What happened to the character alarms?

[Bootyshaker9000]

Last night, when I tried to set up a character alarm, it didn’t ask for the character, it just asked for the time!  I rebooted it, but it still didn’t do it right!  I even did it on a device that it wouldn’t work on, and it had the same response!!!

[CitySlicker]

I have the same issue, I await their response

[CitySlicker]

I'm beginning to think Google discontinued it without telling anyone. 

[Bootyshaker9000]

I think it has something to do with the coding

[Kgatherum]

I’m having the same issue, too! My daughter isn’t a huge fan of big blasting alarms, like the default google one, so she’s been setting character alarms for a long time now, and now it won’t reply to her anymore. She  decided that she was just going to have to settle with the default for now, but when she asks questions like “How long until my alarm”, it just says “you’ve set an alarm for 6:05am”, and it just hasn’t been understanding her questions. I know it’s so weird,  but we really really really love our google mini, and it just hasn’t been the best not having her alarm. Is it a huge problem? Definitely not. Would we like the alarm back, though? Yeah, it would help a lot! At this point, I’ll just try to set a media alarm to a relaxing song. 

[JillG]

Hi all!

I have this escalated over in the Google Assistant Community and will also get an escalation here to our Community Specialists. 

Thanks for reporting and please send feedback via your device: "okay Google, share feedback" and then record your message. This will get the issue noticed.

[Dan_A]

Hi folks,

This is not the experience we wanted you to have, let me help you. A few things: which Nest speakers are we working with? When did your issue begin? Were there any recent changes made?

It would help a lot if you could do a sequential reboot first: 

1. Unplug the power cord of your router followed by your Nest speakers.
2. Plug them back in after 3 minutes tops.
3. Restarting your phone might also help.

If the speaker or display isn't connected to Wi-Fi at the time of the character alarm, a general alarm chimes instead. 

Also, this feature is currently only available in English in Canada and the US on speakers and displays. Could you double check if it’s set in that language? 

If you can, please remove general alarms via the Google Home app. Follow these steps:

1. Make sure the mobile device is linked to the same account as the Google Nest or Home device.
2. Open the Google Home app.
3. Select the device.
4. At the top-right, tap Settings > Audio > Alarms and Timers.
5. Click  next to the alarm to remove it.

Let me know how it goes.

Appreciate the help, JillG.

Best,

Dan

[Bootyshaker9000]

I use a Google Nest Hub, and this problem started on Friday at like around 12:08 am.  I didn't change anything else to it before.  Anyway, I tried unplugging it, but it didn't work.

[Muddi]

Hey folks,

Sorry for the delays. To confirm, does the same issue happen when you say a different character for alarm like Lego City, Lego Life, or Hatchimals? Also, please list down your speakers together with the firmware version.

Cheers,
Muddi

[Bootyshaker9000]

It happens for every character, and my Google Nest Hub's firmware is 324896

[Muddi]

Hey folks,

Thanks for the update. Does the same issue happen when you use the Google Assistant app on your phone?

Cheers,

Muddi

[Bootyshaker9000]

It basically has the same response when you use it on any Google device, even some that don't do Character Alarms.  Like I did it on my Google TV, and it gave the same response.

[Muddi]

Hey Bootyshaker9000,

Thanks for trying. I'll forward all the information to the team and we'll update the thread as soon as I have more information to share. 

To all users: Please tell us the specific Google Home/Nest device you have, as well as the full firmware version. This is to help us isolate the issue.

Cheers,

Muddi

[Alyssalida345]

I am having this problem too. I have a Google home mini and a Google nest, both are unable to do any types of character alarms, even after the reboot instructions given above. 324896 firmware verson

[Muddi]

Hey Alyssalida345,

Thanks for the information. Could you tell me what country are you located in?

Cheers,

Muddi

[Alyssalida345]

I am in USA and my devices are all set to English as well

[arxlo]

I have a Google home Mini and the filmware version is 324896

[Muddi]

Hey folks,

Thanks for providing the information that we need. Our team is looking into this issue and I'll update the thread once I have  an information to share. If you haven't provided the type of device, firmware version, and your country - please do so by replying on this thread.

Also, please post the specific command that you are saying when setting up a character alarm on your device.

Cheers,

Muddi

[Bootyshaker9000]

Usually, I say "Set up a Ninja Turtles alarm"  but since the thing hasn't been working, I've been saying "Set up a character alarm"  and if I say "Set up a character alarm for 30 seconds" it just asks for the time, like it doesn't recognize the 30-second mark...

[Muddi]

Hi there,

Thanks for updating the thread. I forward that information to the team, and I'll get back on this thread as soon as I have an update to share.

Cheers,

Muddi

[arxlo]

When setting a character alarm I would normally say "Hey Google set a Ninja turtle alarm" or "Hey Google set a character alarm" but after some time those commands don't work and Google just asks for the time. 

[phobus10]

Hi! I currently just attempted to do the character alarm myself and to my dismay it also did not work! This was the main reason I bought my google mini! 

I have a google nest mini! Is there any update as to what is going on?

[Debbiedeb]

System firmware version: 9.20221010.3.176
Cast firmware: 1.67.330920
Language: English (United States)
Country code: US
IP address: 192.168.0.25 

Google nest

[Muddi]

Hey Debbiedeb,

Thanks for the information. Could you tell us the specific command that you're using? What is the response of your Google Nest device?

Cheers,

Muddi

[delta7]

The same 2 issues are happening on my Google home mini (firmware version 324896).

1. The device will no longer tell me how long until the next alarm, and it instead tells me the time of my alarms. 

2. Character alarms are no longer available. If I state "set a character alarm," the device says, "ok, when for" before setting a standard alarm. If I ask for a specific alarm (e.g. "set an alarm with Leonardo for 6 am"), the device again asks "when's the alarm for" before setting a standard alarm.

[ISUfan4ever]

My Mini speakers and Hub are the same version as the others and Sam issue occurs with Google Assistant.

[alybrie]

im in the united states. i tried rebooting and trying other shows/characters but none of them work still. my firmware is 324896

[arxlo]

I've tried with every other characters and it doesn't work for either one. My firmware version is 324896

[Rachacey]

Any answer yet not working here either

[alybrie]

i’m having the same problem and tbh the character alarms (specifically tmnt) are the reason i got the speaker in the first place. i really hope they can fix this soon

[ISUfan4ever]

Same with our hubs and speakers here.  Very disappointing as I enjoy them reminding myself and the family of times to head to different chores/work around the house.

[arxlo]

Seriously same here. I'm having the same issues with my Google home mini not setting character alarms such as tmnt. 

[Dan_A]

Hello everyone,

Thanks for trying. We would like to isolate this further. What country are you located in? Did any of you try to factory reset your Nest device? How was it? Doing so should revert your device back to its default and original settings and you need to set it back up.

Let me know how it goes.

Thanks,

Dan

[Bootyshaker9000]

I'm in the United States of America.  I just tried it, and it still didn't do it right.  

[Bootyshaker9000]

 I even did it on a device that doesn’t do character alarms, and I got the same response 

[arxlo]

I'm in the United States and I've tried reset a few times and it seems to just not work

[itssiobhanchloe]

I am also unable to set my fave alarms (TMNT) on my Google Home mini,  which is a huge bummer. Very disappointing. I’ve rebooted, unplugged, everything and nothing works to bring it back. I’m in Canada, my device is only set to English and the firmware version is 324896
. Please fix this soon! 🙏🏾 Thanks. 

[SleepySheep]

I have 2 Google nests and an experiencing the same issue. The character alarms seem to have just disappeared, and resetting/unplugging does not help

[alybrie]

whenever i try and set a character alarm, it just asks for the time the alarm should be set at again. the character alarms were the main reason i got the speaker because i really hate normal alarms so i really hope they can fix this

[LovelyM]

Hi alybrie, 

Thanks for reaching out to our Speakers and Displays Community forum. Sorry for this experience.

A few questions: what country are you from? Was this working before? If yes, when did the issue start? Were there any changes made recently on the network or on the Google Home device? What troubleshooting steps have you tried?

In the meantime, confirm if you are also having trouble creating media alarms on your Google Home device so we can further isolate your issue.

Let me know how it goes. 

Regards,
Lovely