Summary
- A new bug is affecting some Google Nest and Home devices, preventing them from responding to basic voice commands like ‘What’s the weather?’ or ‘What’s the time?’
- More complex commands and smart home controls continue to function correctly.
- Reports of the issue have surfaced within the last 2–3 days on Google’s Support forum, though attempts to replicate the bug by Android Police staff have been unsuccessful.
Google’s smart home tech portfolio isn’t perfect, but it’s a great addition to your household if you’re already deep in the Google ecosystem.
The Nest sub-brand takes care of several smart home needs, with gadgets like Nest Audio and Nest Mini for music, Nest Hubs for smart display, and the likes of Nest x Yale, Nest Cameras, and doorbells for security. Recently, however, a new and frustrating bug has emerged that has begun plaguing some of Google’s smart home tech products — primarily its smart displays and audio products.
As highlighted by Android Authority, several users have reported that their Nest speakers, including the Nest Mini, Hub, and Audio, are no longer responding to/fulfilling basic voice commands.
According to affected users that aired their grievance on Google’s Support forum, the issue reportedly emerged within the past 2–3 days, and renders their Google Home device unable to respond to queries like “What’s the weather,” “What’s the time,” and other similar basic queries. Those affected indicate that the device listens and registers the “Hey Google” wake prompt, but only flashes after the user poses a simple question.
In the case of the Nest Hub, the device’s home panel accurately shows the weather and time, but asking it to share the same information via a voice prompt results in no response.
More complex queries work as intended
Interestingly though, users suggest that the issue only arises with basic queries. Requests like turning lights on/off, starting a smart vacuum, and other similar smart home-related requests work as intended. According to Android Authority’s report, basic troubleshooting, like unplugging and resetting the affected smart home gadgets and rebooting the internet router, doesn’t fix the problem. Google is yet to officially acknowledge the issue.
For what it’s worth, the staff at Android Police tried to replicate the issue on all sorts of devices, including the Nest Hub 2nd Gen, Nest Hub Max, Google Home Max, Nest Mini, and the Google Home Mini, and all of those devices were able to handle basic queries with no problems, suggesting that while the problem is not isolated, it may not be widespread either.
If you’re experiencing issues with your Google Home or Nest device, let us know when the problem began in the comments below.
