Smart speaker stopped telling me the artist when I ask Pandora.

[MoragaTrez]

A few months ago, my Google smart speaker stopped telling me the name of the artist on Pandora when I ask. I tried restarting the nest, my phone, reinstalling the home app, and nothing seems to work. Any suggestions??

[maedacortez]

Hi MoragaTrez,

Thanks for reaching out! I'm happy to help. To determine the best troubleshooting steps for you, I'll need to ask you a few questions:

• When you try to ask for the artist do you say?  "What artist is playing?"
• Does your speaker say any error messages when you ask for the artist?
• When does the inconvenience start?

I'll be waiting for your response.

Regards, 

Manuel

[MoragaTrez]

Hello Manuel, 

Thank you for taking an interest in this and helping me out. I just tried these commands today On my Google Nest Speaker.

Hey Google, play thumbprint radio on Pandora. 

Got it. here's your Pandora station called thumbprint radio.

Hey Google, What song is this? This is Tomorrow Comes Today.

Hey Google What artist is playing?This is Tomorrow Comes Today.

Hey Google, what Pandora station is this? You're listening to Tomorrow Comes Today.

It will not tell me the artist nor will it tell me the name of the Pandora radio station.

I have tried different wording for the questions such as What artists am I listening to? What artist is this? The answer is always the name of this song.

If I say the same commands on Google assistant on my Android phone, it tells me the name of this song and the artist for each of the above answers. It does not tell me the name of the station. 

I have reinstalled the home app, restarted my Nest and my phone. This has been going on for about a month or more. I have never gotten an error message. It just tells me the name of the song. 

Thanks for your time. 

Therese 

[maedacortez]

Hi MoragaTrez,

Hi thanks for the reply, I recommend you make a factory reset again, in case you missed a step you can find the official guide here: visit factory reset speakers and displays.

In case the factory reset does not resolve the inconvenience we'd appreciate your feedback to help us improve. your comment are important to us! you can easily share your feedback by visiting the Google Nest Feedback page.

Regards,

Manuel

[MoragaTrez]

Thank you. I will let you know as soon as I do the reset.

[maedacortez]

Hi MoragaTrez,

Great, Keep me in the loop!

Regards,

Manuel

[MoragaTrez]

Unfortunately, the the reset did not fix the problem. So now I will go to the feedback page. I hope someone  who is as helpful you reads it. I appreciate your quick and clear responses. Thank you. 

[maedacortez]

Hi MoragaTrez,

Thanks for sending us your feedback! We really appreciate your comments, as they help us improve our products every day. We're working on a fix and expect to have an update soon.

Regards, 

Manuel

[Flatbot]

I am having the exact same problem as the original poster, except I am using the YouTube Music service.  No matter what way I ask my nest speakers to tell me what artist is playing, It only announces the song title. I think this is just how the nest speaker works now.   Can somebody at Google please just test this? It's pretty simple. Have your speaker play a song and ask it to tell you what artist is playing.  It's going to tell you the song title Only.  please, somebody look into this and fix it thanks.

[Scarlett15]

so when the home mini is playing a song you're supposed to be able to ask "Hey Google, what song is this?" and it'll reply "This is [insert song name] by [insert artist name]" but for the past few days BOTH of my home minis (they're in different houses) have only been telling me the song name, no matter what I ask. I'll say "who wrote this song" and it says "this is [insert song]".

Has anyone else been having this problem or does anyone know a fix because it's getting infuriating having to pull out my phone and ask the google on there.

[ovidioj]

Hi @Scarlett15, 

Thanks for posting in the community!

I understand how frustrating it can be when you love a song and want to know more about it, but your Home Minis aren't providing the full information, like the artist name. Let's try some things to fix this:

Common Causes and Solutions:

• Temporary Glitch: Sometimes temporary glitches can cause unexpected behavior. To troubleshoot, try restarting both your Home Minis and the device you use to control them.

• Language Settings: Ensure your Home Minis are set to the same language you're using for your voice commands. In the Google Home app:

  • Go to Settings for each Home Mini.
  • Check the "Device Language" and ensure it matches your preferred language.

• Software Updates: Outdated software can sometimes cause issues with functionality.

  • Open the Google Home app and check for updates for your Home Minis.
  • Update both devices to the latest available software version.

• Voice Recognition Issues: In rare cases, microphone problems might prevent proper voice recognition. Try cleaning the microphones on your Home Minis and see if that improves voice commands.

Advanced Troubleshooting:

• Factory Reset (Last Resort): If none of the above work, consider a factory reset of your Home Minis. This will erase all settings and data. Consult your user manual or online resources for specific reset instructions for your Home Mini model.

Important: A factory reset is a last resort, as you'll need to reconfigure your Home Mini settings afterward.

• Report the issue (if the problem persists): If the problem continues after trying these steps, it might be a wider issue affecting Google Assistant. You can report the problem to Google through the Google Home app.
  • Open the Google Home app.
  • Tap your profile picture in the top-right corner.
  • Go to "Help & Feedback" and select "Send Feedback."
  • Describe the issue you're experiencing and include details like your Home Mini model and software version.

Please let me know how it goes or if you have any other questions.

All the best,

Jorge.

[WayneG]

I have been having precisely the same issue for the past week. Never had this problem before and I have tried resetting the nest mini but it makes no difference. 
it is clear Google has changed its Policy on this for some reason

[ovidioj]

Hi @WayneG,

Thanks for reaching out to the community!

I understand it's frustrating to experience this issue with your Nest Mini for over a week, especially after trying a reset. I appreciate you giving that a shot!

Here's a link to some troubleshooting steps that might help: Google Assistant doesn't respond.

This guide covers common reasons why the assistant might not be responding and offers solutions.

Additionally, since this seems to be an issue affecting multiple users, here are a couple of other options:

• Check for App Updates: Make sure you're using the latest version of the Google Home app. Updates often include bug fixes and performance improvements.
• Report the issue to Google: If the troubleshooting steps don't resolve the problem, it might be helpful to report the issue directly to Google. This way, their support team can investigate further and identify a solution. You can follow the steps be
• low to send feedback.

1. Open the app and tap your profile picture in the top-right corner.
2. Select "Feedback" and choose the device you're having trouble with.
3. Choose "Get Started" to describe your issue and any troubleshooting steps you've tried.
4. (Optional) Attach a screenshot.
5. Tap "Send" to submit your feedback.

Regards, 

Jorge. 

[wd60152]

The problem is happening to many users and all music services all of a sudden.  I don't think it is reasonable to suggest it is a problem with specific devices.  There is clearly a software issue.

[Rscimagery]

Maybe they’ll give us another stupid canned answer about updating or factory resetting. Again. 

[Flatbot]

Your suggestions don't fix the problem.   The speaker only tells you the song title ever.  This is a bug on the platform that the Engineers need to fix.   Individual home users like us can't fix the problem no matter how many times we check our settings and reboot.

[Jack09]

I am having the same issues for the past week. It is google issue as my Alexa speakers can give me the information from Spotify that I request. 

Have performed resets on all devices, unlinked Spotify, all apps are updated.

In the last year the Google smart home experience has been poor and lagging behind Amazon. This may be the last straw to swap entirely to Alexa.

I don't receive any response from contacting Google... this is waste of time!

[ovidioj]

Hi @Jack09,

Thanks for reaching out to the community!

I understand this feature is important to you, and I appreciate you already resetting your devices and checking for app updates.

While it's possible a recent update might be causing the issue, here is a way to move forward:

1. Send Feedback to Google: Direct feedback from users helps Google improve their products. You can easily submit feedback through the Google Home app. Here's a quick guide:

   • Open the Google Home app and tap your profile picture in the top right corner.
   • Select "Feedback" and choose the device you're having trouble with.
   • Describe the issue in detail and tap "Send".

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to tell me. 

Regards, 

Jorge.

[Jack09]

Hi Jorge,

Thank you for your response You seem to be the only one responding.

I am hearing crickets from the feedback suggestion post in the google home app......which I have never heard back from on any other previous feedback posts.

[Km9115]

Same here!  It just recently stopped giving me the full song information. I’ve even tried to be specific in asking “what artist/sing is singing this song?” And different variations with no success. 

im guessing this is the result of update Google recently made, and hope they fix it soon! 

[ovidioj]

Hello @Km9115,

Thanks for posting in the community. 

I understand this feature is important to you, and I apologize for the inconvenience it's causing.

To help us resolve the issue faster, your feedback is crucial. Here's how you can easily send feedback directly to Google through the Google Home app:

1. Open the app and tap your profile picture in the top-right corner.
2. Select "Feedback" and choose the device you're having trouble with.
3. Describe the issue in detail, explaining what's happening and why you think it's occurring. The more specific you are, the better Google can understand the problem.

By providing this feedback, you'll be directly contributing to improving the experience for yourself and other users.

Let me know if you have any questions or need further assistance.

All the best,

Jorge. 

[Swoosie05]

Same! I have become very snarky with Ms Hey Google.

[ovidioj]

Hi folks,

I understand these features are important to you. There might be some relevant information in this Google Assistant update article: Changes we're making to Google Assistant.

However, if the information doesn't address your specific issue, I highly recommend sending feedback directly to Google. This helps them understand user needs and prioritize features. Here's how to submit feedback through the Google Home App:

1. Open the app and tap your profile picture in the top-right corner.
2. Select "Feedback" and choose the device you're having trouble with.
3. Briefly describe the issue you're experiencing and why this feature is important to you.

The more details you provide, the better Google can understand the situation.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

All the best,

Jorge.

[KerooSeta]

I've done that. 

[KerooSeta]

It's been doing this to us for about a month now. It's incredibly infuriating. To be clear, we are using Pandora to play music. I have not tried switching Music services yet.

[wd60152]

It is happening to varied music streaming services.  You mention Pandora, I use Spotify, someone else in this tread uses YouTube Music.  

[MoragaTrez]

I'm having the same problem. I actually did another post before I found this. It's very infuriating and it just started it month or so ago. There are so many people that are having the problem. I wonder if it's a problem that Google isn't acknowledging or fixing. It drives me nuts and I've tried everything to fix it including all the suggestions. When I asked the name of the artist it says the name of the song.

Also, there's a podcast problem. When I asked to play the latest episode of Fresh Air, It plays the last one I was listening to, not the last one that was published. When I ask what episode it is it just continues playing and doesn't do anything.

[Andy77]

I have the same two issues you described, it's so frustrating, I hope they fix it ASAP. 

[Cammioh]

We have YouTube Music and it stopped telling us who the artist is when asking about the music it is playing.  So frustrating.  Google is in its "decline by degrees" each update until we cancel everything.  
😕

[Rscimagery]

It does seem they are failing us miserably. NEST is falling apart too. 

[F2fennell]

Yes I have had the exact same issue.

[eventheminions]

Same issue here. Super frustrating. 

[isgini]

Very frustrating - I use premium paid Spotify multi device account - it is not the streaming service causing the problem it is the latest Google update that likely broke it - I also have Alexa assistants and they are still able to announce both song name AND artist when I ask "what song is playing" when streaming on the device.  The music artists should all raise their voices to let Google know it is not satisfactory for Google to refuse to acknowledge their work!  

[MoragaTrez]

• I agree. That's probably the best solution. Maybe I'll write Pandora to tell them about it. I just have regular Spotify  and Pandora on Alexa and it displays and tells me artist and song title. It's clearly a bug and Google should identify it as a bug and fix it instead of pretending that it's a user error.

[Jack09]

I have been sending feedback to google via smart speakers and google home app at least 5 x day for the past two weeks and have had no response or resolution.

The change to Google assistant says nothing about cancelling the ability to retrieve album and artist information from music streaming services. This is a basic function. 

I only use Google smart speakers to listen to music and when there is a song playing I like to know what album it is from. The music streaming platforms should know this. 

This is not good enough from Google who clearly don't care about customer service. 

[MoragaTrez]

This is really depressing.

[ruffleonion22]

I have this exact issue over the past few weeks and it’s incredibly frustrating. Please Google fix this!!

EDIT: To clarify, I use YouTube Music Premium. It’s very clear from this thread that this is a Google issue, not related to the streaming partners.

[Will3333]

I am in the same situation with spotify premium.  Asking for artist name worked fine for ~2 years, and suddenly stopped about a year ago...

A fix is needed, thank you all for keeping the pressure on google 😉

[Flatbot]

Yes, read through this thread.   Everyone is having the same problem with Google Home / Nest and it's frustrating. 

[maedacortez · Accepted solution]

Hi folks,

Thanks for reaching out about the inconvenience you're experiencing. I understand how frustrating these issues can be, and I want to assure you that I've reported the problem. Please be aware of any updates. 

Regards,

Manuel