r/googlehome

I just got gemini activated on my google nest speakers this morning in Sweden. Works great, even in Swedish! Was expecting it to be crap based on what I have read on this forum before, but its great so far with my basic usage. (Use it mostly to turn on/off lights, set timers, control robot vacuum, turn on music in different rooms ect)

Basically I would like to be able to request songs for my son on my husband’s linked Apple Music account but the speaker won’t let me.

I ask “hey google play song on apple music” then she says she can but I have to link my Apple Music account.

My husband asks and she plays.

I understand that there is voice recognition but I have turned those off.

I do not have Apple Music and do not want it. Does this mean I cannot play music for my son unless my husband is home?

I’m at a loss and having a 3yo trying to be patient while he just wants to listen to his song is getting old.

I do not want to link my own Spotify account bc typically while he is playing I’m listening to podcasts and audio books so I would like to still have access to that.

I am coming to truly despise technology

So I bought a Google Nest Doorbell (wired), thinking it would be a simple upgrade. I had installed the original Nest wired doorbell years ago, and it was straightforward.

This time? Not even close.

The Gen 3 model was so difficult that I couldn’t install it myself. My son—who is very tech-savvy—struggled. Even the electrician I hired had trouble getting it set up correctly.

Eventually, it got installed. I will say, the wider field of view is nice. But at night? Honestly, it’s almost useless. The image is dark and too “deep,” and it’s very hard to make out faces or details. You can tell someone is there, but who it is or what they’re doing? Good luck.

The install ended up costing me about $265. The doorbell itself was around $140, plus the ongoing subscription fee. This was back in December 2025. It worked fine for a few months…

…and then yesterday—offline.

No response. Wouldn’t ring. Just dead.

So I contacted Google support.

At first, it’s the usual:
“Check Wi-Fi.”
“Restart it.”
“Check power.”

Fine. I go through everything.

Then we hit the loop.

“Can you perform a factory reset?”
“I can’t—it has no power or response.”

Repeat that several times.

Eventually, I escalate to “senior support.” I’m thinking, finally—someone who can actually help.

Nope.

Now it’s:
“You need to perform a factory reset.”

I check again—and surprise—there is a green light. So I tell them:
“Okay, it has power, but it’s still offline and doesn’t ring or respond.”

Their answer?

“You still need to perform a factory reset.”

Here’s the problem: to do that, I have to remove the doorbell from the mount—the exact part I couldn’t secure myself in the first place, which is why I paid an electrician.

So I explain:
“I had this professionally installed. I’m not comfortable removing it again.”

Their response:
“These are the required troubleshooting steps.”

I ask if they can send someone. No.
I ask to escalate further. “This is the highest level.”
I explain it’s powered but non-functional. Still no.

We go in circles for an hour.

At one point, they even suggest I “plug it into another power source.”

It’s a wired doorbell.

Finally, after all of that, they say:
“We can email you the steps, and you can perform the reset later.”

So that’s where I’m at now.

I spent:

• $265 on installation
• $140 on the device
• An hour arguing with support
• And I still have a doorbell that lights up but doesn’t work

To be fair, the senior support rep tried to be helpful. She was polite and professional. But she was clearly stuck following a script—no matter what I explained, the answer was always the same: we have to go through the steps.

I even explained the cost of reinstalling or getting help again. Her suggestion? “Have someone help you.”

That’s not always realistic. My son has his own family, work and doesn't live nearby. Not everyone has someone available to step in for this kind of thing. That’s something people should know before buying into these systems.

I’ve helped others in situations where they had no one with things I knew I could help. Now I’m on the other side of that—and it’s frustrating to realize how little flexibility there is.

At this point, I just want the replacement so I can sell it and be done with Google products.

Has anyone else gone through this level of support loop insanity?

Because wow.

Has anyone else had to deal with Google's customer teams?

I've had a horrible time and didn't receive the settlement I was due for a pixel 7a that cracked open on me (known fault). It did so just as I went into hospital for major surgery but I thought it would be sorted quickly as I submitted a form set up specifically for settlement claims and only wanted a Google store credit.

It's been over six months and I've given up. I submitted two subject access requests to try and get some sort of traction/resolution. They keep asking for a number that was included on my original form, but naturally with me not having the phone anymore, I didn't have a not of this number. I felt that they knew that...there was a sort of gleeful dismissiveness in their tone that showed me they couldn't give a flying f about resolving my issue. It felt quite cruel as I was explaining that I was having to use an old phone with a dodgy battery through surgery and hospital treatment, essentially the worst time of my life, and I just wanted to square that off and get myself a new phone. One of theirs as well!!!

Anyway as you can imagine I've patched it. I have nothing but bad blood for them now, and I'll be looking to get rid of our full Google eco system as I've just had the dreaded 'your home assistant is now supported by Gemini'. I've seen the tales of woe on the Google Home sub.

I didn't expect such quibble from a huge company like Google, especially given my phone was a safety liability and cracked open. I'm bitterly disappointed.

A while ago, I tried forcing Gemini for my Google Home account using googlehome://assistant/voice/setup

Unfortunately, this only changed the voice of Google Assistant.

I am still waiting for the Gemini update hence wondering if me trying to force Gemini in the past didn’t cause some issues (I am in an area which should have received it by now).

Note: I joined the public preview a long time ago, as well as Early access.

Any way to completely reset my Home Devices and Google Home account?

Note that I have a lot of devices in my Home Network (IKEA, etc). I presume that I don’t need to reset those (just link again with my Google Home)?

I can no longer cast Spotify or ask it to play music.

When casting from my phone app (pixel8) it can see the device but just stays as "connecting..." and music continues to play on the phone.

When directly asking it to "play music" or "play track x by artist y" it says ok, the screen goes black and eventually the Spotify logo appears but after 30-50 seconds it says "Something went wrong, when you're ready give it another try"

Navigating via the touchscreen to Media and selecting Spotify results in the same issue.

Things I've tried:

• Rebooting
• unlinking Spotify account and re-linking.
• a different phone/casting device

Nothing has helped so far. The device seems to work ok otherwise, can cast YouTube, ask questions, get the weather etc

It’s 78 degrees in the house and I have company coming over. I set the temperature calling for 50 degrees the lowest setting possible. The AC comes on for about 30 seconds and shuts off. It then tells me it will be starting in 2:30 minutes. I don’t have rush hour rewards and nest renew are both off. I’m about to replace my Google thermos. Any suggestions?

I am not a native speaker of English, but I have the feeling, that it's audible that I am saying "Fifteeeeen" or "Fifteeeeee". Is there any trick other than after one minute working with "fourty nine" instead to get a simple alarm or reminder going? Somehow all my home devices tend to prefer to understand 15 instead of 50. Switching to German doesn't help much either. Those things hear me talking about the weirdest things and have a full text of that, but simple numbers somehow fail.

Instead of working on a response to the molecular composition of broccoli, Gemini for Home should fix simple commands from 2 or more users, like maybe Kitchen Lights On, and have that work regularly instead of having to retrain voice match every week or adjust Hey Google settings every 2nd day, or have to listen to: "could not determine what routine to run"

I thought I had 24/7 recording. Basically, I'm looking for Gemini + 24/7 monitors. Every app is giving me a different breakdown.

Which plan is the best? I am truly lost.

No matter what service I use (Pandora, Sirius, Spotify), the streaming is poor. The symptoms include: 1 ) streaming starting on the devices then switching to the phone, 2) choppiness, 3) not streaming at all, 3) the lights on the device with silence and "something went wrong, try again in a few minutes", and 4) streaming stopping then starting again after a few minutes. This happens more with the streaming to a group rather than individual devices. I have 6 devices in the group. I have one Nest Mini and 5 Google Nest Smart speakers.

I also have Alexa in some rooms and I don't experience these issues (esp the choppiness), so I kinda sorta have ruled out the network.

I checked location permissions in the app on the phone and set them to always allow. I assume the devices will upgrade the firmware by themselves, and I am at the latest firmware on the router (TPLink Deco xe75).

Is there anything else I can check?

I just got some YoLink water sensors and connected to google home. Doesn’t seem to provide much benefit. Initially I was able to connect 2/4 sensors to an automation to announce a leak but the other two said “no supported” which is odd. Has anyone had any luck with these and using Google home?