Nest Hub won't play YouTube music requests correctly

[johnny5dm]

This issue started for me in September, I believe within a few days prior to Sept 21, 2022. 

TL;DR - my Nest Hub is incredibly inconsistent and doesn't work correctly with YouTube Music Premium to play artists or albums. I do not seem to have this issue on Minis or on my Pixel 6.

A little more: depending on which artist or album I ask for, my Nest Hub will not respond correctly. See sample requests and responses below. I've filed a ticket with Google, but I'm not even getting email updates back from them, which they've promised twice.

- "Play music by Dave Matthews Band" or "Play music by Josh Garrels" - it'll tell me what songs they have, but won't play any.

- "Play music by Dave Matthews Band on [speaker name]" - GH: "Sorry, I don't know how to help with that. Here are some options you can try." If I press the button "Play some Dave Matthews music", I still get a list of songs, not playing music.

- "Play music by U2" or "Play music by Maroon 5"- starts playing music.

- "Play the song Too Much by Dave Matthews Band" - GH: "Sorry, I don't know how to help with that..."

So, certain albums/bands work, others don't. It's really, really weird. But other devices work just fine.

I've rebooted, removed and re-added the device, etc. No luck. Happens on both Nest Hubs, 1st and 2nd gen.

[Juni]

Hi johnny5dm,

Thanks for posting and for being a step ahead of us. 
 

I know how it feels when something isn’t working as it should, let’s get this resolved. Let's create a new home and set up one of your Nest Hub there, then observe if this will make a difference. Check the steps below on how to create a new home.

1. Open the Google Home app .
2. Tap Add .
3. Tap Create new home.
4. Assign a home nickname, and enter the home address. 

Let me know how it goes.

Thanks,

Juni

[Juni]

Hi there,

Buzzing in — do you still need our help? Don't hesitate to reach back if you do.

Regards,

Juni

[johnny5dm]

Hi, I didn't see this on Sunday - give me a few days to give it a try, thanks!

[Juni]

Hi johnny5dm,

Thanks for the response. I will keep this thread open for 3 days for you. Let me know if you need further help.

Cheer,

Juni

[Azarco]

Hey there,

Checking back in to see if you still need help with this. Feel free to respond to this thread if you have additional questions or concerns and I'd be glad to answer it for you.

Best,

Alex

[johnny5dm]

Hi - tried this. Removed device from home, factory reset it, created a new Test home, added device to new home. Exact same results as described above.

[Azarco]

Hello johnny5dm,

We'd like to dig deeper on what's happening with your devices, is it happening with other music providers? What's the cast firmware version of your Google Nest devices? Can you also provide us the version of your Google Home and YouTube music app?

Regards,

Alex

[johnny5dm]

Thanks! Really appreciate it.

Music providers: just tried switching to Spotify free; it seems to work fine there. 

Device info for the Nest Hub in question:

Sys firmware: 309385

Cast firmware: 1.56.309385

Home App: 2.60.60.4

YTM App: 5.31.50

[Azarco]

Hey johnny5dm,

We'd be happy to take a look into this for you. Please fill out this form with all the needed information. Let me know once you’re done.

Best,
Alex

[johnny5dm]

I'm adding a little more detail here, just for reference. When I say "Play music by Dave Matthews Band", I get the following response:

"The Dave Matthews Band has many songs. Here are the first three: Crash Into Me, Crush, and Ants Marching."

But, fun fact: "Play music by Josh Garrels" now works first time... but not second.

- Second time: "Sorry, I don't know how to help with that. Here are things you can try."

- Next: "Sorry, I can't give answers when content filters are turned on." (I had Digital Wellbeing filters on.)

- Next, turned "Allow Answers" back on: Works this time!

- Next (same query!!): "Josh Garrels has many songs. Here are the first three: ..."

- Next (same query): Playing!

- Next (same query): Playing

- Next (same query): "Josh Garrels has many songs. Here are the first three: ..."

As far as I can tell, the voice transcription on the display is the same every time.

Other non-working queries:

"Play Central Park Concert by Dave Matthews Band" times out first time, then second time, plays video from YT.

"Play Central Park Live by Dave Matthews Band" -> "Sorry, I don't know how to help with that. Here are other things you can try." (Works fine on Pixel 6.)

"Play the Central Park Concert by Dave Matthews Band" -> "Sorry, I don't know how to help with that. Here are other things you can try." (Works fine on Pixel 6.)

(Said slowly) "Play the Central Park Concert by Dave Matthews Band" -> "I don't know, but I found these results on search."

"Play the Central Park Concert" - works!

Goodness.

[Muddi]

Hi johnny5dm,

Chiming in, appreciate all the information that you've shared. To confirm, did you fill out the form?

Cheers,

Muddi

[johnny5dm]

Ah, sorry, yes, I did.

[Muddi]

Hey johnny5dm,

Thanks — we got your form and has sent it over to our team for review. Please check your inbox from time to time as someone will be reaching out to you. 

Cheers,

Muddi

[johnny5dm]

Can do. Do you know what email sender the emails will come from?

[Dan_A]

Hey there,

Apologies for the delayed response. Email will be coming from Google support so check your inbox from time to time. You can continue the conversation there as this thread will be locked after 24 hours.

Regards,

Dan

[johnny5dm]

Sounds good. Do you know how quickly they respond? In all honesty, I've talked to them a few times, and feel like I'm starting over every time. You all here have been far more proactive to date!

[Dan_A]

Hi johnny5dm,

Thank you so much! I don’t really have any information when they can contact you but please keep an eye on your inbox as someone will get back in touch with you soon. You can continue from there.

If you're still in need of any assistance, feel free to let us know otherwise, I'll be locking this thread after 24 hours.

Thanks,

Dan