Quick Fixes: Google Assistant Not Responding to Specific Commands
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Google Assistant didn’t respond to “Hey, Google, set a timer.”
Quick fix
Reset home address in Home app
The full story
Over the weekend, my partner and I decided it was finally time to upgrade our Wi-Fi router. We had been running happily on a relatively old OnHub router until we received the warning from Google indicating that it was disabling OnHub orders from next December. We bitched a bit, then bit that bullet and used a Google discount to buy a Nest WiFi router and hotspot.
After deciding on a lazy Memorial Day weekend, we figured Monday would be the perfect day to finally switch from the old router to the new — and it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, isn’t it? it not?
Yes indeed.
I won’t go into the various little issues we encountered before everything actually worked. (Tip for OnHub owners: Don’t just disconnect your OnHub from your modem before you begin setup, turn it off completely.) But after some random annoyances, we finally got it all sorted. We sat down and my partner asked Google to set a timer for 15 minutes.
Response: “I can’t set a timer at the moment. Please try again in a few seconds.”
He tried again and got the same response. He asked her for information – it worked well; asked the weather – no problem; told speaker to turn volume down – no response.
Out of curiosity, I told Google to set a timer. No problem, timer set. He lowered his volume for me too.
Except for the satisfaction I got from the idea that our new router liked me better, that was obviously a problem. Google’s support page offered the usual “uninstall everything” solution, which we didn’t really want to do. Finally, after some research, I found a solution that worked for us in Google’s community pages.
Here’s something to try if the Google Assistant isn’t setting a timer for you or performing other specific tasks:
How to fix it
- In the Home app, select the Settings icon
- Press on Home Information > Home Address
- Faucet Delete > Delete. This will completely remove your current home address.
- Faucet Add home address
- As you start typing, Google will start listing addresses; choose yours
- Faucet Next > Done
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In your Home app, select the Settings button
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Tap Delete to delete your address. You will add it in a moment.
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Add your personal address. When you start typing, Google lists the legitimate addresses.
Now any timers or other requests ignored by Google Assistant should work. Good luck!
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