Nest Mini, Youtube Music Family, Children can't play music

[fast_hedgehog]

My kids, on an android device can use google assistant to play music on our youtube music family account.

On their nest speaker, if it recognises them it will respond to a request to play a song with "It either isn't available or can't be played right now".

In their google home apps on android you can see they have youtube music family set as the default music provider.

I've ensured they aren't blocked from playing anything.

Factory resetting the nest mini allows them to play music for a while - as it doesnt recognise them right away.  But when it does recognise them it stops allowing them to play music again.

It is a terrible product.  I pay a lot to have youtube music family - and for what?

This seems to be a common bugbear in the user community - why is it no resolved.

[jenniffert]

Hi fast_hedgehog,

Thanks for posting in the community! It seems that your Nest Mini identifies your children’s voice but won't play music from their YouTube Music family account, even though it works when they use Google Assistant on their Android devices. It's completely understandable that you feel this way since you paid for this service and it didn't meet your expectations. I appreciate all the troubleshooting you've already done. Don't worry, I can help you with this!

To better assist you, I’d like to ask for the following information:

• Could you please confirm if your children are under or over the age of 13? This helps us understand their account type.
• Can you tell me if your children's accounts are supervised with Family Link?
• Have you, the primary account holder, set up Voice Match for your children on the Nest Speaker through the Google Home app?

In the meantime, please check that the Google Home app, YouTube Music app, and your mobile device's operating system are updated to the latest versions.

I look forward to your reply.

Best regards,

Jenniffer

[fast_hedgehog]

Both kids are under 13.

Both managed by family link, both set to have access to 'most of youtube', which is the most open it can be.

Both have voice match, and their nest mini can identify them both by name.

All apps are up to date.

[jenniffert]

Hi fast_hedgehog!

Thanks for your reply! I appreciate the details you've provided. In this case, I'd suggest trying the following steps:

• Ensure you have disabled personal results on the Family Link app for your Google Nest Mini. This prevents the speaker from trying to access your kids' individual YouTube Music libraries and defaults it back to the main, family-wide YouTube Music account. For instructions, you can check out this article: Let your child use Google Assistant on your devices.
• Try removing and re-adding your children from Voice Match. Visit our Help Center to learn more about removing Voice Match from your device.

Let me know how it goes.

Best regards,

Jenniffer

[fast_hedgehog]

Thanks for the suggestions Jenniffer

I have disabled personal results for the Nest Mini, and also turned off voice match.  With this, it can no longer identify the kids by name, but when my kids ask it for a song it still says "I looked for that but it either isn't available or cant be played right now".  If I then ask it for the same song, it works fine.  It seems it is still identifying them by some other means and refusing them music.

I don't want them to not have personal results - I want them to have their own youtube music algorithm, and importantly I don't want their music choices contaminating my youtube music algorithm.

I've removed and re-added their voice match many times, retraining etc.

James

[jenniffert]

Hi fast_hedgehog,

Thanks for following up! I appreciate the information you provided and your efforts to resolve this. Since the devices still identify your children but restrict content by default, please try checking the following settings:

• Turn off YouTube's Restricted mode within the Google Home app. If this feature is enabled, the device may not play the media your children are requesting. For guided steps, check the following article: Restrict content on your Google Nest speakers and displays.
• Double-check parental control settings in both the Google Home app and the Family Link app. For reference, see this article: Set up parental controls on Google Assistant devices.

Let me know how it goes.

Best regards,

Jenniffer

[fast_hedgehog]

Thanks Jenniffer

This hasn't helped.  This seems to be a known issue between youtube music family, family link, google home, and nest mini's.

Family link makes it clear that my 10 and 12 year olds should be able to play music from youtube music family.  This works from their google assistant on an android device.  The issue is clearly poor software on the nest mini itself.

James

[fast_hedgehog]

I'm pretty disappointed with Google on this matter. 

This setup should work. 

I've found it very hard to actually contact Google about this.

[jenniffert]

Hi fast_hedgehog,

Thanks for your reply and your patience. I'm sorry to hear you're still running into this issue and that you had trouble reaching our live support team. I appreciate you following up and providing more details. To help me continue investigating this, please provide the following information:

• What is the version of the Google Home app on your phone?
• What is the Android OS version of your phone? 
• What is the firmware version of your Nest Mini? Here’s a helpful article about how to find the firmware version of your Nest Mini.
• Are you enrolled in the Google Home app’s Public Preview program?
• When did you first notice this issue with the music playback?
• Does this issue happen only with YouTube Music, or have you also experienced it with other music providers?

In the meantime, please try clearing the cache and data for both the Google Assistant and Google Home apps.

Keep me posted.

Best regards,

Jenniffer

[fast_hedgehog]

• What is the version of the Google Home app on your phone?
  3.40.48.2
• What is the Android OS version of your phone? 
  16 (it is a pixel 😎
• What is the firmware version of your Nest Mini? Here’s a helpful article about how to find the firmware version of your Nest Mini.
  System Firmware Version: 495998
  Cast firmware: 3.76.496998
• Are you enrolled in the Google Home app’s Public Preview program?
  No
• When did you first notice this issue with the music playback?
  Around 6 months back.
• Does this issue happen only with YouTube Music, or have you also experienced it with other music providers?
  I only have YouTube Music as a music provider - as I pay for it I don't want a double up and have another provider.
• In the meantime, please try clearing the cache and data for both the Google Assistant and Google Home apps.
  Cleared for the Google Home app.  I don't have a Google Assistant app on my phone though.

I don't see how there can be a link between the apps/versions/cache installed on my phone and the issues being experienced with the Nest Mini.  My phone doesn't even need to be present for the Nest to work.

[rhammond84]

Same issue here... Has been broken for a very long time. 

[fast_hedgehog]

I really do want it to work again

[jenniffert]

Hi there,

Thanks for following up on the case and for your patience while we looked into this.

First, please note that children under 13 (or the age of digital consent in your region) have Google Accounts that are automatically set up with limited "Member" access. This means their account will have certain limitations within a Family Link group that can affect features like music playback. For more details on these permissions, please see this article: Manage people and permissions in the Google Home app.

If your children were previously able to play music on the Nest Mini, please perform the following steps in order, as they often resolve the issue:

• Rename the speaker: Change the name of the Nest Mini in the Google Home app.
• Test with different commands: Try different songs or commands, ensuring they are using the correct phrasing. For reference, you can see this article: Control smart home devices by voice.
• Reset: If the issue persists, factory reset the Nest Mini and set it up again through the Google Home app. For instructions, refer to these articles: Factory reset Google Nest or Home speakers or displays and Set up your Google Nest or Home speaker or display.
  

Keep me updated.

Best regards,

Jenniffer

[fast_hedgehog]

Perhaps when Gemini rolls out for the Nest Mini, it will suddenly become usable again?