Nest Hub Max no longer playing audio on speaker group

[rhammond84]

Nest Hub Max is no longer playing music on the speaker group it is in when asked. All other speakers in the speaker group play, and I can manually add the Hub Max back into the group whilst playing audio through the display interface. 

Am presuming this is an issue with latest preview version firmware/cast firmware?

System firmware version: 12.20230611.1.59

Cast firmware: 1.70.375332

[Miggihiiri]

I've been able to make 1 speaker group work where I put all my speakers. I'm not sure how I got it to work but I'm too afraid to change anything. I think issues will arrive if I try to make another speaker group again.

[Chuckee]

Don't worry.  It'll break all by itself for no reason.

[BrokenSpeakers]

Google don't make hardware if you don't plan on actually fixing software bugs. Might as well throw the whole thing in the trash at this point. 

[TomE]

Somehow, it's actually gotten worse. 
Now, it even looks like hub v1's don't interop with hub v2's.
<head_desk/>

[aarontax]

Now my hub responds separately from my speaker group (even though it's in my speaker group) - it thinks I want to google something while I'm asking the group to play music.  It hear "google" and its ears perk up.   

[Rosatron]

It's been a year since the original post and it's still not fixed. My nest hub max and nest hub gen 1 refuse to play music when combined in a speaker group.

[mrceolla]

I'd recommend using Google Home's Help chat to complain about this issue, as well as the Feedback feature.  I started a chat a few weeks ago.  They claimed to be aware of the issue and working on it.  Then they suggested I use the Feedback feature to report it too, which I have done over a dozen times already.  Very maddening.  I've already had to add a few Echo's around my house after Google took away Conversational Actions.  I might as well go 100% Echo at this point.

[rhammond84]

Seems the Hubs have a new preview firmware.... But it's still broken. 

System firmware version: 16.20231130.3.59
Cast firmware: 3.72.396338

Given they've been through several versions since the problem started back in August, I assume this will never be fixed. 

[MittyOZ]

My Hub is System Firmware 14.20230831.4.72

Cast firmware 3.71.387262.  Don't think I'm on the preview but sounds like it wouldn't matter if I was.  

[mrceolla]

I just got done with a long chat via Google Home app's Help section.  They wanted me to do the following to see if things worked correctly afterwards.  The problem is I have a large, complicated Google Home setup.  I don't want to start over.

1) delete all speaker groups

2) reset all speakers and hubs and chromecasts

3) Create a new "Home" in the Google Home app

4) Add the speakers/hubs/chromecasts to that new "Home" and create speaker groups with them

5) See if they work correctly

Has anyone tried this already?  If you have a small Google Home setup or if speakers/hubs/chromecasts are the only devices you have in there, could you please try these steps and report back?

[mrceolla]

I should add that they again claimed to be aware of the problem and are working on a fix.  They still wanted me to try these steps which I am hesitant to do due to the size of my setup.

[MittyOZ]

I've tired these steps or versions of them multiple times.  Still no joy.  At this stage I'm done fiddling around doing their debugging for them, it's just frustrating.  I have a hub, an original large google home, 4 minis, and two chromecasts.  The hub is in the group but just doesn't work still, and so I've put the big google home next to the hub and muted the mic, and this does the job as a workaround.  But my personal opinion now is that we shouldn't need to be fiddling around doing all this stuff, if a hub is in a group, then they need to release a firmware where this will work (because it did once before!) and where we don't need to do anything to make it work.  

[Chuckee]

ya I've done it. colossal waste of time. 

might work. probably won't last even if it does.

[TomE]

That's the tech support equivalent of a "wild goose chase", and not something I would undertake without firm technical reassurance that it would work. The fact that my speaker groups work occasionally, to me,  means that something is going on here that they know about, but they're not communicating what it is. 

[t34wrj]

Went through similar/same steps months ago. Since a nonsensical 'update' on 5 January 2024, Google Nest Customer Care Team have not provided any update despite chaser emails of 26 January 2024 and 7 February 2024. Very poor indeed.

[Davidsdesk]

I have had the same speaker group problem for quite some time. I recently discovered a solution that works for me: I ask Google to play a song or playlist. After it begins playing on that particular device, I say, "Hey, Google, move the music to (speaker group name)."  It then plays on the speaker group I requested.

[mrceolla]

I'd be willing to bet that what you just described is a speaker group activation method that they forgot to "break" after initially losing the Sonos lawsuit. And hence it still works.

[Davidsdesk]

Well then don’t tell anyone… 😉

[morf]

Ok, now instead to go ahead we are going back...Now when I ask to also other google nest (not only hub) to play music in a specific group it says that there is a problem. I can play music in a speaker group only manually from spotify!!! NOW WITH ALL GOOGLE DEVICE YOU CAN'T SAY TO PLAY MUSIC IN A SPEAKER GROUP. THANK YOU GOOGLE!!! Google in 2024 = Microsoft in 1998!!!

[Googlydone]

MOVE AWAY FROM GOOGLE. 2 years, no resolution, why do any of you think they give a crap. Google sells gunk, makes money, spends nothing on support, ALL GOOD. Money in the bank. Sucks to be a customer.

[t34wrj]

I'm still chasing a response to my request for an update of 5 January 2024 sent to the Google Nest Customer Care team!

[morf]

Yes It is a shame..never had any comments from Google to this post..shame on Google..

[BrokenSpeakers]

How is Google so bad at this. YOU ARE A SOFTWARE COMPANY FIX YOUR SOFTWARE.  

[aarontax]

When I ask it to play music, my favorite thing that it's been doing lately is to play the music on some speakers and then on other speakers it says, "here are your search results" and then they start saying some crazy things (while it's playing the music on the other speakers).  It's like the screens and the speakers are working on two entirely separate systems even though they are all in the same speaker group.  

[JohnCSmith]

I get some weird stuff too. I try to play to a group called "Downstairs" which includes my hub max and a couple of Chromecast Audios, the hub max somes back with "I don't know but here are some answers on the web".....I hope AI gets better than this!! My Hub Max randomly decides whether to include itself in a group as well. All a bit hopeless really.....