Podcast "Skip Back" now often going to absolute position instead of relative

[Chris_J]

This is actually true of all of the devices I have -- the two generations of the display and the stand-alone speakers.  I think it's actually an issue with the assistant itself.  I listen to podcasts by casting from a podcast app on my phone -- generally Podcast Addict, but this happens with all of them, not just one.  When I want it to go back a short time to re-hear something just said, I say "Hey Google, skip back 1 minute" (or however long I want to re-listen).  For years, that reliably took it back the length of time relative to where we currently are.  For the past few weeks, it almost always goes all the way back to the absolute position of 1 minute from the beginning of the file, or 2 minutes, or whatever I asked it to "skip back".  I spent a long time today experimenting with several podcast players and different time intervals and found that exactly the same command will go absolute 90% of the time but then will occasionally actually go relative.  It should always be relative.  If I said "go to 1 minute" or skip to 1 minute" absolute would make sense but "skip back 1 minute" should always be relative.  I can see on the display that it is actually hearing "skip back 1 minute" every time but processing that exact command differently from one issuance to the next, and 90% of the time is doing it the wrong way (absolute rather than relative).  

I have found a workaround in that I can say "rewind 1 minute" and that appears to work reliably but I have many years of mental "muscle memory" of saying "skip back" so that remembering that on the spot is very challenging and often I'm just making it lose my place entirely and having to pick up the phone and figure out where it was before getting off track.  

So like a lot of things with the assistant over the past few years, something that worked reliably for years suddenly no longer works correctly or at all, and then it never gets fixed again.  I'm still frustrated at the various devices inability to figure out which one should answer a command when prior to that breaking, also worked very reliably for many years.  Hopefully this "skip back" breakage at least might be fixed.  Anybody else experiencing this?  And where is a public bug reporting system for these things, or is there one at all?

[Juni]

Hi Chris_J,

Thanks for reaching out. I know how it feels when something isn’t working as it should. What Nest speakers and displays do you own? We tried our devices, and the "skip back 1 minute" still works. Let’s try to refresh your devices and observe if it makes a difference. First, reboot your Wi-Fi router, and once the network is back up, do the same thing on your Nest speakers and displays. Let us know the result by updating this thread. 

Regards,

Juni

[Chris_J]

Hi, and thank you for replying.  First, I have two first generation Nest Hub devices (i.e., the ones that were "Google Home" branded rather than "Nest" when I bought them), one 2nd generation Nest Hub (the one with the sleep monitoring feature), and two Nest Audio.  Every single one of the devices does exactly the same thing.  The problem has existed for at least a month now, and the networking equipment (all of it -- router, cable modem, every switch) has been rebooted in the interim including just today to give you peace of mind on the troubleshooting.  The various assistant devices have all been rebooted.  One of them I completely deleted and set up as a new device.  None of that makes any difference at all.  I can't imagine why this would work for you but not for me, but I'm confident this is a software issue and nothing at all to do with any of the hardware or my networking equipment or setup.  It also doesn't matter which podcast player I use -- it happens with Podcast Addict, PocketCasts, and Google Podcasts.  Here's a video I just recorded to show that it is even hearing me correctly, as you can see it mirroring what it's understanding to the screen as "Skip back 2 minutes", after which you can see it positioning the podcast exactly to the 2 minute mark instead of going back 2 minutes prior to where it was.  For years, this worked exactly as it should, and it suddenly changed behavior one day. 

Earlier I mentioned that "rewind 2 minutes" still works but I have to amend that.  It is absolutely INCONSISTENT with that -- one time I say it, it rewinds/skips back a relative distance and the next time it goes absolute, exactly as it does every time with "skip back".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBO5tPJCxmA

[Juni]

Hello Chris_J,

Thanks for the details you’ve shared. Could you also provide us with the latest firmware version of your Google Nest speakers and displays? Check out the steps below on how to get it.

1. Make sure your mobile device or tablet is linked to the same account as your speaker or display.
2. Open the Google Home app .
3. Touch and hold your device's tile.
4. At the top right, tap Settings Device information.
5. Under "Technical information," find Cast firmware: X.XXX.XXXXX.

I look forward to your response.

Thanks,

Juni

[Chris_J]

Nest Audio #1: 1.56.356012
Nest Audio #2: 1.56.356012

Nest Hub 1st Gen #1: 1.69.362882
Nest Hub 1st Gen #2: 1.69.362882

Nest Hub 2nd Gen: 1.69.362882

Keep in mind that all 5 of these do exactly what you saw in the video. All of them have been rebooted multiple times. Two of them were factory reset and set up again as new devices.

[Muddi]

Hey Chris_J,

Thanks for providing that information. Since all troubleshooting steps has been exhausted, the next best thing to do is to escalate this with our higher tier of support. Please fill out this form with all the needed information then let me know once done.
 

Cheers,

Muddi

[Chris_J]

Completed. 

[Alex_S]

Hi there,

We got your form—thanks for filling it out. Our team will reach out to you via email anytime soon. Let us know if there's anything else on Google Home we can help.

Best,
Alex