Google Home mini annoyances

I have 2 of these, one in the man cave and one in between the living room and the kitchen (open plan). Overall I'm really impressed but they do have their annoyances.

Harmony integration - I have shortcuts set up so I just say "turn on plex", "turn on sky" etc. The harmony will respond immediately turning on the connected equipment but google home insists on telling me "OK, getting harmony", Harmony will then respond "Turning on plex". This means it tells me it's getting harmony about 5 seconds after the command has run.

Not being able to share timers across the 2 home minis. - I want to set a timer in my kitchen and get the notification on the one in the man cave. I burn food a lot!

"Hey google/OK Google" - It's a bit of a mouthful especially after a few cans, I much prefer the amazon wake words. Alexa rolls off the tongue much better.

"youtube music is not available in your country" - If I want to play a youtube video on my chromecast I have to be very specific with the video name otherwise it thinks it's a song name. For example I watch James Bruton videos on youtube, if I say "Play james bruton on youtube" it thinks he's a music artist and gives me the youtube music error.

The LEDs - when I first turned it on the LEDs were the google colours. Ever since then they've been white unless I turn the mic off.

The control buttons. - The one in the man cave is wall mounted. There is no official way of swapping the orientation of the vol up/down buttons. I have run my cable out of the top of the device and along the edge of a windowsill to get around this issue. This function is available in the unofficial API which shows it has the ability to, google haven't made that feature available in the app yet. https://rithvikvibhu.github.io/GHLocalApi/

"The mic's off" - Thanks, I know that as I just flicked the switch and the leds have gone orange.

The shopping list - add things to your shopping list and you need to be online to retrieve it. Great, but I don't get a signal at my local Tesco making this feature useless. Why it doesn't sync with an offline shopping list on your phone is a mystery to me.

Blocking offensive words - I'm an adult, I swear a lot and have this turned off in my google assistant preferences. I can get my phone to tell me to fuck off by saying "vaffanculo", google home beeps the word fuck. On a plus note you can swear at it, I created a duplicate room for the man cave called "fucking". Now I can say "turn the fucking lights on". It's just a shame it responds with "sure, turning 10 lights on" instead of "turning on the fucking lights".

Lack of plex integration. - This is more of a wish than an annoyance. It would be nice to be truly lazy.

There is a way to integrate plex. Search for phlex.

Sent from my Philips Cellnet using a 12c508

Yeah I saw that but I meant native integration.

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Originally Posted by beerman

"Hey google/OK Google" - It's a bit of a mouthful especially after a few cans, I much prefer the amazon wake words. Alexa rolls off the tongue much better.

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This for me is the only reason I went with Alexa.

They should allow you to customise the wake up call.

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Originally Posted by JonEp

This for me is the only reason I went with Alexa.

They should allow you to customise the wake up call.

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that's a good idea like
"Oi biatch play sum music"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JonEp

This for me is the only reason I went with Alexa.

They should allow you to customise the wake up call.

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I can see why they have google as a wake word, it's good brand recognition. If they really wanted a 3 sylable word that's associated with the brand "assistant" works better than ok google or hey google.

I think my only gripe with my Google Home is when I have the music it plays or the TV on loud, 'she' doesn't always recognise what I say. Not sure that can be helped though.......?

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Originally Posted by CominAtcha

I think my only gripe with my Google Home is when I have the music it plays or the TV on loud, 'she' doesn't always recognise what I say. Not sure that can be helped though.......?

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If you are playing music through the home or a chromecast there is a setting to auto lower the volume as soon as it hears hey google.

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Originally Posted by beerman

as soon as it hears hey google.

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That's kinda the issue. It does't hear the 'Hey Google' part if the volume is up too loud. But I'll give the setting a try and see what happens. Ta.

Looks like google may let you change the wake word soon:
https://9to5google.com/2018/01/29/go...ight-teardown/

Been toying with getting one of these. I played with the Amazon one and like it but it seemed more suited to regular amazon purchasers/users which I am not at all so should I take a punt on the Google one or is there another upcoming one about to hit the markets ???

Why MS didn't make a standalone version of the Cortana/Kinect things is beyond me. Something that doesn't require a PC/Laptop or Xbox. Surely they should have been ahead of the others ??!?!?!?

I don't see a real need for one myself
tooo many lazy fckers that cant press a button to play music or even use a remote.

things have gone lazy when times were olde, when you had to get off your fat @ss and turn over TV to another channel


bring back the good old days

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Originally Posted by piggzy

Been toying with getting one of these. I played with the Amazon one and like it but it seemed more suited to regular amazon purchasers/users which I am not at all so should I take a punt on the Google one or is there another upcoming one about to hit the markets ???

Why MS didn't make a standalone version of the Cortana/Kinect things is beyond me. Something that doesn't require a PC/Laptop or Xbox. Surely they should have been ahead of the others ??!?!?!?

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Unless you have any home automation in your house there isn't really much point. I have lights, a nest, a harmony hub and wall sockets so shouting at it to change things makes more sense than using all the different apps (yes mickey I'm a lazy fuck :D). I do listen to music in the kitchen now though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by beerman

Unless you have any home automation in your house there isn't really much point. I have lights, a nest, a harmony hub and wall sockets so shouting at it to change things makes more sense than using all the different apps (yes mickey I'm a lazy fuck :D). I do listen to music in the kitchen now though.

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I'm thinking of getting nest in my new place, is the integration with Google home OK? I've got a Mini and a Home.

Sent from my F5121 using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by muttleymacclad

I'm thinking of getting nest in my new place, is the integration with Google home OK? I've got a Mini and a Home.

Sent from my F5121 using Tapatalk

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Yeah it works well. My only complaint would be if I say "what is the temperature" it gives me the outside temp. I have to say "what is the temperature in the living room".

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Originally Posted by Mickey

I don't see a real need for one myself
tooo many lazy fckers that cant press a button to play music or even use a remote.

things have gone lazy when times were olde, when you had to get off your fat @ss and turn over TV to another channel


bring back the good old days

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Another lazy bugger here im afraid. Amazon alexa for my sins coupled with samsung smartthings I just shout random shit at the thing and stuff happens, at this rate the misses is becoming less useful I think I may have automated her out of a job....lol Glad she isn't a member on here haha.

You don't really need a Google Home, but I sure as hell wanted one and now I have, I find myself using it a fuck tonne.

From turning on the lights, to setting timers for cooking, to shopping lists, to reminders, to telling it to cast Netflix to the TV. It's also damn good as a talking Wiki while I'm watching a TV show or a film. Not forgetting being able to play practically any music I want of course.

And looking at the Google Home app, I can see that I'm barely scratching the surface of what it can do and what I could ask it.

I could live quite happily without it for sure. But I don't wanna! :)

Mickey you old fart lol

get an echo and you will see for yourself how good they are.
we love ours and I swore I would never have one.

it is a big outlay though the bulbs and bridge for the lights and the music subscription.
we want to add a nest thermostat but it looks like you need to pay a sub for that too so won’t be bothering with that now.

One thing we use a lot is shopping list. Just tell alexa when you notice you have run out of something and it is added to the shopping list. We both like to cook with a full range of herbs and spices - this is invaluable for us as we kept running out of stuff and forgetting to replenish. Now we just stick stuff on the list when we are at a days supply left. Either one of us ever in the supermarket we check our mobile on amazon app to see what's on the list and you can strike them off as you go along.....Simple little thing but brilliant from the point of view just saying alexa add tarragon to the shopping list...from that one action we react and replenish.
Now I don't need to worry so much about loosing my marbles lol.

For music I just split 6 ways for a family sub on hotukdeals.....went on their because of numbers...people are always setting them up. Think it was £30 for the year - own login details ect ect ect. Brilliant.

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Originally Posted by Teajunkie

we want to add a nest thermostat but it looks like you need to pay a sub for that too so won’t be bothering with that now.

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You don't pay a sub for a nest thermostat. Subs are for their camera's and the doorbell they are soon to release.

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Originally Posted by DavidF

For music I just split 6 ways for a family sub on hotukdeals.....went on their because of numbers...people are always setting them up. Think it was £30 for the year - own login details ect ect ect. Brilliant.

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We got a daughter in uni so w got the big discount on music unlimited then it’s only £4.99 a month and we can play it anywhere

For anyone wanting to reverse the function of the buttons and LEDs:

Download curl from here: https://curl.haxx.se/

Enter this from a dos prompt (from same directory as curl unless you added curl to your path).

Code:

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curl -i -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d "{\"opt_in\":{\"ui_flipped\":true}}" http://192.168.?.???:8008/setup/set_eureka_info

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https://www.reddit.com/r/googlehome/..._when/dswbuce/

Looks like the harmony issue has been resolved. It no longer says "getting harmony" or "getting autovoice". It just carries out the action without the notifiction.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by beerman

For anyone wanting to reverse the function of the buttons and LEDs:

Download curl from here: https://curl.haxx.se/

Enter this from a dos prompt (from same directory as curl unless you added curl to your path).

Code:

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curl -i -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d "{\"opt_in\":{\"ui_flipped\":true}}" http://192.168.?.???:8008/setup/set_eureka_info

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https://www.reddit.com/r/googlehome/..._when/dswbuce/

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This is now native in the app, just go to the device in the google assistant app and you'll see an option for "reverse device controls"

Had ours a few days now ( free from John Lewis :-) ) and yes "Hey Google" does become a chore after a glass of wine. So far we love it, its main use is Music but will be ordering a load of smart crap at some point, mainly lighting I suspect and a couple of sockets. Shame it has no current automation with the XBOX ONE. They obviously want everybody buying a chromecast.

Hopefully the kids will quickly get bored of making it repeat dumb shit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by piggzy

Had ours a few days now ( free from John Lewis :-) ) and yes "Hey Google" does become a chore after a glass of wine. So far we love it, its main use is Music but will be ordering a load of smart crap at some point, mainly lighting I suspect and a couple of sockets. Shame it has no current automation with the XBOX ONE. They obviously want everybody buying a chromecast.

Hopefully the kids will quickly get bored of making it repeat dumb shit.

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Scare the kids - type broadcast on your phone and whatever message you want. The google home will beep and repeat whatever you've just written.

Apparently they will be allowing us to change the wake word as the function was found in the latest apk, no idea when they will actually introduce this feature.

Yeah I was disappointed I couldn't stream youtube to my xbox (I can from my phone) but I found my old chromecast in the cupboard and now use that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by beerman

Scare the kids - type broadcast on your phone and whatever message you want. The google home will beep and repeat whatever you've just written.

Apparently they will be allowing us to change the wake word as the function was found in the latest apk, no idea when they will actually introduce this feature.

Yeah I was disappointed I couldn't stream youtube to my xbox (I can from my phone) but I found my old chromecast in the cupboard and now use that.

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Type broadcast into what app ???
Yup, looks like I will be ordering a chromecast. Bit miffed about it though. Should be able to cast to XBOX.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by piggzy

Type broadcast into what app ???
Yup, looks like I will be ordering a chromecast. Bit miffed about it though. Should be able to cast to XBOX.

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Sorry, I meant the assistant on your phone. Or on your phone you can say "hey google, broadcast" but this records your voice and repeats it back rather than having the assistant voice telling the kids what to do :D

Google Home Will Now Make Free Phone Calls In The UK

Starting this week, Google’s Home smart speaker can now make phone calls to UK landline and mobiles for free.


The feature, first announced in the US, allows owners to ask either their Google Home or Google Home Mini to call anyone who’s in their contacts list.


Now to be clear, it needs to be a contact listed within your Google Account so if you’re using iCloud to store your contacts you’ll need to transfer them over to your Google account as well.




THE HUFFINGTON POST UK
You don’t need a landline connection as the calls are all made over WiFi direct from the speaker and the service is completely free.


You’ll be able to call anyone within your contacts list whether that’s a mobile phone number or a landline.


Importantly, you won’t be able to use Google Home to call 999 or premium rate numbers including premium customer service helplines.




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Google’s Home isn’t the only smart speaker to offer calling but it is the first to offer the service without any real limitations.


Amazon’s Echo does offer calling but only to phones that have the Alexa app installed or to other Echo speakers.


Apple’s HomePod can also receive phone calls but it has to be pushed to the speaker from your iPhone first so you can’t ask it to call anyone.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entr...b002df2c5fb78c

Yeah I tried it earlier and it worked flawlessly. This is quite a game changer, imagine how the telephone companies feel about this. Fucking livid I bet :D
PAYG users or anyone on a limited contract will love this.

Still no Google Voice number in the UK though. Now that would be a game changer.

Tried it earlier and must admit I was very surprised how well it worked. The person I called on mobile could hear me perfectly and I was sat about 12 foot from the Speaker. It was loud and clear too.
Far better than other VOIP I have used, a lot sound like you are in the bathroom for some reason but not this.

Probably best not to use it to phone your drug dealer though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by piggzy

Tried it earlier and must admit I was very surprised how well it worked. The person I called on mobile could hear me perfectly and I was sat about 12 foot from the Speaker. It was loud and clear too.
Far better than other VOIP I have used, a lot sound like you are in the bathroom for some reason but not this.

Probably best not to use it to phone your drug dealer though.

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I went and bought one today to have a play, I have Alexa already as a bed side radio but I have to say this free calling lark is great and the speakers mic are so much more sensitive. No lag on VOIP at all.

Tried the voice calling yesterday on both my Home and Mini.
Was surprised at how well it worked.

Certainly getting more impressive each month.

Sent from my F5121 using Tapatalk

Another plus I discovered that I like is 'chaining' commands together.

e.g. If you are listening to some playlist on Spotify you can say "Hey Google, Next and Turn up" and it does it all without having to do the whole "Hey Google" thing twice.
This is not the same on the Alexa (or at least it wasn't) I tried. You had to do it in two commands waiting for Alexa to wake each time which pissed me off.

Trivial I know but I am sure this will be useful in a number of scenarios, turning multiple things on in one command etc

Might interest some of you.

Google Home Max

I would love it but not at that price...