Something went wrong response when asking for ocean sounds on speaker group

[OnFurloughFromH]

I have no idea what to do at this point to fix this issue:

If I issue a verbal command for Google to play ocean sounds on a speaker group, which I've done for many months without issues, I get the something went wrong response and it tells me to try again. As you might be aware, ocean sounds, rain sounds, etc, are part of a group of relaxation sounds Google speakers are capable of making for bedtime.

On the other hand, if I tell Google to play it on only one speaker of the group, and then use the Google Home app to put it on the speaker group, that works. It extends the audio to the other speaker.

It doesn't matter whether the command is executed by the Google Home Mini or the Google Nest Wifi point, or my Pixel 6 Pro phone. It won't play the relaxation sounds, any of them, on the group. You just get that message.

BUT, it *WILL* execute a command to play my music on the speaker group. Or any song I name. But not any of the relaxation sounds. They are streaming sound, they've always worked on the groups until recently, and now this. It will use my YouTube Music account no problem for music. Just not the relaxation sounds.

AND it *WILL* execute the command to play the ocean sounds on another group which is another Google Nest Wifi point and a Google Nest Mini 2nd Gen on another floor.

I've power cycled all members of the first group, my phone, my Chromebook that has the Home app on it as well, and no change. No clue what caused this. I even deleted the group and readded the group. No change. 

[Dan_A]

Hi OnFurloughFromH,

We're sorry you're having trouble with your relaxing sound feature ― let's take a look at it and see what we can do. It would help a lot if you could do a sequential reboot first. Unplug the power cord of your modem then your router and points, followed by your Nest speakers. Plug them back in after 3 minutes tops. Restarting your phone might also help.

Once done, check out this guide and see which relaxing sound is working. You might also want to use different commands as per example on the guide provided.

It would also be of big help if you could check each Nest speaker and give a command to play a relaxing sound and tell us how it goes.

Best,

Dan

[Dan_A]

Hey there,

I wanted to follow up and see if you are still in need of any help. Have you had the chance to try the suggestion above? If yes, how is it?

Regards,

Dan

[Dan_A]

Hi OnFurloughFromH,

We haven't heard from you in a while so we'll be locking this thread if there is no update within 24 hours. If you need assistance or want to discuss topics, feel free to start a new thread.

Cheers,

Dan

[OnFurloughFromH]

I tried those suggestions and it didn't change anything. Want something weirder?

I tried adding various speakers in my house to various groups and could not replicate the problem with any other group. I then deleted the upstairs group and remade it. Same thing happened. I tried various other speakers included and excluded in that group, always the same issue regardless of which speakers were in that group. I renamed the group second floor and it worked. If the group is named upstairs or upstairs speakers it refuses to work.

I'm thinking one of your engineers was bored and put a block against using the word upstairs in the software because that's the only thing I can think of at this point. Why in the world does it allow practically any other word in the speaker group name but gives me issues with the word upstairs? It makes no sense.

[Dan_A]

Hi OnFurloughFromH,

Thank you for the reply. We now need to revert your Nest speakers to its default and original settings by doing the factory reset. How many Nest speakers do you have? Let's instead try to factory reset your Nest Mini and your Google Home Mini.

For your Google Home Mini: On the bottom of Home Mini, press and hold the factory reset button located below the power cord. Look for a circle etched into the base. After 5 seconds, your device will begin the factory reset process. Continue to hold for about 10 seconds more, until a sound confirms that the device is resetting.

For your Nest Mini: On the side of your device, switch the mic off. The lights will turn orange. Press and hold the center of the Nest Mini, where the lights are on top. After 5 seconds, your device will begin the factory reset process. Continue to hold for about 10 seconds more, until a sound confirms that the device is resetting.

After the reset, set them back up. Follow the steps on this link for a successful set up. By the way, when you open the link, there is an option to choose between an iOS or Android device. Choose whichever mobile phone you are using for the set up.

Tell us how it goes.

Cheers,

Dan

[Dan_A]

Hey there,

I wanted to follow up and see if you are still in need of any help. Have you had the chance to try the suggestion above? If yes, how is it?

Thanks,

Dan

[OnFurloughFromH]

No dice. Won't work as "upstairs" or "upstairs speakers" as a group name. Does work as "second floor". 

[Dan_A]

Hi OnFurloughFromH,

Thanks for the reply. Is the name "second floor" also a name for your speaker group? Does this mean that it's only not working when the word upstairs is added?

Looking forward to your responses.
 

Best,

Dan

[OnFurloughFromH]

That is correct. If the speaker group is called upstairs or upstairs speakers, it won't work. It gives me the message that something went wrong and to try again.

[Dan_A]

Hello OnFurloughFromH,

To isolate further, please change the name of your second floor speaker group to any unique name. We need to confirm if the only name that doesn't work is the one that has the word "upstairs". Also, please double-check if there are other names that has the word "upstairs" like your room name. To rename a room, follow the steps below:

1. Open the Google Home app .
2. At the top, select the home with the room you want to rename.
3. Touch and hold the name of the room you want to change.
4. Tap Settings > Name > enter a name > tap Save.

Keep us posted.

Regards,

Dan

[Dan_A]

Hey there,

I'm checking back to ensure you've got the answers you're looking for. Feel free to let us know if you have more questions about this.

Thanks,

Dan

[OnFurloughFromH]

I changed the speaker group name from second floor to upstairs. It didn't work. I changed it back to second floor and it worked. I changed it to dog food and it worked. I changed it back to upstairs and it didn't work. I changed it back to second floor and it worked. It just doesn't want to use the word upstairs as a speaker group name.

[Dan_A]

Hi OnFurloughFromH,

That's the way to go. As mentioned, it doesn't work with the word "upstairs" as a speaker group name. One reason is duplication. Does one of your room names have the same word in it? How about if we stick to the name second floor for now and see what happens.

One more thing, could you try the name upper floor? Tell me how it goes.

Cheers,

Dan

[Dan_A]

Hey there,

Buzzing in — do you still need our help? Don't hesitate to reach back if you do.

Thanks,

Dan

[Juni]

Hi there,

We haven’t heard back from you, so I'll be locking this thread in 24 hours. Feel free to create a new one if you have more questions or have other concerns in the future.
 

Best,

Juni

[OnFurloughFromH]

I'm still having problems. Just tonight I told it to play my music on second floor speakers which has been working for over a week now, but it kept saying, sorry, I don't understand. So I told the office speaker to play my music and it did, and it announced that it was playing on second floor speakers. When I told it to do that directly, it didn't understand. When I simply addressed the nearest speaker to me, it did it but not on that speaker alone, but on the other speaker as well that it is grouped with.

On the subject of room names, I have a bathroom named upstairs bathroom and a second floor porch named upstairs porch. Neither of those have speakers in them. I do not know if it is looking for a speaker in one of those rooms and not finding one when I have the group named upstairs speakers. But that is strange because it worked with upstairs speakers as a group name for a long time.

I'm getting the feeling I may need to delete every room and the whole house and rebuild it in the Google Home app at this rate.

[Dan_A]

Hi OnFurloughFromH,

Have you already tried to factory reset at least 2 Nest devices? If so, set them back up and create a different speaker group with a different name. Let's replicate the issue.

By the way, what is the exact command you're giving right after all the troubleshooting that we've done? If the issue persists, let's remove every room and every device for us to start fresh. Follow the steps above on how to factory reset your Nest devices.

Regards,

Dan

[OnFurloughFromH]

I think this is a little extreme. Factory resetting all of my devices, destroying the home instance and then rebuilding it, all of that. It's a simple matter. It used to work by naming the upstairs speaker group upstairs speakers and then giving commands to put music to it. Now it doesn't. Something changed. I've had to change it to second floor speakers for the name of the group and it works. The question is, what changed? I didn't make any changes to my network. I've rebooted the root modem, the Wi-Fi, the points, the speakers, and nothing has changed the behavior. If the upstairs speaker group is named upstairs speakers or upstairs or anything else with the word upstairs at the beginning, it won't work.

Something changed in the way Google is parsing the commands. I have a room called upstairs bathroom and it was called that when the upstairs speakers group was working. There are no speakers in the upstairs bathroom. Never were. It was never confused. If it is confused now, looking for a speaker in the bathroom that isn't there, why? I'm just finding it a little annoying to keep doing these shot in the dark guesses and not getting anywhere.

Google needs to document how it is parsing names of groups and rooms. I think that is where the problem is probably. I say this because I have a speaker in the kitchen called kitchen Wi-Fi because it's one of the Wi-Fi points, and when I tell it to play music on kitchen speaker, it will do so without it being labeled kitchen speaker. But if I tell it to broadcast to kitchen, it doesn't, because it doesn't know what device. If I go to the kitchen Wi-Fi and ask its identity, it tells me it is named kitchen Wi-Fi. I can tell it to broadcast the kitchen speaker or kitchen Wi-Fi but not to kitchen. I think it has to do with how the system is parsing the commands and identifying areas and items.

[OnFurloughFromH]

I want to call attention to the fact that this is only happening in a speaker group that has an old first generation Google Mini in the group. It is not happening with the downstairs speakers that has a nest mini second gen. From problems posted by other people, I can guess that it could be something to do with that difference.

[Dan_A]

Hi OnFurloughFromH,

Thanks for the information. Since this is isolated when the speaker group name has the word "upstairs", and the Google Home Mini might also be a factor ― we might get the answers we're looking for if we remove the Google Home Mini from the second floor speaker group, change the name of both the Google Home Mini and the speaker group. Don't include the Google Home Mini in the speaker group before replicating the issue.

Thanks,

Dan

[OnFurloughFromH]

Well that was weird.

I removed Office Speaker, the 1st gen mini, from the group. I renamed the group Upstairs. When I asked for music on Upstairs, it complained that it didn't understand.

I changed the group name to Upstairs Speakers, which is what it was back at the beginning of all this. I requested music and it played on the WiFi point speaker without complaint.

I added the Office Speaker mini back in and requested music. This time it did so without complaint.

So, I'm back to where it was when it was working. Thank you.

I get the feeling that there are competing and asynchronous labels and variables behind this. Maybe it thought it the Office Speaker was spoken for somehow.

Before I go for the evening, it would be nice if we could organize our homes by floors and types of rooms as well as rooms. I would like to be able to turn off all the lights on the second floor, or on the first floor with a verbal command. I'm not sure if there's one of those patent issues in the way of that, but it would be great. Organizationally, it would truly help.

Thanks again.

[OnFurloughFromH]

And now more weirdness.

It will play music on upstairs speakers, but when I request ocean sounds, one of the relaxation sounds that are possible with Google speakers, it says that something went wrong and to try again in a little while. So, it will play music from my YouTube music account no problem, but not relaxation sounds. I tried fireplace sounds, rain sounds, ocean sounds, and none of them would work. But when I renamed the speaker group from upstairs speakers to second floor speakers, it took the command no problem.

For some reason, it doesn't want to play the relaxation sounds on the speaker group when it is named upstairs speakers.

[OnFurloughFromH]

I should mention that if I play those sounds on only one of the speakers and then use the app, I can select the other speaker manually to have it run on the other speaker as well. I have no idea why that works but not from a verbal command to play on the group.

[OnFurloughFromH]

I have changed it back to second floor speakers and that works fine. I would also note that the Wi-Fi point that was part of the group went offline during these changes and had to be rebooted. I don't think the code that handles the speaker portion and the code that handles the Wi-Fi portion are exactly getting along. Could be a firmware issue there.

[Dan_A]

Hey there OnFurloughFromH,

Apologies for the delayed response and thanks for the updates. I’ve tested our test group to play ocean sounds along other relaxing sounds and it worked. If you could remove your Wi-Fi points from the speaker group if they’re on it, and move your Nest speakers close to the main router and play ocean sounds.

It would be best to do a sequential reboot on all your devices first to refresh the connection between them.

Cheers,

Dan

[Dan_A]

Hey there,

Checking back to see if all is good? Did the sequential reboot resolve your concern? Let us know so we can do more.

Thanks,

Dan

[Dan_A]

Hi OnFurloughFromH,

I'm just checking in to make sure that you've seen our response. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns as I will be locking this thread in 24 hours.

Regards,

Dan

[Juni]

Hi there,

Buzzing in — I just wanted to follow up if you were able to try the steps provided. Please let us know as we would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
 

Thanks,

Juni

[Juni]

Hello there,

We haven’t heard back from you, so I'll be locking this thread in 24 hours. Feel free to create a new one if you have other concerns in the future.
 

Best,

Juni

[Jake]

Hey there,

I wanted to check in, and let you know that I will be locking the thread in 24 hours.

Best regards,

Jake