Google Home Tips and Tricks

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GORDON
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Google Home Tips and Tricks

Post by GORDON »

For the stuff that you launch with "Hey Google." Alexa and Siri are whores.

1. You can use these as an intercom.

"Hey google, broadcast." Google will tell you to speak. Then *words*

Will broadcast to every device. Alternatively,

"Hey Google, broadcast to kitchen speaker." Google will tell you to speak. Then *words*


2. You can launch apps in other rooms.

Was getting my lunch together in the kitchen. Plan on eating while watching an episode of Doom Patrol.

"Hey google, launch HBO Max on living room TV." Then it happens.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
GORDON
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Google Home Tips and Tricks

Post by GORDON »

My Roomba is named Ellen.

I have often used the "Hey google, where's Ellen?" when I had her running around upstairs, and didn't know where she ran out of battery (hint, it's always under a bed where's it's really hard to reach). It makes the roomba beep so you can zero in.

Today I wanted her to stop running and dock, so I said, "Hey google, dock Ellen." It worked.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
TheCatt
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Google Home Tips and Tricks

Post by TheCatt »

Sexist.
It's not me, it's someone else.
GORDON
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Google Home Tips and Tricks

Post by GORDON »

Are you assuming Ellen's gender?
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GORDON
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Google Home Tips and Tricks

Post by GORDON »

So. Whose Google Home network is completely fucked? The best theory out there is that they lost a lawsuit with SONOS, they changed their algorithms, and now the support forums are filling up with people saying, "Hey, this shit just went completely off the rails, multiple rooms answering google commands." So far no response from google on their support forums or the /googlehome subreddit.

Personally, I unplugged a few lesser-used Minis because that cuts down on the number of places that will answer the things I ask. And also my phone also tries to answer, but tells me I have to unlock it first.

So that sucks.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
TheCatt
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Google Home Tips and Tricks

Post by TheCatt »

Ours has been fine. But the lack of group volume control is sadness.
It's not me, it's someone else.
GORDON
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Google Home Tips and Tricks

Post by GORDON »

I'm getting about 20 emails a day, people responding to me in the Google Support forum with "me too." One person managed to get his issue escalated to Tier 2 tech support (no idea how), and he said they said they were surprised when the problem started on their test system. So that was yesterday. Today people are starting to report "hey the problem got fixed, must be something happening server side."

I just tested, "all over the house" responses seem to have stopped, but both my phone and nearest mini are both answering "what's the temperature outside." I don't think I had tht problem before.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
TheCatt
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Google Home Tips and Tricks

Post by TheCatt »

GORDON wrote: Tue Feb 01, 2022 10:23 am I just tested, "all over the house" responses seem to have stopped, but both my phone and nearest mini are both answering "what's the temperature outside." I don't think I had tht problem before.
I just tested, and of the 3 devices in earshot, only 1 answered.
It's not me, it's someone else.
GORDON
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Google Home Tips and Tricks

Post by GORDON »

For a couple weeks it was madness around here. I had to stop using it.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
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