How to broadcast messages on a Google Nest smart speaker or display

When you have Google Home, several of the best Google Assistant speakers, and Nest Hub smart displays in different rooms, you can use Google Assistant’s broadcasting feature to make announcements. The broadcast feature is similar to a modern intercom. You can tell your kids that dinner is ready, inform them when you go to the supermarket, or ask them to come down when guests arrive. The possibilities are endless.

What is the Google Assistant broadcast feature?

Google initially introduced a broadcast feature for selected smart speakers and displays. But the feature only worked on devices connected to a local wireless network. If someone leaves home, the person can’t broadcast the message to family members.

Since then, Google has expanded the broadcast feature for all smartphones. You can send a broadcast message to family group members from anywhere. Your phone doesn’t need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the smart speaker or display.

Broadcasting via Google Assistant is more convenient than leaving a message in a family group on WhatsApp or Telegram. It’s a neat way to keep your family in touch with everything happening at home. You no longer need to shout at your little ones upstairs. Summon Google Assistant and broadcast your message without leaving your household chores. Here’s how to set up and use broadcast on Google Nest.

What do you need?

There are two ways to broadcast on Google Nest. You can’t broadcast from one speaker or display to other speakers or displays. You also can’t use your smartphone or tablet to broadcast on a Google speaker or display. Before you start, make sure to meet these requirements to broadcast your message without any issues:

• A phone with Google Assistant and at least one Google Nest.
• The speakers and displays must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
• Do Not Disturb and Downtime must be turned off.
• The same Google account must be used on your phone and smart speaker.

Broadcast a message on Google Nest

Google Assistant is installed on all Android phones. You can use a voice command or keep pressing the power button to wake up the digital assistant. You can create a custom message to send a broadcast. Here’s how:

1. Say “Hey Google” to wake up Google Assistant on your Android phone or smart speaker.
2. Say, “Broadcast [message].”

You can also trigger Google Assistant via a swipe gesture on the phone. Swipe up from your Android phone’s lower-left or lower-right corner, wake Google Assistant, and send a broadcast message.

Saying “broadcast” before every message may not sound natural to many. Instead of a “broadcast” word, you can use commands like “shout,” “tell everyone,” or “announce.”

Access Google Assistant on iPhone or iPad

You aren’t entirely out of luck if you use an iPhone or iPad. Although the integration isn’t as seamless as Android, the Google Assistant app on iPhone still gets the job done by broadcasting messages on Google Nest.

1. Download Google Assistant on iPhone.
2. Open Google Assistant and sign in with the Google account that you used on the Nest smart speaker.
3. Give the necessary permissions and tap the microphone icon at the bottom.
4. Say “broadcast a message” and share your announcement on all Google Nest devices.

Here are some examples:

• “Hey Google, tell everyone breakfast is ready.”
• “Hey Google, announce, it’s lunchtime.”
• “Hey Google, broadcast, I’m home.”
• “Hey Google, tell everyone the movie is about to start.”
• “Hey Google, tell everyone it’s time to go to bed.”

These commands play on all Google Nest devices. Anyone (including users rolled in Voice match and guests) can start a broadcast on Google Nest devices. It’s not limited to the admin of the main Google account. It’s a neat add-on to prevent your guests and annoying little ones from broadcasting messages at home.

Broadcast a message to a specific room or device

You can limit the broadcast message to a specific room or device and not disturb your kid studying in another room or someone taking an afternoon nap. Try the following command:

Here’s how to broadcast a message to a specific room:

• Command: “Hey Google, broadcast to [room name] [message].”
• Example: “Hey Google, broadcast to the first bedroom, it’s time to go for a movie.”

Here’s how to broadcast a message to a specific device:

• Command: “Hey Google, broadcast to [device name] [message].”
• Example: “Hey Google, broadcast to kitchen display, is lunch ready?”

Reply to broadcast

You may want to inform your mom to delay lunch as you have an important Google Meet going on. You can use Google Assistant to reply to a broadcast after it plays. Here’s how:

• Command: “Hey Google, reply [message].”
• Example: “Hey Google, reply, I will be late by 20 minutes.”

Google Assistant sends the reply to the original broadcast device. Other Google Nest speakers don’t get your reply. If you use Google Assistant on Android or iPhone to send the original message, you get a reply as a notification. If you use Google Nest to announce a message, the device plays your family member’s reply out loud.

Google Assistant isn’t limited to broadcasting messages; check our detailed guide on Google Assistant to make your life a little easier.

When you reply to a broadcast message, be careful with your words. Your guests may hear your reply on a Google Nest in the dining room.

Use Google Assistant’s broadcast feature to message your family members

Google Assistant’s broadcast function works among smartphones and tablets too. First, you’ll create a Family group using the Google Home app and invite members to it. Once everyone joins the group, you can announce messages to them. You need to enable notification permission for Google Assistant and the Google Home app on Android and iPhone to receive broadcast messages without any problem. You also have the option to allow guests to broadcast messages. Even though Google Assistant doesn’t recognize their voice, the digital assistant announces the updates to every family group member.

Broadcast messages not working on Google Nest or home devices

If Google Assistant doesn’t broadcast your message on other smart devices, use the following tricks to troubleshoot the problem:

• Make sure all the Google smart speakers are active and connected to a power source. You can check all the devices from the Google Home app on your phone.
• Restart Google Nest. You can turn off the power source and switch it on again to make it active.
• Disable Digital Wellbeing on your phone. The system may restrict the broadcast function due to Downtime.
• Connect all smart speakers and displays to the same Wi-Fi network.
• Disable Do Not Disturb.
• Turn off Bedtime mode on your Android phone.
• Update your speaker or display’s firmware version. It must be running on 1.39154941 or later.

Keep your family members in the loop

Your Google Nest Hub isn’t limited to broadcasts and streaming music. Check out some of our favorite Google Nest Hub tips and tricks to get more out of your smart display.