“Sorry I’m not sure what living room you want to turn on” when I ask Google mini to turn on lights

[guizzeg]

Google mini was working fine until it began replying “ sorry I’m not sure what living room lights you want to turn on” when requesting 3 living room lights be turned on or off. 

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

What exactly are you ask Google to do?

"Turn off lights in Living Room" and the lights are grouped together within the Living Room Room?

[Tracy63]

Iim having the exact same issue.  It started 2 days ago.  I rebooted google and it still does it.  I tried on other googles and it says the same thing.  I have 4 lights that are listed as being part of the Livingroom in google home.  Now when I say to turn them on, it gives me this exact error.  What did they do?

[guizzeg]

Still having the same problem. Like you it started a few days ago. It would appear it is a software issue on Google nest end if there are several of users having the same issue about the same time. I’m going to try removing the 3 lights and adding them back if the issues doesn’t self correct in a few days. 

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

When I'm in the same Google Room as the Nest speaker and Lights I say "Hey Google, Light" because all my lights I control this way are named 'Light'. Also Fans are named 'Fan', etc..

If I'm in another Room I say Turn on the light in the Living Room. 

I can do this because of Toggling...

This is my YouTube video. Instructions are in the description.
https://youtube.com/shorts/5z69ruHrU3I?feature=share
Note: "Hey Google" mentioned

[rmoody]

I'm having the same issue, also just started in the last few days. Only have 1 bedroom saved and 1 living room, but when asked to turn on the bedroom lights it says "sorry, I'm not sure which bedroom" and same thing with the living room

[guizzeg]

Still having the same problem. Like you it started a few days ago. It would appear it is a software issue on Google nest end if there are several of users having the same issue about the same time. I’m going to try removing the 3 lights and adding them back if the issues doesn’t self correct in a few days. 

[guizzeg]

Still having the same problem. Like you it started a few days ago. It would appear it is a software issue on Google nest end if there are several of users having the same issue about the same time. I’m going to try removing the 3 lights and adding them back if the issues doesn’t self correct in a few days. 

[Ranchito42]

Having the exact same problem and it started just a few days ago as well. 

[G2G]

Same issue. “ sorry I don’t know which basement you want to turn on” started 4-5 days ago. 

[Alibaba3]

Same issue, started 3 days ago. So frustrating, I have to open the home app and turn them off manually.

[rmoody]

I have found that I can turn them on/off by using the exact device name. If I say "turn off the bedroom floor lamp" it works (I named the lamp "bedroom floor lamp"), but not if I say "turn off the bedroom light". So it seems to be just the room assignments that it no longer understands. But I double-checked and the Google Home app does still list our rooms and have the lights listed under the rooms.

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

@rmoody is the Bedroom Floor Lamp the only light listed in "Bedroom" Room?

● If you have a number of lights in "Bedroom" then they should all be grouped together under one tile and "Turn on Bedroom Light" should have turned them all on.

● Also if you have a speaker located in "Bedroom" then saying "turn on light" to that speaker should be sufficient enough to achieve that as well.

[Ranchito42]

None of these suggestions are the case. Only two lights in “living room” and it won’t understand the command “turn on lights in living room” when it worked perfectly last week.

something has changed on googles side.

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

@Ranchito42 if something has changed on Google side there's nothing we can do then. You'll just have to wait for it to be fixed one day.

The thing is, is that it could be a permanent change. You have to roll with the punches when you're in the smart home sphere. 

[okto]

“The thing loses basic functionality with no explanation” is not a punch we have to roll with. 

Google isn’t your friend, you don’t have to stick up for them. This is an unacceptable failure for a system that affects how we live our lives at home. 

[rmoody]

Yes, it was the only light listed under that room, but the command "turn on bedroom light" or "turn on bedroom lights" would not work.

However, as of just a little bit ago, the problem seems to finally be fixed - it is finally responding to that command again after days of not working. Hopefully this is the case for other people as well!

[Kscar]

This was still happening to me today but I think my problem is due to the fact that I have more than one home set up in the Google Home app, both of which have "living room lights". I changed the name of the room where I live to "Pasadena Living Room" and that seems to have worked. Now when I say, "Hey Google, turn on Pasadena Living Room lights" it worked. 

[G2G]

I can confirm. I had two homes in the app. Both homes had a room that shared a name. The second home I had was only to move misbehaving devices to temporarily. I removed the rooms from the other home. I also renamed the room in my primary home to remove the conflict the Google Nest assistant was complaining about which solved the problem, but forced me to add a word to the room name that I didn't want. Google should make a change where rooms in different homes don't need unique names. They are in different homes after all. 

[nicknick923]

Same thing is happening to me. 2 homes, 2 living rooms, google isn’t able to detect that I want the living room that resides in the same home as the speaker. Such a hard concept…

[Zellion]

I have tried to identify the house and then the room, no avail. I have mulitple google homes and this is creating a headache. I could understand having to identify which home you want devices turned on and off if using assistant from your phone and you are away from the house. But devices and your phone that is at the location should be smart enough to determine which ones should be turned on. 

[R_Storm]

This shouldn't be happening. We shouldn't have to rename stuff like this. This use to work but is now broken. I haven't changed anything in over a year - now suddenly I can't control my lights because I have multiple homes? I am so sick of Google breaking stuff in Home. The devices and light both live in the same home and the same room - it is a simple thing that Google suddenly can't make work. I just bought another "other" device to control things. So I guess I am finally moving to the other exosphere for home automation.

[ashbrookmw]

I am also having this same problem when I say turn on living room lights. When I look in the app there is only 1 living room so not sure why ut tells me it doesn't know which living room. Started about a week ago. 

[Kscar]

Yup, I completely agree. This has worked fine for over a year and now all of a sudden, Google doesn't know which house I'm talking about. The other interesting thing that just started happening is that when I am at my parents home and I tell Google to add things to "my list called shopping", it adds it to my own personal list at my home in California and not the list my parents have on their Google Home. Last year, it would add it to their list. This is a problem of being a member of two households also. This could also be viewed as something good I suppose but again, it shows Google cannot distinguish between two different homes. 

[cheliogeovanni]

Hello @guizzeg,

I am very sorry to hear that you are experiencing trouble with your Google Mini. I would like to help you here with some steps that you can follow below:

This error message from your Google Home Mini indicates it's confused about which living room lights you want to control. Here are some ways to fix this:

1. Verify Light Assignment:

• Open the Google Home app and navigate to your living room settings.
• Check if all your living room lights are assigned to the same "room" within the app. Inconsistent naming can cause confusion.

2. Specify the Room Name:

• When giving voice commands, explicitly mention the room name. For example, instead of "turn on lights," say "turn on living room lights."

3. Rename Confusing Names:

• If you have multiple rooms with similar names (e.g., "Living Room" and "Family Room"), consider renaming them in the Google Home app for better clarity.

4. Double-check Light Connection:

• Ensure all your living room lights are properly connected and recognized by Google Home. Unlink and relink them if necessary through the Google Home app.

5. Reboot Devices:

• Sometimes a simple reboot can fix glitches. Restart your Google Home Mini and the smart hub managing your lights (if applicable).

Additional Tips:

• If you have multiple Google Home devices, ensure you're giving the command to the one closest to the living room lights.
• Explore creating routines within the Google Home app. You can set up a routine triggered by a specific phrase to turn on all your living room lights.

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the confusion and control your living room lights seamlessly with voice commands.

Please let me know if these steps help.

Regards,

Helio.

[nicknick923]

What do those of us who are in two google homes that both have living rooms to do? I don’t think us having to rename one houses living room to something else just so they are unique per member in a house is right.

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

There seems to be an issue around the word "Living". I replied to someone else on Reddit with the same Device name.

Maybe change it to "Lounge Room"

[Grandpaof9]

I am having issues with other words.... Bedroom and Kitchen

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

@Grandpaof9 you might be better off using this solution I discovered for Google.

This is my YouTube video.

Instructions are in the description.

Note: "Hey Google" mentioned regularly.

https://youtube.com/shorts/5z69ruHrU3I?feature=share

[cheliogeovanni]

Hello @SmartHomeH-TAGS,

First of all I hope you are doing well and also I would like to thank you for sharing that great link with @Grandpaof9 good tips.   @Grandpaof9 please follow the steps to work on that specific voice match issue.

Regards,

Helio.

[Zellion]

I chatted with support on 4/20. They confirmed that the engineers are aware of the issue and are working on it. It should be corrected with the next google assistant update. It seems the last update broke lots of things.   Work arounds until fixed - Use the device name, use the google home app and manually turn lights on or off, create a routine. Or just throw the switch for the bulb. ( HAHA) 

[Arthurpwiggle]

Same problem. Anyone know when the next update is happening?

[Targstark123]

Glad to finally find out I’m not the only one with this issue. I am in my own Google Home as well as my parents’, which both have “Living Room” as a room with multiple lights, so renaming one or the other would be very annoying, and I often tell Google to turn off the Living Room lights as I am going to my bedroom. Also just got in the habit of specifying the room each time (rather than “Turn off the lights”) and only just now discovered that you could be so general with your wording and Google would know what to do. 

Hopefully next update soon!

[Smarthomefan]

My issue is that it seems like all the google devices (speakers and displays) have lost their ability to understand context, especially when you have two separate homes. The device used to understand that I’m at the second house and know to turn the living room lights in the house.  Now google assistant replies that it doesn’t know which lights to turn on. Really annoying. The devices are assigned to different houses and it knows the weather in context to the house location, but it seems to have lost its ability to know which living (first house or second house) to turn on.

[Smarthomefan]

I'm not sure when, but I think there was an update where the devices stopped understanding context for lights. You're right about the weather, it still works but not for lights. 

I have defaulted to using the phone app for lights now, since it doesn't make sense to rename the rooms, especially when I know it was working before. I'll wait and see if this can be fixed with another update. 

[Crazychicken563]

+1, been happening to me for a while now. Same issue as everyone else, just dropping into the thread for visibility and notifications for when this is updated/fixed

[JadeyBird]

ANSWER: I found a solution that worked for me! I had previously switched a Feit bulb out for a TreatLife bulb and changed everything over in Google home, but my Feit app still had the old bulb in my account. As soon as I removed the unused bulb from the external Feit app, that resolved the confusion Google was having. Hope this helps anyone else! 

[Smarthomefan]

I tried removing and adding the lights, but it didn't solve the issue.