last year, half the features are flimsy or broken.

All of last year, my first news feed on Good Morning verb had trouble starting to play, or announcements overlapped the news audio.

Do we have like ten kids working on bugs?

[jimminikengmai]

Every time I ask the speaker to stream stream my radio station it says I'm sorry something went wrong and then says it sent a notification to my phone but I got no notifications on my phone 

[RussdaFuss]

My Google Home mini (Gen. 1) stereo pair no longer plays music in the speaker group. The stereo pair is no longer shown as speakers in the Google Home app, but as another speaker group. Every now and then the app shows the individual speakers instead of the stereo pair. Music can be streamed separately from Deezer/Spotify/TuneIn to the stereo pair, but not as part of the speaker group.
Nowadays, pretty much nothing works in connection with speaker groups. Considering that the Nest Hub (Gen. 1) has not played music in a speaker group since September last year, things are obviously gradually getting worse.

[milnivlek]

Huge thanks for the update. Just to confirm: can you share how long this bug has been around? I've been having problems with speaker groups for more than a year now. How can we tell whether our problem is related to this new bug?

[morf]

After 6 months from the first post.. Donyou think we can say that Google is not able to fix it? And that's it?? Say simply "guys it is way it is"...

[RussdaFuss]

"Not able" would imply that the developers are not capable of doing it. I think it is more likely that it is a management decision not to continue to maintain this product category. It is possible that Google is giving up the voice assistant business altogether or that they are already working on a new generation of voice assistants with AI. But you could be right that we have to live with the current situation.

[morf]

Yes exactly this is the point. All google answer can reveal which type of company it is. The ones who can t fix a stupid software problem or the company that lies to it's customers...

[JohnLand]

So they updated the firmware to 3.73.420420 on the nest audio speakers. 5 of the 6 that received it will no longer play in a speaker! I'm down to a max speaker and 3 old audio cast devices. So out of 14 devices that worked I am down to 4 and figure 3 in a day or 2. I have spent hundreds of hours wasted along with Thousands of dollars in google products and routers thinking this was on my end, all just to listen to music!

[Jaygjenning]

How do I know which device was the leader? 

[RussdaFuss]

@kelanfromgooglemight answer that, ... or not. In any case, this question has been asked several times.

[WhyWhy99]

I assume the chatbot @kelanfromgoogle @ is like a slot machine, just keep playing and maybe it will pay out...great odds for customer service.

[Jaygjenning]

My G Home app freezes when I attempt to fix speaker group. This sucks. 

[Jaygjenning]

 

 

[marcolopes]

I have a "long" list of devices (when i access SETTINGS -> DEVICES, GROUPS & ROOMS -> Select a ROOM -> CHOOSE DEVICES)

They appear under the "ADD NEW" list!

Is there a way to remove this "old" devices?

[rickjforbes]

This is one of the bugs I have reported.

So sort of retention of old devices.

Best thing is; I have and have had multiple homes and I  use similar naming conventions and I could see devices that are from a home I packed up and left a few years back. I suggested to Google this could be an issue at account level rather than home structure level.

Further example. I set up my father in law's home and then "left" it, yet I still see devices particular to that home in the same screen. I know they are his as we used a different room naming convention there.

I can only begin to imagine the issues this could potentially cause when I use voice commands with device names.

Obviously over time I have factory reset and readded the dame devices with ssne names and/or subtly different names and they are all still there.

Ridiculous.

Google's response was to ignore it and say that they passed the information to their higher level support 

[CHAZZER]

It makes no difference as to the leader. The issue is currently only with the nest mini's. You can start to cast from a either of the two mini's, a hub or an andriod phone. In two test groups with another speaker and one of my Nest Mini's the problem repeated with the Nest Mini playing a clicking noise (similar to an LP record skipping at the end of the album) while any other device plays the cast.

[Lardo]

Not sure if my problem is the same but here it is:

Speaker groups aren't working anymore when I use routines. 

I have a routine that does "Play Radio X on ALL"

ALL is my speaker group for all speakers around the house, and has been working fine for years and years!

If I say "Play Radio X" it should invoke this routine, and it does... but it ONLY plays music on my Google Home MAX speaker. Trying to stop the music is a pain too, as Google doesn't seem to know where the music is coming from, it feels like it's lost connection somehow. 

I've had this problem before, a few months back and it eventually sorted itself out, but now it's back and I've rebooted ALL devices, and still the same problem. 

I had a glimpse of what it was like for one morning where I played a different radio station, and it worked... but since then, it's gone awry again!

It's infuriating, and makes me wish I could ditch Google's services! It always used to be simple, plug and play, but now it's just getting worse and worse!

[robbieq]

I just have a problem with the Home Max.  When it is included in the speaker group, only the Home Max will play, none of the other speakers will play.  When I delete the Home Max from the speaker group, all other speakers will play together.  I have 2 Hub Maxes, 2 Nest Hubs (1st Gen) 2 Next Hubs (2nd Gen) and a Google Mini.  I can start casting on the speaker group without the Home Max and then add it in to the group and all will play together, but when the next time comes around to cast audio, it'll only play on the Home Max, again.  I manually have to add and remove the Home Max every time.   I decided just to leave it our of my speaker group.  Also, if it helps, to stop the music, I just say, "Hey Google, stop casting" and whatever speaker is playing, in any room, single or speaker group, will stop playing.

[Lardo]

This is EXACTLY what I have with my Google Home Max. It seems to steal the casting from everything else, but this has only started to happen in the past few weeks, or months. 

I have now created a group without the Max, but I really hope Google sorts this out.

One thing I don't understand is that the Google Home Max Speaker is on a totally different casting firmware to any of my other speakers. Maybe this is why there are issues? 

It also seems that Google has issues with Speaker groups as a whole. Not sure why it takes so long for Google Devs to figure this stuff out, they must have armies of coders !

[Mishap]

Yes, armies of coders but no programmers!

[WhyWhy99]

No I think they have 1 chatbot @kelanfromgoogle  that just repeats a scripted...we are aware...with no further updates.

[AmazingShawn]

We get up in the morning and turn on YouTube music and connect to all the 9 Google Max speakers in my only Group. Sometimes it works but other times it turns on only one speaker. I go to Home and turn it off go back to music and try Group again. Sometimes it works. Other times it plays another speaker in the group. Again I go to Home and turn it off and try again. The frustrating part sometimes I can't get it work and give up just playing on 1 speaker. The next morning try again and all 9 Group speakers work. Today I've been trying on and off for 4 hours trying everything I can think of.

[rickjforbes]

It's not you or anything inside your control.

It's their software