Google Home is an IoT platform that includes hardware and software products that allow you to set up a home automation system powered by Google Assistant.

Google Home includes devices such as Smart Speakers, cameras, Smart Displays, among others. These smart devices are compatible with voice commands and can communicate with each other.

However, in the last few days some Google Home device users have been facing issues with how voice commands work as the feature suddenly stopped working, according to multiple reports (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

Google Home commands suddenly not working

Many reports describe the same situation. Voice commands through Google Assistant on Google Home devices just stopped working. When giving a voice command, the user only receives a ‘Sorry I don’t understand’ in response.

Basic commands have stopped working

I went away for a few days and my Google Nest Hubs & Minis (Gen 2) all over the house are no longer working as intended. Simple commands.. “Turn on/off lights” OR “Turn on Kitchen lights” which used to control my Philips Hue, Govee lights, Elgato Ring light >> “I don’t know how to help with that, here are some other things you can try”

Same with “Turn On/Off Office Heater” – a Govee device – always the same “Sorry I don’t understand” response. I’m running Home Assistant which looks to be completely functional and hasn’t changed.
Source

google-home-voice-commands-not-working-1
Source

Ruh Roh. “Sorry I don’t understand.”
So this started happening yesterday. All my devices respond like this about 95% of the time. The fact that a correct command slips through from time to time has led me to believe this is a voice match issue. I have retrained my voice a few different times to the same result.

When I turn of voice matching for an individual device, I have a lot more success although it doesn’t understand me as much as I’d like.
Source

Issue already under investigation

The Google support team confirmed that they are aware of multiple reports describing the same situation. The issue is currently under investigation, but it is too early for an ETA for a fix.

Hey Khary, thanks for reaching out. While we’re receiving similar reports, we’d like to take a closer look at what’s happening with your smart home devices. For starters, could you tell us the troubleshooting steps you’ve tried so far? Also, what’s the model of your lights?
Source

Some reports that have emerged in the last few minutes suggest that the issue has been resolved. But, there is still no official confirmation about this.

google-home-voice-commands-not-working-2
Source

We will update this article as events unfold with all the new information.

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.

Jean Leon
1613 Posts

A tech enthusiast since ever. I like to always be up to date on the latest news in the industry and write about it. Twitter: @jean_ERdC

Next article View Article

Google Drive not letting users play videos, throws 'allowed playbacks has been exceeded' error

Google Drive users have been dealing with an issue for years where they get an 'allowed playbacks has been exceeded' error when trying to play videos. And Google has still...
Feb 20, 2024 2 Min Read