Multiple devices responding at the same time

[seknav]

Issue began week of December 20.

I've had multiple Google Home and Nest speakers in our home for years. Nothing has changed in the past 6 months. 2 weeks ago, multiple speakers are answering when the wake command is issued. I say 'Hey Google, what is 1+1?' and two or three speakers will respond with the information or action that has been requested. There are four speakers on the floor I'm on. One that I'm next to, and others in completely separate rooms respond. There is one in a bedroom (2nd gen Mini) and one in the bathroom (Nest Audio) which regularly go rogue. The other in another bedroom is silent.

I understand that upon hearing the wake command, multiple devices negotiate with each other to decide which will respond. In this case they don't seem to be following that procedure (the one in the other room or the bathroom jump in even though the one I'm standing next to is closest).

I've rebooted the devices and the wake sensitivity is already set to low.

Why is 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.

I asked this question in the Google Assistant community but was asked to post it here.

[Aiden1]

Right.  It's just weird.  In my case, the firmware for each device was already up to date because they had been factory reset just the day before.  It was actually what triggered the bug for me.  Nothing's changed in the FW on any of my speakers.  The only thing that's changed for me is the Google app.  Weird, right?  And the error is gone nonetheless.

[Googlbreakgoogl]

How do you eliminate Google assistant from the from responses to Google home queries on your phone?  I have the note 9 and it is the most annoying thing having to listen to the sound it makes when it starts listening.

[Aiden1]

If you mean the assistant activation sound, I haven't found a way to turn that off on the phone.  I can turn it off on my pixel buds but not on my phone(Galaxy S21 Ultra).  I don't know why they wouldn't include a setting to make it optional on the phone.  Not everyone wants to be hearing that.

[Googlbreakgoogl]

The sound wouldn't be so bad if it was actually controlled by notification volume instead of media volume.  BTW, Thanks for being so active on here and willing to help others.

[dbelk80]

So weird everything was working this morning and just like that.... back to multiple devices answering again. I had a brief internet outage, Comcast, which lasted about five minutes or so just before noon. After about an hour, I wondered if it was all still working and I asked for the time. My phone and two devices responded. 🤣🤪

[Aiden1]

I also had a brief internet outage on a different provider(spectrum).  I have a nest wifi router.  Maybe it's related to that.  Is yours nest as well?

[Googlbreakgoogl]

After reading some comments about the issue returning and I am happy to report that the speakers are continuing to function correctly.   I checked the FW version on all of my speakers and they all have the newest firmware.  One thing that I have not done and will not run is the available update to Google.  There has been way too many app updates recently that are breaking the functionality of their own app.  I say don't fix it if it's not broken. Auto updates off !!

[Googlbreakgoogl]

Also, is there a way to turn off automatic firmware updates on my Google hardware?

[Aiden1]

No, there's not.  They update as long as they are connected to the internet, period.

[OurAngryBadger]

Mine are all working normally again. I also got an update to the Google app, but not sure if that was what fixed it. Do you actually NEED the Google app running to talk to the speakers? So like, if your phone dies, your speakers and smart home are useless? I don't think so? The speakers should still work independently.

MAYBE it was actually the assistant on the phone hearing you talk and causing the speakers to mess up? That's the only way I can think that the phone app update could have fixed it.

Would be interesting to know if anyone is still having this issue, if they turned their phone off or put it in another room, if that fixes the issue.

[Aiden1]

Phone doesn't need to be on or be able to hear you.  However, if there's something wrong with the Google app, it can cause a sort of cascade failure in the assistant that affects your entire Google account and every device linked to it.  Could be why updating that app worked for you and I.  I didn't touch my speakers at all as far as factory resets during the strange behavior at all.  The only thing I did was install the update to the Google app and then Reboot all the speakers/displays after that.  

I had no firmware updates to any of the devices either.  They are all on the same versions they were before the error began since they were apparently already up to date.  Nothing's changed there yet everything is now fixed and working perfectly.

[Kill00]

Working for me too now. I didn't update, reset, or do anything. 🤷‍♂️

[Ldubs_12]

I haven't been following this forum for a few days but my speakers have seemed to be working this week. There haven't been multiple speakers answering the same question and when I ask to play music on a group it's not saying theres more than one group. I didn't do anything to get them working so not sure what occurred to get them working.

[TerraForever]

Problems indeed have been fixed on the side of Google.

[Shrinsys]

Sadly not for me yet. 

[macramore]

Having the same issue here 😞 really don't want to factory reset for a temporary fix. 

[swd10a]

I have had different Google devices answering for one another for 6 - 8 months now... it's NEVER the one you stand in front of and ask. and it goes for a few minutes. It is maddening and totally useless. Resetting hubs, displays, mini's.. my phone... doesn't help. MAY last a few hrs or even a day at most. Then Google starts talking about something I am speaking to someone about W/O saying a Google start phrase. Then... since my new smart TV is Android and linked to my Google account... COMMERCIALS start showing up that I had a recent conversation about and NEVER asked Google about at all!? .. I totally believe this is GOOGLE ACCOUNT related. NOT solved by rebooting or resetting an individual device. WAY too many weird/wild things going on with Google to go over here.... but just saying Google has got MUCH to fix and it is NOT a recent problem. I agree that totally resetting my ENTIRE Google Home is NOT an option. If that is what it would take... I would just as soon get rid of the entire $1500+ collection of these things. I am a Senior level IT tech with over 25+ yrs of experience and I have never seen anything as slip shot as this... NOT even from Microsoft!.. (and that is really saying something!) I fear that nothing short of totally clearing and/or deleting my existing Google account and starting ENTIRELY over from the start will fix this deeply messed up system... and I'm not sure it is worth it. (It there is a troubleshooting method that exists... I have tried it... with and w/o Google Support) 

[pbman]

Looks like they are FINALLY working to fix/improve this whole ordeal... so that's good!!! Took a screenshot of a notification I just received from Google Assistant in regards. 

 https://photos.app.goo.gl/8iXdXREPSfoq8N436

[Googlbreakgoogl]

I was receiving these questions before the issue started

[dbelk80]

Yes, I've been getting these as well. I would like to note that this has been a long running issue before I started having multiple devices responding simultaneously issue. The issue brought up in this thread was not related to the wrong device responding but multiple devices responding simultaneously. I was almost accustomed to a Google home in my bedroom starting a timer when I asked for a timer in the kitchen. The issue brought up in this thread was extremely annoying to where I was considering unplugging some assistant devices. At some point, for example, if I asked for a timer in the kitchen, every Google home within an earshot would start a timer instead of just the wrong one. I could potentially have up to four or five assistant devices setting a 10 minute timer simultaneously. I will say this issue has almost completely disappeared with it maybe happening once or twice a week. What hasn't been resolved is the wrong device responding and it seems like though they are trying to fix it on the back end. Maybe this is also addressing or helping with the multiple devices issue I don't know..

[mbze430]

Mine have been doing this for YEARS.  this is not something new.  I would tell my kitchen hub to set a timer and it will end up being one of the bedrooms.  I just asked my master bedroom hub max about the weather for tomorrow and my guest bedroom's hub mini answers.  Some time 3 or 5 google hub would answer to the same request for turning off a light..... it's really annoying 

I have NEVER figure out how to stop it from doing this.  it's so annoying... I am about to sell all my google devices and go with Amazon

[Shrinsys]

Funny, I just said the same thing yesterday. Alexa. 

[swd10a]

I have been having this problem to some degree for the past year+... so much so that IF my Google devices quickly report back CORRECTLY, I am totally SHOCKED, as it is an anomaly. NOT the norm. I DO believe that the problem for me, and I'm SURE MOST others...  lies in my Google profile... my "attempts" to clean my profile have been DEEP and with MUCH time and effort and I'm SURE NOT as complete as it should be. ... as I'm sure my profile is probably corrupted somehow? To this end. I either need to TOTALLY delete and start over... OR choose a Different NAME or create a NEW profile... with a DIFFERENT name/email address. 

NO... I should NOT need to do this.... but here I am. I am a busy person. I do NOT have time to do any of this.... this is why after the 4th or 5th call to Google Support I have given up. They run too many of my devices now to NOT use it. But when I go on vacation... I MAY give it a go. Until then... Google is useless and a running JOKE. I have STOPPED buying anything new from Google. ... but this is a NEW technology.. so growing pains are expected.. as I'm sure this is happening with the OTHER platforms. ... GOOGLE needs to make a BETTER effort with their updates to these devices and their overall environment. 

[wtstreetglow]

Same issue started happening with my speakers tonight

[deemeeow5]

Conversely, I'm bummed that this didnt happen to my google assistant devices since I actually think of this as a feature! Is there a way I can ENABLE my google assistant devices to give responses simultaneously for each command?? Basically I'd like to sync the audio output of all my google devices while allowing the input commands to come from any device. This is helpful if I need to query google while going to  room to room since I can still hear the response from a google device in a different area. 

[Googlbreakgoogl]

It wouldn't be all that bad if they actually synced up and answer at the same time, but the issue with mine was that they answered at slightly different times and you could not understand the response.

[MikeWiggins]

I'm having the same problem. Multiple devices have started responding. Including my phone saying bizarre things like "you need to have a valid phone signal or internet connection for me to do that" when it's near a google nest, but works fine when it's away from a google nest. It's been happening for around 4 weeks and I've factory reset everything - it's like they don't all know they're on the same network anymore. 

[JayJayTG]

Hey Google, can you please, like please fix this issue. The amount myself and many others has spent on these things to get that smart home dream and it turned into a nightmare. 

[jcolson]

yes ... agreed.  The Google Home is the only device that I purchased that with every firmware patch gets worse and worse.  Everything that used to 'just work' is broken these days.  I remember when Google Home would recognize exactly what I said and just do it ... now it asks me for confirmation constantly, or even worse, just does random things that have NOTHING to do with what was asked of it.

This issue is one of the WORST though, as I have now disabled the mic on multiple google homes in order for them not to fight on who is going to respond (and then get it wrong).  The Google Homes that I now have mic disabled are basically useless, except for speakers when playing music.

[JayJayTG]

100% this, exactly my experience. The early days were wonderful for sure. 

[PNH]

This started for me about 10 days ago. I did reboot all the devices and it seemed to work for a very short time and then reverted back to my phone answering, multiple devices answering, there's been a glitch try again in a few seconds etc. I have been relentlessly reporting this through feedback to Google. Unrelated to this I did purchase an Alexa device. While both systems have their pluses and minuses, Alexa seems more stable. I find the way Alexa is organized a little less intuitive in some areas. If this doesn't get fixed soon I will consider eliminating Google except for maybe one speaker because it does provide better answers to non-smart home questions. But purely as a smart home device, I think Alexa is more reliable. Google's constant experimenting live seems to introduce a lot of bugs along the way that are very frustrating in a smart home environment.

[macramore]

I had actually just got rid of 12 Alexa devices and the sub for an equivalent amount of Nest mini 2 devices. Alexa definitely had much better smart home reliability, but I could never get the music to work reliably. Now the music works great (less so since the Sonos lawsuit), but but Google home speakers work terrible for smart home features. I am hoping they work better when they get updated to Matter. 

I would consider Apple, but my experience with Siri’s voice recognition has been disappointing as well. 

I’m convinced there’s not currently a good option.