The company hasn’t said much about the issue
Google Home may not be perfect, but it’s still a widely used app to control and pair smart home devices, particularly on Android. As we’ve reported over the past few weeks, the app is currently undergoing a makeover of sorts. This has led to the disappearance of personal Google Home routines for a few people, which can be infuriating if they rely on them. Another issue is now coming to the surface as some users are finding themselves unable to add a new device or reconnect an existing one via the Google Home app.
Trying to link a new device via Google Home returns a “Could Not Reach” error followed by the customary “Please Try Again,” as per a detailed thread on Reddit (via 9to5Google). Several other users chimed in with the same issue, including on the Nest Community forums, suggesting that it’s pretty widespread at this point. Notably, the error appears on a wide range of products, such as Nanoleaf and Samsung devices, so it’s unlikely that your smart home product is at fault.
All fingers point towards the Google Home app on Android with the creator of the thread finding a temporary remedy by uninstalling updates for the Google app and even clearing the cache for good measure. Another user points out that they could add a new device by simply following the pairing/linking process on another device, such another Android phone — in one case, a Fire 8 tablet sideloaded with Google Play services (we’ve got a how-to for you if you’re interested in doing the same) — or an iPhone. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any satisfactory explanation for any potential contributing factors or why either fix works.
Google hasn’t commented on the matter yet (we’ve reached out and will update if we hear back), though we hope it is actively working on a fix. Until then, be sure to try setting up your new device on another phone, or uninstalling updates for the Google app, as recommended by the account which first reported the bug. Since the issue wasn’t fixed by simply installing older versions of the Google Home app, the Reddit user speculates that this may be a server-side concern.
