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Multiple devices responding at the same time

gordonakelly
Community Member

 

We've had multiple Google Home, Nest and Nest Max speakers in our home for years. Nothing has changed in the past year (incl WiFi router and SSID). A month ago, multiple speakers started answering when the wake command is issued. I say 'Ok Google, etc etc?' and two speakers or more respond with the information or action that has been requested.

There are eight speakers in my home. 3 of the speakers now answer repeatedly when I'm nowhere close to them. For example, when I ask for white noise when putting my baby to bed, I'll find it playing on 2 or even 3 speakers after I issue the command. This never used to happen. 

I understand that upon hearing the wake command, multiple devices negotiate with each other to decide which will respond. But this no longer seems to happen. 

I've rebooted the devices and adjusted the wake sensitivity. The rogue devices are a 1st gen Google Mini, 1st gen Google Home and 2nd gen Google Mini.

Does anyone know why this happening and how can I resolve it?

I have read existing articles but this specific issue (multiple devices on the same network responding to one wake command) is not covered.

Thank you. 

30 REPLIES 30

JB804
Community Member

Same thing is happening with me! Used to work fine, but the last few weeks every speaker is responding, including my phone. Adjusted all the speakers to low sensitivity and still having the issue. I have 11 minis and hubs throughout my house and it has been a complete pain the last few weeks. I started turning some of the mics off. Hope there is a solution found soon. 

It's an absolute nightmare. Multiple alarms going off at the same time, answers coming from four different directions. I've had to mute microphones regularly, but even then I'm continually being bombarded with notifications that the microphone is switched off!  

JCB
Community Member

Same happening for me. Has been fine for years, started in the last few weeks. Very annoying.

lando
Community Member

Same issue here, hopefully going to see a response from Google. Primarily happening between new Nest Hub and new Nest Audio.

RVADIY
Community Member

Same thing here but only a few devices.

 

I have the google display in kitchen and also a wifi hub nearby. They worked well for several months and in last couple weeks they both respond to some commands. 

The difficult part is that they have been giving different responses.

ProstheticAIM
Community Member

This is absolutely a nightmare especially since I have a small apartment I’ve had to turn the mute microphone on two of my devices out of my 3 

Here is an update for you, dealing with Google Nest support is a nightmare, they want me to factory reset all of my devices create a new Gmail account and then start a new home with all the devices, just so they can say if that works it’s not our problem.

That would be a nightmare 😳 

Aiden1
Silver Product Expert
Silver Product Expert

I have a 625sq ft condo and really rely on the mic sensitivity settings to manage the otherwise potentially chaotic experience too.  Definitely feel your pain here. 

 

Braj
Community Member

Fix this Google. 

Tinkerow
Community Member

Having the same issue. There's another thread that shows this issue as resolved but the resolution it to reboot everything, We believe it has something to do with this ::

https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2022/1/6/22871304/google-home-speaker-group-volume-control-cha...

JB804
Community Member

NotApplicable, can you share the other thread link? I read the article you referenced before, but it never occurred to me these issues were related, since the article only speaks to music play. The timing makes sense though because the issue started around the time I read about the ruling.

On the speaker issue, I noticed a change yesterday in my speakers. I was trying to do a broadcast in a room with a speaker and my phone, both reacted when I said 'OK Google' but only the mini completed the action. It is not a complete fix because I had to do the request about 3 times before the broadcast would go across all my other speakers. It is nice to see some progress on this issue. I have not rebooted my whole system and would prefer not to.

JB804
Community Member

I found the other string, but I refuse to do a factory reset on all my devices until I see a confirmation from Google about it absolutely resolving the issue. In my house, we have 11 minis, 1 hub, 7 android devices and 1 iphone (for work 😒) with the home app, not to mention all the lights, tvs, Bluetooths, soundbars, thermostat, etc connected to the Home app. Factory reset is not a guaranteed solution. I will keep waiting this out.

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Speakers-and-Displays/Multiple-devices-responding-at-the-same... 

Aiden1
Silver Product Expert
Silver Product Expert

Factory reset is actually what brought this about for me.  Definitely not a guaranteed solution.  I had gone so far as to delete my home beforehand as well so I was literally starting from scratch in the app as well as on the devices.  It's a Google problem for sure with this many users.  If factory resets aren't working for everyone then it could be things like firmware versions, preview program enrollment, language settings, etc...  I don't know but it's something worth considering.  I haven't tried speaking in the other language I have setup(Italian).  I didn't think of that until just now.  

Aiden1
Silver Product Expert
Silver Product Expert

Okay, so I tried speaking in Italian and guess what...  Only the device with the highest sensitivity setting responded correctly.  Another nearby device didn't understand me correctly so there's still a problem but normally they would all answer and this time it was much more normal.  Very strange.  The same command spoken in English causes all speakers to speak.  

MichaelHS
Community Member

Hilarious trying out Italian, but sad.  None of us should have to be going through this.  Google should get it fixed.

Earlier I posted what I thought was a solution, but it was short-lived….the problem is back for me today after only a week’s reprieve.

Does anyone know of a public Google site where reviews of Nest Hub can be posted?  It’s time to quit messing around on this blog (which is public BUT deeply buried in Googleland) and get organized and post some negative feedback to see if that might get Google’s attention.

 This is beyond ridiculous.  

Aiden1
Silver Product Expert
Silver Product Expert

The only place I can think of is 9to5google.com

They cover all things Google and Android, so reaching out to them may be a possible avenue.  

Aiden1
Silver Product Expert
Silver Product Expert

The first few times in Italian worked but soon that language seemed to catch the "bug" and now it's not working either.  It's definitely something up with the software.  

Ldubs_12
Community Member

I have 10 minis (mix of both gen 1 and 2), one hub, nest thermostat, nest doorbell, 2 Chromecasts, some smart plugs and a Roku tv all connected to my home app. Needless to say, a full reset is not a valid solution for me. This issue also presented to me about one month ago. Like others, I can say something to one of the speakers and multiple will respond, some of which are well out of earshot of the mini being talked to. Mine started a bit prior to the patent infringement with Sonos but that's really the only thing I can think of that has changed. It's weird it's only a few minis doing this so not sure if it's a firmware thing and glitch?

gordonakelly
Community Member

I recently moved home, set up a new home in Google Home and the problem is just as bad. So I can confirm completely resetting the devices does absolutely nothing. 

I adjusting the sensitivity, turning it right down for all speakers in the hope that only the closest one to me will respond, but they are all still launching in unison. Sometimes even when I am only whispering!? 

OurAngryBadger
Community Member

Just wondering. Do you all have beta firmware updates "preview program" enabled on each speaker? According to Google's website, the current beta firmware is the same version as the current stable firmware. But I wonder...

It is not enabled on any of my speakers.

Aiden1
Silver Product Expert
Silver Product Expert

I have the preview program enabled, yes.  There is a preview version firmware active on my first generation Hub but that's the only device.

Others are 2 nest minis (2nd gen), 2nd generation nest hub, nest hub max, Google home mini, 2 Chromecasts with Google TV, 1 nest audio, 2 nest protect smoke detectors, 1 meross smart plug, 2 Mysa thermostats, 1 geeni smart humidifier, 1 smarthq(GE) microwave and the newer Nest wifi router.  I don't have any additional wifi points connected to the router.  Just the one device for WiFi.  

Phone is Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Android 12.  Recently had a security update too.  

Aiden1
Silver Product Expert
Silver Product Expert

I did add this issue to an open support ticket I had going for another non-related issue with my Google home setup. It was being escalated to tier 2, so I thought I'd take advantage of that. About 2 hours ago I heard back from the agent saying they had added this new problem to my ticket for investigation. Get this, it started happening on Google's test devices also. Factory resets do not fix this. She advised not to perform them. From the many testimonials on here, they are a temporary solution at best and not worth the trouble to perform. Hopefully I'll get an answer back from the agent I'm working with as to a timeframe for resolution or when to expect an update to something to fix this bug.

I was surprised to hear from her so quickly.  Really responsive agent.  

MichaelHS
Community Member

Thanks for taking this forward and getting it on your open ticket!  You’ll be nominated for sainthood if your efforts result in this issue getting resolved sooner than later!  :))

Aiden1
Silver Product Expert
Silver Product Expert

I just installed an update to the Google app on my phone and the behavior seems to be slowly working itself out. Sometimes the wrong device responds but the chorus of responses has stopped. I've tested with and without background noise. Start checking for any app updates. Just as a sidenote though, I am running the beta version of the Google app.  

Just hearing that they recognise and are experiencing the issue is very encouraging. Let's keep all fingers and toes crossed. 

Do please keep us in the loop if you hear anything more 👍

Aiden1
Silver Product Expert
Silver Product Expert

I have those emails for that case starred in Gmail so I shouldn't miss anything important.  I also submitted a tip about this to 9to5google.com  in the hopes they might be able to reach out to Google for a comment the way they do for other widespread issues with other Google Home related bugs.  I figured it was worth a shot.  I've not heard back from anyone there.  

KeithM415
Community Member

 Ditto , I'm having the same problem too.

Ditto , I'm having the same problem too.

Ditto , I'm having the same problem too.

The device Ditto is not yet setup. 

😞

 

 

Azarco
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey All,

Since this thread hasn't had activity in a while, we're going to close it to keep content fresh.

We hope you were able to get the help you need. If you still need assistance with your Nest devices, feel free to submit another post and provide as many details as possible so that others can lend a hand.

Thanks,
Alex