Nest audio found. it needs to be activated before setup.

[wonderbread86]

I bought a sky blue nest audio today (this colour was on sale). I have a bunch of Google Home speakers.

I have a pixel 8 phone.

I tried to add the new nest audio to my google home (i'm in Canada). and the Google home app said:
nest audio found. it needs to be activated before setup.

which then took me to the google play store to download the DEVICE UTILITY, which is not compatible with my phone or pixel tablet.

It's kind of ridiculous that i can't use a google product (google pixel) to add a google product (Google nest audio) to my google home.

I connected with support and apparently this is a known issue, for 3 years now (since 2022), and the only resolution is to use a NON-GOOGLE phone to add this to my account. As I'm sure you can imagine, I don't have multiple cellphones. I'm heavily invested in the Google ecosystem. I asked the support tech if i could so to a friend's house and have them add the device to their google home, and then bring it back to my house and factory reset it, and no... i'd need to have a NON-GOOGLE phone, connected to MY google account to add this device to my account. 

So my only real option is to return this device for a refund. 

I'm really losing faith in Google products.

[jerry_Tomson]

I completely understand your frustration. It’s incredibly disappointing when a product from the same ecosystem isn’t compatible with the devices you already own. The fact that this issue has persisted for three years without a fix makes it even more frustrating.

It’s absurd that you need a non-Google phone to set up a Google smart speaker with a Google phone. This contradicts the whole idea of an integrated ecosystem. Google should have addressed this by now, especially since Nest Audio is still actively being sold.

Possible Workarounds:

1. Borrow a non-Google Android phone or iPhone – This isn’t ideal, but if you can borrow a friend’s phone, you can log into your account, activate the Nest Audio, and then it should work on your Google devices.

2. Try a factory reset and attempt setup again – Hold the volume buttons for about 10 seconds until you hear a chime. Some users have reported that after resetting, they were able to set it up using Google Home without needing the Device Utility app.

3. Check if a Windows/Mac emulator might work – Some Android emulators on a computer might allow you to install the Device Utility app and activate the Nest Audio.

If none of these work, returning the device might be the best option. You shouldn’t have to jump through hoops for a product that’s supposed to work seamlessly in the Google ecosystem.