Just a Rant about Google Nest Audio in the Hope Someone at Google Might Read It

[martinix]

I've used Google Nest and Google Home for some years now. I started my journey with great enthusiasm and as a home audio system it has the potential for being so good. Sadly the performance and reliability is awful and there seems little hope of that potential being realised. There has been a notable decline in the performance of the Google Home App over the past months. Speaker Groups cannot be deleted and recreated. Even when Speaker Groups are defined they will not obey voice commands. The wrong speakers respond to voice commands even when your standing directly next to the speaker you wish to command. And, when you try and use the Google Home App to manually control a speaker all you get is the dreaded 'can't connect' response. All-in-all an unacceptable state of affairs. The repeated support mantra of 'Do a Factory Reset of all you speakers' is a laborious torturous process that brings no relief. Google claims their mission is "to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful." If this is so, it is time for them to put some effort to improving Google Nest and Google Home.

[virnab]

Hi martinix,

Thanks for reaching out to our community.

I’m sorry to hear that the performance of your Google Nest and Google Home devices have declined over the past few months. Thank you for sharing your experiences with your home audio system. We value your loyalty to Google products and appreciate your patience as we work to improve Google Nest and Google Home. I’m glad to assist you with your concern.

Before I start further troubleshooting, let me ask you a few questions:

• Are you using an Android or an iPhone to control your Google Nest and Google Home devices?
• Could you please confirm what the model and generation of your Google Nest and Google Home device are? Here is a Google help center article that can help you to identify your device: Google Nest and Home device specifications

• When did the inconvenience start?

• Is your Google Home app updated?
• What's the Google Nest and Google Home Devices firmware version? You can use this Google help center article as a reference: Find your device’s firmware version.
• Would you kindly confirm whether your Google Nest and Google Home devices are linked to a 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz WiFi network?
• Are your Google Nest and Google Home devices connected to the same WiFi network as your mobile device?

In the meantime, please verify if your home address information is complete in your Google Home app settings (including town name, street address, state, and zip code). Here are the instructions:

1. Open the Google Home app.
2. At the top right, tap your account.
3. Verify that the Google Account shown is the one linked to your Google Nest and Google Home devices. If it is not the right account, you can switch accounts by tapping the triangle next to the Google account, then tapping another account or “Add another account.”
4. Tap “Manage your Google account” and then “Personal info.”
5. Under “Addresses,” tap Home or Work.
6. Enter your address.
7. Tap “Save.”

Thanks for your kind attention; I will be looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Virna

[martinix]

Answers to your questions below..

Are you using an Android or an iPhone to control your Google Nest and Google Home devices?

• Android (Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Google Pixel 4a) : Google Home works partially. On Samsung devices don't display on Favorites/Home Page when active and Active Groups don't display on Samsung. Devices display on Google Pixel 4a correctly most of the time

Could you please confirm what the model and generation of your Google Nest and Google Home device are?

• Most devices are Google Nest 2nd generation - One 1st generation device.

When did the inconvenience start?

• Experience has got progressively worse over past 6 months. Rapid decline in performance and reliabiliyt over past 3 months.

Is your Google Home app updated?

• Google Home app regularly updated. Currently using. 3.30.1.6 on both Samsung and Google Pixel devices

What's the Google Nest and Google Home Devices firmware version?

• System Firmware: 456944 and Cast Firmware: 3.75.456944

Would you kindly confirm whether your Google Nest and Google Home devices are linked to a 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz WiFi network?

• all devices in close proximity to mesh routers with good reliable connections to 5ghz network.

Are your Google Nest and Google Home devices connected to the same WiFi network as your mobile device?

• yes all devices (Nest and Android) connected to same wifi network

In the meantime, please verify if your home address information is complete in your Google Home app settings (including town name, street address, state, and zip code). Here are the instructions:

1. User Account and Home Address correctly set

[virnab]

Hi martinix,

Thank you for your timely response and the comprehensive information you've provided. I really appreciate it so that I can better assist you.

Please try the following recommendations to improve the performance of your Google Nest Mini (2nd gen) devices and your Google Home Mini (1st gen):

1. Make sure the microphone is turned on:
• Google Nest Mini (2nd gen) devices: On the back of your device, make sure the switch for the microphone is turned on. The switch is often orange or red when the microphone is turned off.
• Google Home Mini (1st gen): On the back of your speaker, press the microphone mute button to turn the microphone on or off. Your assistant will say whether you turned the microphone on or muted it.
2. Check that the Google Nest Mini (2nd gen) devices and the Google Home Mini 1st generation are not covered or blocked.
3. Try muting and unmuting your Google Nest Mini (2nd gen) devices and your Google Home Mini (1st gen).
4. Restart your Google Nest Mini (2nd gen) devices and your Google Home Mini (1st gen) following these instructions:
   1. Unplug the power cord from your Google Nest Mini (2nd gen) devices and your Google Home Mini (1st gen).
   2. Leave them unplugged for one minute.
   3. Plug the power cord back in.
   4. Make sure your devices recognize the hotword.
5. Make sure your devices recognize the hotword. 
   • Say “Hey Google” to your speaker or display to check if your devices recognized the hotword. Check if the LED dots on the top of your device spin or blink.
6. Make sure your device recognizes the question correctly.
   1. Ask your Google Assistant the question again.
   2. Say "Hey Google, repeat the question" to make sure your Assistant understood you correctly.
   3. If it's still not recognizing the question, try to speak slower or try another question.
7. Adjust the hotword sensitivity of your device:
   
   1. Open the Google Home app.
   2. Tap “Favorites” or “Devices,” then tap the device (Google Nest Mini (2nd gen) devices and your Google Home Mini (1st gen)).
   3. Tap “Settings,” then tap “Audio, then “Hey Google” sensitivity.
   4. Use the slider to raise or lower the device's sensitivity to make it more or less responsive to "Hey Google."

Please let me know how it goes.

Best regards,

Virna

[martinix]

You have to be joking! There is nothing new in your suggestions. I've already done all the factory resets and new setups you can imagine without success. Your suggestions are just 'more of the same'. In addition to the resets you've suggested, I've also completely deleted 'my home', deleted all data and then reset up a 'new home'. The problems remain the same: erratic performance, unable to setup speaker groups because Google reports 'name already exists', failure of currently active speaker devices appearing on Google Home page and inability to control speaker groups by voice commands.

[virnab]

Hi martinix,

Thank you for your patience and for detailing the extensive steps you've already taken to resolve the issues with your Google Nest Mini (2nd gen) devices and your Google Home Mini (1st gen). It is my pleasure to continue assisting you with your concern.

The team would like to learn more about this behavior. When you get a chance, please fill out this form and let us know when you’re finished. We’ll have someone reach out to you via email from there.

Please keep me posted.

Best regards,

Virna