Last week, reports emerged of Home users frustrated by Google Assistant failing to understand basic commands and losing connections to connected smart home devices. A Google executive acknowledged the problem and promised that a better and smarter Google Home experience is on the horizon. However, the situation continues to worsen, with Google Home users reporting that they can’t control their smart lights using the voice assistant.
Several Google Home users on Reddit complain that they can no longer use Google Assistant to control their smart lights. It either fails to understand the command or does nothing.
The official GoogleNestCommunity account acknowledged the problem, saying they are “aware of an issue with using voice commands to control some lights. We’ll share an update as soon as possible, thanks for your patience.” Two days later, though, the issue still persists. I still can’t control my smart lights using Google Assistant on my 2nd-gen Nest Hub.
Until Google solves the problem, you can reconnect the affected devices as a workaround. You don’t need to reset and repair them; instead, open the Google Home app, tap the + button to add a new device, navigate to the Works with Google section, and reconnect the service associated with the smart lights.
Alternatively, a Reddit user suggests saying “Hey Google, sync devices” to resync all your paired smart home services with Google Home.
Just a month ago, Google Home users faced a similar issue: they couldn’t change the colors of their smart lights using voice commands. Thankfully, the company resolved the problem within a couple of days.
As if that weren’t enough, some users also report being unable to set alarms using voice commands.
Google Home needs Gemini — and fast
Google has replaced Assistant with Gemini on nearly all Android devices, and it’s now rolling out to Wear OS as well. The switch has noticeably improved the voice control experience, as Gemini handles natural language far better than its predecessor.
The Google Assistant voice experience on Google Home and Nest speakers seems to be falling apart, and it desperately needs a similar upgrade, which only Gemini can deliver. The only problem is that frustrated Google Home users will have to wait at least until fall to experience it.
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