Since latest Nest Hub v1 FW update bluetooth no longer works

[brekelbende]

Hi all, 

Since the last firmware upgrade of my Nest Hub v1  playing sound over bluetooth devices no longer works. It's vary flacky with connecting but never actually plays sound through my BT devices; UA Wonderboom 2 and Fosi BT220A (BT reciever/amp to rca) . I'm currently on firmware 9.20221010.3.176 (11 jan 2023 i guess)

Nest hub says it's connected and the Wonderboom plays a confirmation sound, but it will not send sound to it with youtube/spotfiy/tunein/whatever. 

I say "hi, google connect to bluetooth" for reconnecting to previous connected BT then it says that the device doesn't support bluetooth. It's pretty weird behaviour and since it's failing on 2 BT devices since the update i suspect that this update has something to do with it. I also tried a other Nest Hub v1 and there it also fails to connect. The plot thickens...

Does anyone have similar behaviour or a fix?

Thanks for thinking along with me!

[texasdorque]

I posted a few timeline facts above

I've tried pinging them on twitter at madebygoogle, google, googledevs.  No responses. They're not on on spoutible.  Haven't checked mastodon.

 Nobody is home.

[AaronJMyers]

They're home, but they don't care about us.  If they did then they would have come in now and then with updates on the status if the issue.

[pgm944]

Later today, I will try and see if my Home Hub V2, Mini V1 and Mini V2 can connect to my Fosi Audio BT amp.  I know my Pixel 6a can. 

If the V2 devices can, but not the V1s, then it's a commercial scam to get us to replace the V1 devices so they can sunset updates & support.

Stay tuned....

[AaronJMyers]

Looking forward to results, but V1 devices having a problem doesn't automatically mean they are actively pushing EoL for them. 

It could also be that they just didn't sufficiently test the update before pushing it.

Do let us know, though.

Thanks

[AaronJMyers]

Is there an update?

Check on the screen in settings:bluetooth for the Fosi, and that it's set as the preferred audio device...

I bet it will show as paired, connected, and being set as the preferred audio device, and still the audio will be MISROUTED through the internal speaker instead of your intended external speaker.

Looking forward to another person verifying that their devices are paired and connected, but that audio is simply misrouted.

Thanks, pgm944

[AaronJMyers]

We have now gone over 4 weeks without any Support staff updating us on any progress... 

They should merge all these threads that are this AUDIO ROUTING issue.

It's not that the speakers aren't pairing...  it's that when they are paired the audio is misrouted through the Nest Hub internal speaker instead of the marked preferred audio device...  see, routing issue.

They don't listen.

They just keep spouting the same canned responses.

This issue has now gone on over 2 months without a fix or progress update.

Anyone still having this issue, please post that you are still experiencing it so Support won't just close the thread as if a solution were found and provided ...  they do that here.

People get tired of checking back and just stop posting, and after so many days support personnel just closes threads.

Minimum Effort.

I see at least 2 threads that should be merged for describing the same issue in different verbiage. Different levels of technical understanding being involved with that.

Let them know we are still facing this unacceptable treatment, allowing our devices to be crippled for over 2 months with no fix in sight...

[pgm944]

Update : my Version 1 Home Hub now seems to route the audio properly.  I did nothing special, thus I concluded that Google pushed a fix out.  Since I did not keep track of version numbers, I have no idea if they did or not.  I wonder if there is a way to find the history or change log...

[AaronJMyers]

I hope you're right, and there's a firmware being pushed newer than 50.26.12.493473605

Don't get me wrong when I say I find it suspect that immediately after I point out it's an audio routing issue someone comes forward claiming they did nothing and it started working...  I accept that if there is a new firmware being pushed out in a staged rollout I could have just not received it yet.

I am only hopeful enough to have left my google devices plugged in alongside my Echo Dots that I put back in service because they actually work correctly.

I will take you at your word that you think an update may have been issued... please go to settings:device information:technical information and copy down your Software Version so we can see if your number is newer than those of us still having this issue.

After reading your post I reconnected and verified my Samsung soundbar was paired, connected, and set as the preferred audio device.  Still no joy.   Audio comes out the internal Nest Hub V1 speaker instead of the selected bluetooth speaker.

Hopefully it's not too good to be true. I'll reserve judgement til other complainers come forward with updates claiming success  or if said update is pushed to my devices.

Please keep us updated if you keep or lose your connection.  Much appreciated.

[texasdorque]

Ive been rebooting twice a day.  Still no change in numbers.

Cmon @Juni @Muddi.  Hello?

[AaronJMyers]

I notice no updates from user pgm944.

I will take that to mean that the post claiming it started working again was false, possibly even a Google employee for all the wrong reasons.

Nobody else has had it "fix itself", and Google hasn't pushed a new update to address it.

I am going to assume Google does not actually have a firmware engineer working on a fix yet, and may never for the Nest Hub V1 devices...

We're getting close to it having been a quarter of a year with no fix for what is certainly an Audio Routing issue, because Bluetooth DOES connect, our speakers are set as the preferred audio device, yet audio comes only from the internal Nest Hub speaker.

My bluetooth speaker is a Samsung soundbar that has worked for years with the Nest Hub.  It doesn't get updates, so if anything is broken it has to the the Nest Hub V1 which DOES get firmware updates ... and also, the issue happened the same day as the last firmware update Google pushed onto us.

We have done the work, as much as we can without access to the actual firmware....

It won't magically fix itself, or just start working, unless Google issues a fixed firmware.

It's already too late for Google to salvage a customer out of me...  I won't ever buy another Google hardware product again.  After this abusive support, where an issue they caused is left unpatched for months, I can't trust they won't do the same with any other product I might have bought in the future.

This is so sad that they don't care about customer retention enough to take us seriously enough to take reasonable responsibility to actually try to find what they broke in the January update...

They should be able to compare the current firmware to the previous one, looking at what changes were made to audio handling.  And it shouldn't take months.  Not vecause that's whay I think, but because we aren't talking about a billion lines of code in a full operating system, where even Linux and Windows and iOS patches come in hours to a couple of weeks, at most...

This means either nobody is bothering to fix it, or the assigned firmware engineer is incompetent for this hardware.

My money is on the nobody is assigned to work on it probability.

Where I might have made a Pixel phone my next device, now I won't for sure.  Can't trust a company that allows such a problem to go unfixed this long.

Just sad.

[pgm944]

I put an update out... thanks for the nudge.
agreed, it is sad that Google was/is so unresponsive.

[rpk]

Sill the same problem here since the past two months. No updates. Says Bluetooth connected and set as default speaker. But playing any music plays through the display rather than the Fossi Audio. Worked perfectly for a year till February this year. Then never worked.

[pgm944]

I was out of town for 2 months in Jan/Feb of 2023. 
When I returned, I was going to compare my V1 vs V2 Home Hubs... see if one or the other could connect via Bluetooth to my Fosi amp.  I never ever have the V2 connected to the Fosi.   Go figure, the V1 connected and works... and has ever since.    I don't have prior data on this, but here are the current version numbers:

Fuchsia: 9.2022 1010.3.176
Software: 50.26.12.493 473 605
Chromecast firmware: 1.67.330 920

Hope this info helps others.  FYI  - I have all my Google-hardware on "beta."  This includes the Home Hubs, Cameras, Pixel 7, & maybe the minis.

[texasdorque]

I'm still sitting at the same version(s), obviously still not working.

(edit): This is a first gen.   You have to get the software version directly from the device, it doesn't appear on the app info (that would make too much sense)

(Fuschia) System firmware version: 9.20221010.3.176
Cast firmware: 1.67.330920

Software:  50.26.12.493473605

[pgm944]

software version number?
these match mine, so far, & its working for me.

[texasdorque]

same numbers, same model (v1),  same problem since Jan.

[texasdorque]

Device randomly rebooted this evening while listening to music.  I got a bit too excited, as the reboot took a while to complete  

Same numbers.

😕

[AaronJMyers]

Thanks for the update.

Too bad it wasn't a patch being pushed out.

[texasdorque]

On Friday, I posted on the ongoing "RTE out" thread, with a link here, asking if we could get any love. You'll never guess who's posting over there, even as recently as an hour or so ago.

And here we sit.  🦗🦗🦗

[AaronJMyers]

You are a lucky anomaly then 👍

No new updates have been pushed.

Maybe if you had an issue, it was a similar but different one.

That's good for you.

Not hearing from anyone else who's posted the issue about it working reliably again.  Good luck with yours staying working.

Quite sure that most of us have an audio routing bug when we choose to have a bluetooth speaker/soundbar our preferred device, and that the bug came exactly on the days where our devices had bad firmware pushed.

Thanks for updating us with your version info and status.

[pgm944]

For the record, I am NOT a google employee or have any association with them.

I am a semi-retired consultant, but have NO work or other involvement with Google.

I am an ordinary consumer of their services and associated hardware.

From some previous note, I thought I needed to clarify that - needlessly.

[AaronJMyers]

Your previous 2 answers made that fairly apparent.  Don't feel offended.

It's just really odd that 1 person with what was apparently the same issue sees a change when no new firmware had been pushed, and a large amount of people across multiple threads describing the same or substantially similar symptoms report no change so far.  Some people posted Bluetooth doesn't work, and others posted that Bluetooth seems to connect, but audio is misrouted.  The title of the threads is different, but the description is the same.

Apparently a lot of people don't know how to go into settings on their Nest Hub, navigate to their Bluetooth section, and see that their Nest Hub is actually connected to Bluetooth devices.

When the problem began on the day their Nest Hub received the firmware update, and no other updates or hardware changes, it's pretty obvious the firmware caused the change in behavior.

It's possible a similar set of temporary issues could happen @ a more random time, where later it starts working normal again, and would be a different issue.

For those where it started the day they had the newest firmware pushed onto their device it's likely different from those who started experiencing the issue at any other time.

As I said above, good luck with your Nest Hub V1 continuing to work as you expect it to. 👍🥳

[pgm944]

An insight, maybe this is a red herring...

I have noticed that when my GF shows up with her Samsung phone, it "grabs" the Fossi Bluetooth.  To get the Hub to stream music to the amp, I have to have her shut off her Bluetooth.  I believe just having her "disconnect" to the amp does not work.  In any case, even if she is not streaming music to the Fossi amp, the Hub does not seem to be able to fully connect - ie; shows a Bluetooth connection, but will not stream audio to the amp.  I'll check out if the same happens with my Pixel 7 and 6a.  I tend to leave my BT off on my phones, as I just ask the hub to stream music from a connected service.   Sorry if this does not make sense.

Summary: it seems that if another device has connected to the amp, but not actively streaming, the Hub will not "bully" it's way and fully complete the Bluetooth connection. 

[AaronJMyers]

Thanks for additional information.

There are two kinds of Bluetooth speakers...

1. Can only connect to one device at a time, once one is connected it stays connected even if another source shows up.

2. Some newer Bluetooth speakers can simultaneously play 2 bluetooth sources, in which case the 1st stays connected and the 2nd is mixed in 50:50.

There are a very small number of headphones or speakers that allow a second device to kick off an already connected device, which isn't proper for the Bluetooth specifications.

Bluetooth uses channels the same way WiFi does, so it can coexist with both 2.4Ghz band wireless and other bluetooth devices. Otherwise you couldn't have a group of friends all playing CoD Mobile and using Bluetooth headphones all around the same table, or people sharing a fast food lobby, all staying connected to their headsets.

A device is not allowed to boot other devices on Bluetooth... thankfully.

First, the speaker or headset would have to support a non-standard command, and so would at least one Bluetooth source.

See this:

This has nothing to do specifically with Windows 10 

I started my career as an electronic technician, then went to electronic engineer, and then realized broadcast engineer paid better for less hours labor to build and maintain TV and radio stations.  I recently designed a box to interface 3 bluetooth headphones bidirectionally to a radio station mixer console.  I am thoughroughly up to date on how Bluetooth is supposed to work.

This is somewhat off-topic for the thread, but gives context.

If your Bluetooth amp allows 1 device to kick an already connected device, that's probably a feature they added outside of the Bluetooth standards.  I can see why some people would want it to behave that way👍

This issue is definitely a routing issue, because it pairs, connects, and says you are using it, yet the audio comes out of the built-in speaker in the Nest Hub.

Bluetooth is just a serial data connection, and it's dumb by design, only supporting pairing, handshake, and serial data streaming bidirectionally.

Not saying your Bluetooth amp doesn't have a non-standard feature.  It wouldn't be the first.

Just sharing what I know and can be found on the Bluetooth consortium website.

[pgm944]

Since my last update, the Bluetooth streaming still works on my Hub V1.

I want to thank the contributor who put out how Bluetooth really works (technical).  Not sure if that was this thread or the other one on this topic.  It may not solve your immediate problem however is definitely worth the read and to save. 

Google has a cultural issue.  The Home Hub from google is a janky device - both hardware and software.  It does not integrate well with other devices - ie my Pixel 7 and Cams.  Bizarre that they push none customer requested features in lieu of better integration with their current hardware/software offerings. 

[pgm944]

update = my last post, not a google update.

[arkimedes711]

I reported this issue back in late January and have lurked since then while waiting for a firmware update or workaround. Just out of curiosity, I tried connecting to my Bluetooth speaker again last week... and it worked. I've been able to stream Spotify using voice commands to the Nest Hub without any disconnections. No idea what happened. The firmware version is still 3.176. The only thing I've done between now and January is a complete router factory reset (coincidentally, for a separate router issue) and frequent connections to the Bluetooth device with my Google Pixel.

EDIT: Stopped working again after a week...

[AaronJMyers]

Thanks for the update.

Seems we have Nest Hub MAX users now posting in here, as if their devices were the same..   they probably have a different issue, considering they are so late to the party.

Sucks GOOGLE doesn't care enough about us Nest Hub V1 owners to fix this issue, now going on over 4 months without a fix.

My main use of my Nest Hub is streaming music to a more powerful bluetooth stereo speaker.

Oh, since my last update I have also tried using an Altec Lansing Lifejacket bluetooth speaker, and that one can pair, connect, and be set as preferred device, and still audio only comes from the Nest Hub MONO internal speaker...  not enjoyable at all.

Once I upgrade my home stereo to one with a better streaming service interface I will can this POS Google Nest Hub V1 and remove my thread subscription, and then the only thing Google I will have is the account required for my Android phone...    Google will never see another cent from me spent on Google crap products... which is apparently all of them thanks to breaking firmware and no care about patching their broken firmware.

[AnilPann]

Same problem.. My Nest Hub max says that is connected to bluetooth speaker both on App and the device itself. but sound continues playing from the Nest Hub max. Does not play on the speaker

I had to pair and repair 3 times and finally it worked.

[john2069]

For anyone still suffering with this issue.  I purchased this bluetooth receiver from Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com.au/Bluetooth-Transmitter-Receiver-Wireless-Headphones/dp/B0BL2F32LL/ref=sr_1_..., coupled it with an RCA-3.5mm cable to connect it to the Fosi unit, and set it to Rx mode

Then I simply connect the Next Hub Max to the new bluetooth receiver and we're good to go again.  Not bad for a $35 solution.

[brekelbende]

I believe the problem is Nest Hub V1 only. Not Nest Hub Max of Nest Hub V2. 

[AaronJMyers]

Yeah,

   It's probably a different problem for V2 and Max users ..   sounds like theirs only needs devices to be paired until it works ..   no such luck for us V1 users...

Ours pair and say connected and preferred device,  yet audio gets misrouted to the Nest Hub internal speaker...  that's mono and not very loud, so it won't work.

Not Acceptable GOOGLE!

[AaronJMyers]

Happy for you!

Some of us have Bluetooth speakers that are only Bluetooth speakers, and we don't have an option of getting sound in any other way ..

That said, the Nest Hub worked fine for years, until a firmware update broke it.  None of us should have to buy any other hardware to temporarily fix Google's breaking of our devices. They should have fixed it by now.

We're just over 4 months now, and no sign of a fix still....

[john2069]

@AaronJMyers This thread is specifically about the Fosi unit, no?  There's been no mention of other "Bluetooth Speakers" to date.

I'm offering a low-cost solution for those with a Fosi unit to their connectivity back.  In fact I have found that having the bluetooth unit separate from the Fosi amp actually improves the user experience.

[AaronJMyers]

On 01-22-2023 08:50 AM,

@brekelbende 

Called out the Wonderboom also...

On 02-15-2023 04:45 AM,

@arkimedes711 

Called out another bluetooth speaker...

Looks like you didn't read the entire thread before your post.   Maybe you might take a few minutes to read what everyone has to say?  Thanks.  (no sarcasm or anything meant.  this text has no emotion)

The title of this thread is speaker brand agnostic...   it's a bluetooth audio routing issue...

All speakers pair and connect and can even be set as the preferred audio device, but audio only routes out the internal mono speaker inside the Nest Hub devices.  V1 Nest Hub devices seem to be doing the worst.

I imagine that there's a lot more Nest Hubs that are affected, but their users probably don't use an external bluetooth speaker to know about it.

Maybe Fossi speakers are popular, so more people that own that device notice?

The issue is the same:

Bluetooth device pairs and connects, but audio gets routed to the Nest Hub internal speaker instead.

There's also another megathread with more other devices listed, but also Fossi devices...  the threads should be combined, not that it matters when Google hasn't had any official support staff reapond in quite a while... pretty sure they just don't care.  After 4 months I don't feel it's unfair to say that outright.

I have been able to duplicate this on a friend's Nest Hub with his Emerson bluetooth speaker...  he never knew he had the issue because he doesn't stream his music with his Nest Hub...  instead he wastes power with a 90 watt TV and 600 watt home stereo to listen at a level a bluetooth speaker could provide...  oh well, his choice.

For the rest of us, we notice the problem because we prefer what should be a more efficient streaming setup with our Nest Hubs and bluetooth speakers.

I can move the soundbar outside when I have guests over for a BBQ... harder to do for those who stream music on their home theater receiver.

In the absence of the thread title containing a single brand of bluetooth amp/speaker/device, and since there's more than one device posted, this looks like the perfect thread for all of us to use.

I get you that most of the posts are for users of Fossi amps, but the list isn't exclusive to Fossi amps.

This is my reasoning and update regarding yet another device with the issue,  except the owner of that Nest Hub doesn't care because they don't use the broken feature.

Good luck, everyone.

Waiting on a paycheck or two to replace the Nest Hub with an Alexa device and newer home theater receiver.

[john2069]

@AaronJMyers - Is the length of your post meant to give weight to your argument?

You clearly are not looking for a solution, rather to bash Google.

If you are looking at replacing Next Hub with Alexa, you really aren't committed to Google's ecosystem in the first place

[AaronJMyers]

Length of post is irrelevant.

Substance of post is.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...  Your post didn't even mention the actual thread topic.. 🤪

I pointed out that your claim that other speakers were not in the thread is false, and supplied 2 samples as proof.   you can look them up yourself, since you obviously didn't before your false claim that they didn't exist.

This subject is over... don't give moderators a reason to close the thread.

I am free to bash a company that has ignored our problem for 4 months.

The problem coincided with the January update for all of us, even for those who didn't realize it for a little longer.

Rolling back the firmware would restore function for us that was lost.

A major function.

I even offered to mail my device in and Google doesn't want that... then they might actually need to explain why some units were broken and others not, by their firmware update...  by not accepting my offer of sending an effected unit in they can pretend they don't see it in their lab sample units... 

1/3 of a year...  that is serious customer abuse, so a little bashing of how they handle it when they break devices with defective firmware is like in kind treatment.

I don't need your approval to use what terminology I find suitable.  You'll note (if you actually read every post start to end) my posts started out a lot more hopeful and polite.

It's like that person in the hallway that bumps you one day, first time you think maybe it's an accident so you apologize... then a couple days later it happens again, you look at them like to figure what's going on...

Then it happens again, and you know it's on purpose, so you get a little more serious about it...

My posts are the same way, not liking the treatment we are all getting for something Google programmers did to our devices.

I wasn't actually going to dignify it with a response, then I decided that maybe you really just didn't understand how it makes people feel when a company breaks a product you bought and then leaves it broken, pretending it takes over 4  months to find a solution.

How would you feel if your car manufacturer updated your car and broke your radio or AC or heater, and left it broken several months and didn't let you know what they might be doing, if anything, to restore the feature you paid for.

If you're just going to bash other users and not contribute about the topic and how the topic makes you feel, please don't bother.  We don't need that in here.

This will be the only response from me about your off-topic post.

[TriggerTrade]

Hey is this fixed? Same issue here. BT worked for over 4 years, and all of a sudden not working since January 2023.

[AaronJMyers]

Sadly, no.

It's not yet fixed.

I check 3x a week, because I deeply miss being able to Play streamed music loud enough to be heard clearly in every room of my house ...

We're approaching 5 months with no fix.

What really sucks for me is I had ZERO issues before the January firmware update took a major feature away from me, and many other people.

For every one of us who comes here to complain, there's more who don't know where to complain about it, so undoubtedly the issue is worse than this community site suggests.  Unhappy people who don't know where to complain.

Wecome to the thread where we get ignored.  It's been so long since we have heard from staff that I couldn't tell you when they last....  well I guess I shouldn't say "updated" us, because they go through the same BS reset procedure we have already done,  but they never actually let us know anything about if anyone is actively looking for a fix, where they are in queue if there is someone actively looking for a fix, or if they've given up.

It's so sad a company will treat so many of us like this after we handed over cash for their product, and we were happy until THEY broke the product...

We aren't that far from half a year to figure out what changed from one firmware to the next and patch the part where audio routing is sent to our paired and selected Bluetooth devices.

People have named more than one brand and model, so it's obvious that the issue is not the bluetooth devices. (Also, sound comes out the Nest Hub when it's supposed to be sent to the paired and connected bluetooth device)

This is why closed source software sucks.. it prevents us from any chance of repairing our own devices...

Just giving us a rollback firmware would solve the problem, but they care more about whatever else was in their firmware update than us being happy with their product.

I inderstand the support staff here probably ignore us because they have nothing to do with firmware production, and our responses to their canned suggestions to power cycle it or unpair and repair our bluetooth devices are getting more negative due to the idiocy of them repeating the same instructions over and over when they obviously don't solve this issue ..

[SmartySmarts]

Any news? Brand new hub 2 and NO BT DEVICES connected . All good n paired off n on but NO SOUND then disconnects "something went wrong, try again"... over and over.. wtf