Mini nest - why random activity?

[EddieG]

My Nest mini occasionally plays out the Google assistant answering a question, but I haven’t asked one or been using nest/assistant.

It’s happened a few times. I’ve checked My Activity on my Google assistant and nothing shows up re that activity or question. 

It’s as if someone else is using Google assistant and the answers their question plays on my mini nest, not their speaker.

What could cause this?

[Azarco]

Hey EddieG,

Thanks for reaching out and sorry for the trouble this has caused you — let's check what's going on.

A few questions:

1. Does the Speaker or display regularly randomly false trigger or is this a one-off occurance?
2. Does the issue occur during a particular time of day or does it occur randomly? (If the customer replies that it happens at a particular time, gather specifics on what happens during that period.)
3. When did you first notice the issue? Was it after an update or has it always occurred?
4. Is there a chance that something touched the top surface of your Nest Mini?
5. Are you watching TV when the device randomly turns on? Was there a Google TV commercial playing at the same time?
6. Did you have a conversation that mentioned Google?

Could you try rebooting your Nest Mini and router for 1-2 minutes to refresh the connection? If you get the same result, try resetting your Nest Mini to its default settings. 

Hope this helps!

Thanks,

Alex

[Azarco]

Hey EddieG,

I'm just checking in to see if the troubleshooting steps shared help? Let us know by updating this thread, and the community will be happy to lend a hand.

Best,

Alex

[EddieG]

Hi there, thanks for the reply and prompt. Paraphrased questions and answers below.

1. Regular or one off? It happens occasionally, once every month or two. The time that prompted my post saw it happen twice in about 10 mins. 
2. What time of day? It tends to be evenings, but that may because we are nearer to the speaker for longer periods to notice it.
3. When noticed? I’m not aware of it happening just after updates, that maybe the case, but only if the nest auto updates as I haven’t done any. 
4. Touched the top surface? It’s vertical on a wall, but not near other surfaces, so very unlikely
5. watching TV /  Google TV ad. Yes, in the adjoining room, don’t believe there was a Google ad, also don’t recall anything on TV relating to the questions answered.
6. Google conversations? Not that I can recall, it’s not a common topic. 

I’ll reboot, the erratic nature means it could be a few weeks before it does it again, if that hasn’t fixed it. I’ll post back in a few weeks if it has and sooner if it hasn’t and the issue repeats. 

Thanks again.

[Azarco]

Hey EddieG,

Thanks for the information. If the issue persists after rebooting your Nest Mini, try resetting it. Hope that helps. 

We'll be waiting for your update.

Best,

Alex

[Azarco]

Hey EddieG,

Checking back in — did resetting your Nest Mini help? 

Thanks,

Alex

[EddieG]

Rebooting didn’t help, The mini nest spoke out twice yesterday evening, about an hour or so apart. The tv was on in the room next to it and door between was open, but no Google references on the TV. I’ll try a reset and wait to see if it recurs.

One puzzling thought, if this is Google Assistant responding to a query it’s heard on my mini nest, why wouldn’t that appear on the archive history? 

[Azarco]

Hey EddieG,

Thanks for the update, let us know if resetting your device will do the trick. You can also check the audio recording in My Activity:

1. Open the Google Home app.
2. At the upper-right, tap the account icon.

Verify that the Google account on screen is the one linked to the speaker or display. To switch accounts, tap the drop down arrow ^, then choose another account or Add another account.

1. Select My Activity.
   Note: This opens a list of all recent voice commands the customer has given.
2. Identify the most recent command that generated a failed response.
3. Tap the Play button on the query card (have them play a few) to confirm from My Activity what the speaker or display heard at the time the issue occurred.

Best,

Alex

[EddieG]

Thanks. After the reset there is only my account linked. I have checked on My Activity pre reset and that showed no odd or unexpected activity or queries. That’s what I can’t understand given the assistant is seemingly responding to something heard.

I’ll give it a couple of weeks or so and see if the issue recurs again post reset.

[Azarco]

Hey EddieG,

Thanks for letting us know. If the issue persist you can fill out this form so that we can take a further look on what's happening with your device.

Kind regards.

Alex

[Azarco]

Hey EddieG,

We haven't heard from you in a while, have you had the chance to fill out the form? 

Thanks,

Alex

[EddieG]

Hi Alex, I hadn’t posted anything as there was nothing happening, until today when there was another response, but no question asked. 

I have tried to complete the form but after several attempts I can’t get past a message which says. “Refresh this page and try again. Sorry, there was a problem with the form.” 

I’ve refreshed, tried again and again but can’t submit successfully for some reason, unless it is submitting and the error message is incorrect.

The form doesn’t contain any new information but seems to be a step in the process to alert someone else to look at the issue. Can we get that to happen without completing the form? Or is there a way to get past the error message?

Eddie

[Azarco]

Hey EddieG,

Sorry for the trouble this has caused you. I'll check this with our team and I'll get back to your once we have an update.

Appreciate your patience.

Kind regards,

Alex

[Azarco]

Hey EddieG,

Bumping in this, did you try filling out the form again? If you still can't, try using another device or use a different browser.

Best,

Alex

[EddieG]

Good thinking, have tried via another browser and it submitted ok this time. Let’s see what that brings. 

[Azarco]

Hey EddieG,

We appreciate you for updating us. We haven't see your form, could you please filling it out again?

Thanks,

Alex

[EddieG]

Ok, I have resubmitted in last couple of mins. 

[Azarco]

Hi EddieG,

We got your form — thanks for filling it out. Our team will reach out to you via email to further assist you. Please keep your lines open as they may reach out to you anytime soon. Also, please be advised that this thread will be locked after 24 hrs.

Thanks,
Alex