Google Home, Google’s version of the smart speaker, brings great features to your home. It can help you cook the perfect dinner, answer your silly questions, and be your translator.
But despite its praiseworthy features, it does have its fair share of flaws that you are likely to encounter while using it. Here are some of the most common Google Home problems and how you can fix them.
1. I can’t connect to the network
The main requirement for Google Home is an Internet connection. Without it, you won’t be able to get your Google Assistant and all the smart features it brings. Unfortunately, there will be times when your speaker will act up and randomly disconnect from your home network.
To resolve this issue, first fix the root cause of the problem: your home network. Check if your ISP is down, and if not, restart your router and move it closer to your speaker. You can also try disconnecting your other devices from the home network in case it is a bandwidth issue.
If your speaker still doesn’t connect to your network, try restarting it. You can unplug it and plug it back in or restart it from the Google Home app on your Android or iOS device. This is how you can do that:
- Launch your Google Home app.
- Touch your speaker on the home screen.
- Select the gear icon in the upper right corner.
- Tap the three vertical dots at the top right of the screen.
- To choose Restart.
2. Music freezes
There’s nothing more annoying than the Google Home speaker turning off right when you’re listening to your favorite songs. When your music freezes out of nowhere, you can try some solutions:
- Reboot your device. This is usually the ideal solution for almost all electronic devices, and in most cases, it fixes the problem.
- If you’re playing music from a linked music service like Spotify, make sure your speaker is connected to the Internet. To test it out, say a random command like “Hey Google, how are you?” and see if it responds without problem. If not, reconnect your device to your home network.
- Relink your streaming service in the Google Home app, or switch to a different default service entirely. Sometimes it can be a problem with third party services.
- If you’re playing music from your phone, check that it’s still connected to the speaker. You may have accidentally disconnected the Bluetooth connection or the streaming service.
- Check the volume of your speaker. Certain settings, like night mode, can lower the speaker volume at specific times, making it seem like the music has stopped.
- It counts the songs of the album that you have played. It’s likely that your speaker has reached the end, so it stopped playing.
3. Problems with responsiveness
Isn’t it frustrating when no matter how many Google Home commands you say, your smart speaker doesn’t respond at all? There are several reasons why this happens, and here are some of the troubleshooting techniques you can apply:
- Make sure your device is connected to your home network. If you say the wake words and see the indicator lights turn on instead of solid, it usually means your device can’t connect to the Internet.
- Check if your speaker’s microphone is turned on. If it shows four red/orange indicator lights, your microphone is off. You can simply turn on the switch on the side of your speaker.
- Speak louder. Sometimes your device cannot hear you due to too much ambient noise. If you can’t do anything about the noise in the room your speaker is in, move it to a quieter spot and see if it makes a difference.
- Increase the speaker volume. If you see the indicator lights flashing, it’s probably responding to your command, but you can’t just hear it. To increase the volume of your speaker, simply tap on the right side repeatedly until you reach the desired volume.
- If the above fixes don’t resolve the issue, simply restart your device.
You might also run into problems with the opposite situation, where Google Home responds randomly even without you saying the wake words. This usually happens when you hear some variation of “OK Google” or “Hey Google” in the background. See if you have something playing that can get you started like a TV show or YouTube video that mentions the wake words.
Random responses can also be due to a very sensitive device. Adjust the “Hey Google” sensitivity in your Google Home app to fix this issue.
4. Different location of the house
Google Home relies on your location data to provide you with accurate and useful results, especially when it comes to traffic, weather, and information about nearby businesses. This is why it is important that your device has access to your correct address.
If you are directed to a different location than where you are currently, you can simply add the correct home address in your Google Home app.
- Open the app.
- Select Settings on the home page.
- Under “General,” tap startup information.
- Select Home addressand play Edit.
- Enter the correct information on the form. Then touch next.
- Check if the information is correct. Then touch Done.
5. Google Home app not working
If you’re a first-time Google Home owner, you probably don’t know what the Google Home app is for. This is where you’ll do most of your device setup, and it’s useful for customizing your speaker later on. If you can’t open the app, here are a few things you can try:
- Update your app. Updates are rolled out regularly and your phone may not have automatic updating turned on. It’s a good idea to check if a new version has been released recently.
- Uninstall and reinstall the app. This technique usually resolves any application issues, so it’s always worth a try.
- Clear app cache. Go to your phone’s Settings app and find Google Home in the apps section. Then look for the Clear Cache button.
- Reboot your phone. It might not be a problem with the Google Home app itself, and your phone just needs a fresh reboot.
Fix Google Home problems with ease
No device is perfect and you will inevitably run into problems sooner or later. Hopefully, now that you know the common problems with Google Home, you’ll know what to do the next time you experience it yourself.
