cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Replies are disabled for this topic. Start a new one or visit our Help Center.

RADIO ALARMS NO LONGER WORK

Thksnow
Community Member

I have a Nest Hub which I have set up as a bedroom alarm clock with alarms which play one of my local FM radio stations. It has worked fine for months playing the local FM radio station via TuneIn. A few months ago the alarms started playing one of the standard alarm sounds as opposed to the radio station. I factory reset the hub and put in new alarms for the radio station and now it plays the radio station at the alarm time (see picture) but when you hit snooze or cancel it just keeps playing the radio station. You can verbally tell it to stop playing and it will, but if you pressed snooze originally it will come back on 10 mins later. Has anyone else seen this problem and does anyone know how to solve it?  I've sent in data under a previous post, but after lots of back and forth with some Google folks they have now gone silent and have not produced a fix.  Come on Google!!!! 

1 Recommended Answer

Muddi
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey folks,

 

Sorry for the delays. Seems like we've been seeing quite an increase in reports around this issue and thanks for sharing your feedback on this thread. The team would love your help to look into this issue further. In order for the team to explore further, we need to gather additional feedback from affected customers. 

 

You can send feedback from your Google Home/Nest device by saying, "Hey Google, send feedback." While you're sharing your feedback, it's important to use the keywords, "Radio Alarms not working". For more instructions on how to send feedback, check this out.

 

Also, please provide the following information below as this will help us further investigate the issue:

 

  • When did the issue start?
  • What country are you located in?
  • What Google Home/Nest device do you have?
  • What is the current firmware version?
  • Is it happening to a specific station/radio provider?

Looking forward to your response.

 

Cheers,

Muddi

View Recommended Answer in original post

140 REPLIES 140

Muddi
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there,

 

We receive similar reported issues like this, and our team is looking into this issue at hand. We’ve duplicated your thread to the main one here. You’ll receive all updates on this issue on the main thread and we recommend updating and checking this thread when needed.

 

Cheers,
Mudi

Hammmer
Community Member

Hi Magmo,

 

Many of us in the thread have been having this issue for about as year now and we're still waiting for a fix - it's very frustrating.

We've been asked to do the same thing 3 or 4 times - factory reset, remove and readd Home, send the same info to Google.  It's a shame for the guys responding as they're taking the hits for Google breaking what worked fine and not fixing it.

Hopefully Muddi will continue to keep the Comms going....even just to say that we've not been forgotten.

Others have but the Google products on eBay and bought Alexa.....I'm getting close to doing the same.

As a result of this - I did not buy the new Pixel when launched.

ken0arto
Community Member

Give up. Google can't/won't fix it. After waiting 6 months, we gave up and switched to Alexa Echo. 

Thksnow
Community Member

It's obvious that Google isn't/can't fix this so I can't balme you.  How well  does it work on the Echo?  One thing I really like about the Google home is that you can really control the bright of the display at night, which is a big deal to me.  Not sure if you can do that on the Echo. 

lbonacci
Community Member

I have the same issue on all of my home devices. Radio alarms not working anymore, and I have sent feedback multiple times. At this point I might just scarp these devices and go back to the good old radio AM/FM alarm clock if this doesn't get fixed. 

Thksnow
Community Member

You should just ditch the Google devices now, as I'm convinced they are never going to fix this problem. 

After replacing the hub and pointlessly trying multiple variations, I gave up and bought the Alexa, Alexa works perfectly. Flawlessly,  No excuses, Dump the Google hub...we are owed full refunds.

AeroTechDawg
Community Member

I found a work-around to my problem, where the radio alarm does not play and I only get a standard alarm.  When I tell Google to set a radio alarm, I now say the word "STREAM" before I give the call sign of the station.  So in my case I listen to Q94 (WFBQ) for my alarm, which is the Bob & Tom Show, based out of Indianapolis, Indiana.  So to set my alarm I now say..."Hey Google, set a radio alarm for 6:00 AM".  Once she asks what I would like to hear, I say "Stream Q95", to which she replies, "Streaming WFBQ Radio for 6:00 AM."  

I don't know why saying "Stream" in front of the station name is what makes it work, since I never had to do that in the past, but I was desperate and trying different things, and it just so happens that has been working for me for the past couple of weeks.  Fingers crossed it continues to work going forward. 🤞

tried this and we're back to the original issue.
For 2 days the selected radio station has come on at the set time - that's good.

However, you cannot snooze the 'radio alarm' which you used to be able to do.

And, you have to 'hit' stop twice to turn it off.

Muddi
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey Hammmer,

 

To confirm, does it happen to other radio stations? Also, may I know the radio station so I can try it on my end?

 

Cheers,

Muddi

Thksnow
Community Member

Muddi - For me the radio station is WTOP-FM in Washington, DC.  Can't snooze the radio alarm like we could before, which makes it unusable. 

 

Muddi
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey folks,

 

I appreciate your quick response. How often does it happen? Is there a chance that you can send a video showing the issue so we have a better picture of what's happening? 

 

Cheers,

Muddi

kenwals
Community Member

Hi Muddi,

 

A video of this is not going to make it any clearer I'm afraid.

 

Here is steps to reproduce the issue we experiencing.

 

1. Give the nest mini speaker the command "ok Google, set radio alarm for weekdays at 7 30 am"

2. Google assistant will ask "and what would you like me to play?". Reply with the name of your favourite radio. Example "rte lyric fm"

3. At the first execution of the alarm on a weekday at 7.30 am the radio alarm will work.

4. On the second and every subsequent execution of the alarm it will not be a radio alarm . It will play the alarm melody. The very thing a radio alarm is not supposed to be!!!

 

Hope this helps

Ken

 

Hammmer
Community Member

exactly what we have been telling google for over 6 months - enough already, fix it !

Hammmer
Community Member

How often does it happen?  - Very Funny

EVERY DAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thksnow
Community Member

Muddi - We've given you tons of data on this issue, and all you do is keep asking for more.  ENOUGH!!!  You all are more than capable of reproducing the multiple issues with radio alarms that people have pointed out in this and the previous thread.  Just try it yourself and you'll see.  Is anyone at Google working on fixing it????

Muddi
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey folks,

 

Thanks for the update. I'll check this with the team and update the thread as soon as I have more information to share.

 

Cheers,

Muddi

Hammmer
Community Member

Seems that when I set a new radio alarm it works once or twice - max.  Never more the 2 mornings in a row.  It then reverts to the alarm tone.

On the one or 2 days that I get the radio alarm I cannot 'snooze' it and I have to tap stop twice to turn it off.

I live in Australia - Triple M Classic Rock Digital Radio

Hammmer
Community Member

Have sent feedback

Hammmer
Community Member

Happy New Year everyone.

I think we've exhausted the Q&A once again.

Be prepared for some radio silence from Google and then, in about March, someone will asks us if the issue is resolved yet and we'll start all over again.

I  started posting reviews on retail store sites about the issue and lack of support - don't buy this product if you want a radio alarm and don't expect any support from Google.  Pretty sure that's what's triggered this round of interest.

My review goes something like this, you might want to start posting similar to your country reseller (WallMart, BestBuy etc.  I'm in Australia and so I can post on JB HiFi, Officeworks, Harvey Normal, Bing Lee etc ...the larger resellers in AUS:

I have 4 Google nest Hubs - they all worked perfectly. Specifically, the family use several for Digital Radio Alarms. But, back in July, the alarm could not be snoozed any more. A week or so later, there was no Radio Alarm at all - just default beeping.
I tried rebooting, tried resetting.
Contacted Google who suggested rebooting and then suggested resetting, then suggested rebooting the modem (???) - then there was 'radio silence'.
Several other owners have the same product with the same issue - yet no support out of Google.
Now, after 6 months, a reply from Google asking what the problem is - shocking support.
So, if you want a hub for a digital radio alarm - buy Alexa instead because your google hub won't do it and don't expect any kind of support from google"

"

Hammmer
Community Member

Just posted my 'review' to 2 more store website.

Thksnow
Community Member

Great idea Hammmer.  I'll try to do the same over here in the US.  We are just getting the round and round from Google.  Sad for a company like that.  

Muddi
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey Hammmer and Thksnow,

 

We value your feedback. Rest assured that the team is working hard to investigate the issue. I'll make sure to update the thread as soon as I have additional information to share.

 

Cheers,

Muddi

Crusstty
Community Member

Hello,

when I try to setup a media alarm on my google nest hub display it only allows me to select from a list of sounds and seems to ignore the song I ask for.  When I say the same command to my google nest mini it creates the alarm and plays the song no problem.  Why is this feature available on the speaker, but not the display?  Will the display get support to play music alarms?  My display and speaker are both English Canada.

Thanks

frances
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hello Crusstty,

 

Thanks for reaching out. I understand your concern, waking up to a great alarm can help set the day. I would be more than happy to help look into your question. First, I have some quick questions to get a better understanding of this situation.

  • Is this a new issue? Did your media alarm work before?
  • Do you have a default media source linked in your Google Home app? (YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, etc.)
  • What commands are you using?
    • Here are some example commands for media alarms: 

      "Set <radio station> radio alarm for 6 AM tomorrow."

      "Set <song or artist> music alarm for 7 AM every day."

  • Are you getting any error messages?
  • What happens when you switch it to English US? Does the issue still occur?
  • What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?

 

Thank you for your patience, I look forward to your response.

Crusstty
Community Member

Hi frances,

Thanks for your response.  My responses are inline below.

Thanks!

  • Is this a new issue? Did your media alarm work before?
    • This has always been an issue with my google nest hub.  My understanding was that the hub didn't have this functionality, but it was coming in the near future.  That was a couple years ago.
  • Do you have a default media source linked in your Google Home app? (YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, etc.)
    • I have youtube linked with a youtube premium subscription
  • What commands are you using?
    • Hey google, set we built this city music alarm tomorrow at 7am
      • I then get an alarm for tomorrow at 7am playing gentle pastures
    • Hey google, play we built this city tomorrow at 7am
      • The hub then plays the song right away with no alarm set
  • Are you getting any error messages?
    • No errors, just no alarm that plays music
  • What happens when you switch it to English US? Does the issue still occur?
    • If you are referring to the language setting of the assistant, I just checked and it is set to English US, but I'm located in Canada.
  • What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?
    • I tried the exact same voice commands on my Nest Mini speaker and I do get music alarms.

Changing the language to English US solved the problem for me.

Do you need to set the language in the google home app or on each device? 

This is what I have done

  • opened up the google home app
  • clicked my icon in the upper right
  • selected Assistant settings
  • selected Languages. 

Here I found English (United States) is selected with the option to add another language.  The bottom of the screen says "The Assistant on your phone will use this language, and English (Canada), the device language you set in Language & Region settings"

I checked under Devices to see if I could manage language and region settings but I couldn't find this.

 

Thanks

NaomiT
Community Member

Are you still having trouble with this? I've never tried setting a media alarm on my mini speakers, but for my hub (1st and 2nd gen, set to US English, physically in UK) I do the following:

"Hey Google, set a media alarm"

"Okay, set it for when?"

"<time>"

"Got it, and what would you like me to play?"

"<song> by <artist> / <playlist>"

"You've got it. I'll play <media> at <time / day>

 

It is worth nothing though that I discovered, at least when using a song or playlist, it still functions as a regular alarm in that it will only play for however long you've set your alarm to go off for before snoozing, and you will see the same alarm screen with the 'snooze' and 'stop' buttons. I'd hoped it would work more similarly to my mini hifi system - where I set a time for it to turn on and what to play and then it does that until I turn it off - so I could wake up to a chosen playlist and then continue to listen to that playlist as I got up and started my day, but that isn't the case.

 

I've found two workarounds for this. The first is to modify the preset morning routine to play my chosen music, then set the alarm to trigger that (go into the detailed settings of the specific alarm, you should see a toggle option for 'morning routine').

 

The second is to skip the traditional alarm altogether and create a new routine in the Home app as follows:

Starter: <time>

Action: <play music>  

              <name of playlist>

Device: <Nest hub>

 

I've ended up opting for the second because it means I can have my playlist start and continue uninterrupted, and there are no typical alarm buttons to tempt me, plus I can control my 'alarm' from the Home app - the inability to do this with normal alarms was always a bugbear for me, but could be the reverse for someone else.

 

I hope that helps!

GarrettDS
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there,
Sorry for the late response, but I wanted to drop in here to help. 

I understand that these issues can be confusing but I definitely wanted to stop by and see how I could help. 

Just wanted to double check to see if you were still needing help on this? If so, what troubleshooting steps have you tried? 

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards, 
​​​​​​​Garrett DS
 

Hi GarrettDS,

Yes this is still an issue.  I'm not sure this is ever going to work on this device as it has been years and the feature works on other google devices, but not the google home hub gen 1.  All of my attempts have been documented further up this thread.

Thanks

Hi Crusstty,

I am not in Canada, so not 100% sure this will work for you, but I was having the exact same problem here in the U.S. with my Google Nest Hub.  This is what I posted previously in this thread, and it has been working great for me for the past several weeks:
-----------------------------------
When I tell Google to set a radio alarm, I now say the word "STREAM" before I give the call sign of the station.  So in my case I listen to Q94 (WFBQ) for my alarm, which is the Bob & Tom Show, based out of Indianapolis, Indiana.  So to set my alarm I now say..."Hey Google, set a radio alarm for 6:00 AM".  Once she asks what I would like to hear, I say "Stream Q95", to which she replies, "Streaming WFBQ Radio for 6:00 AM."  
-----------------------------------

I hope this works for you.  Hopefully it is only a temporary work-around until Google Supports get the problem fixed once and for all.  Seems like every time they release an update for these devices, it breaks something that used to work properly.  Very frustrating.  Good luck and Happy New Year! 🥂👍

But the problem is that you can't snooze or kill the radio alarm once it goes off, like you could before.  That's the real problem we've been complaining about on these threads for the last 6 months! 

redevil
Community Member

I'm having this issue on my Nest Hub 1gen as well. Cannot set a media alarm to play a radio station. How can I fix this? 

NaomiT
Community Member

See my comment above, hopefully that might help!

ken0arto
Community Member

Tied gen one and gen 2 ... both failed in the same miserable way. GOOGLE FAIL!!!

Jake
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey Crusstty,

 

Sorry for the late reply. I wanted to follow up and see if you are still in need of any help? Please let me know if you are still having any trouble from here, as I would be happy to take a closer look and assist you further. 

Best regards,
Jake

Jake
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey Crusstty,


I wanted to check in and see if you are still in need of any help with your device? Please let me know, as I would be happy to assist, and answer any questions you may have.

Best regards,
Jake

Jake
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey Crusstty,


I want to ensure you are good to go, and everything is working properly. Please let me know if you are still having trouble, as I will be locking the thread due to inactivity. 

Best regards,
Jake