Google Assistant is Not Supported on this device (FIX)

Google Assistant is probably the best AI-powered digital voice assistant out there. And with the largest market share due to its omnipresence on the Android platform and its multitude of services like Android Auto. However, some users reported a certain error informing them that Google Assistant is not supported on this device. If you are among them, you can find the swift solution below.

Table of contents:

1. Make sure Google Assistant is enabled
2. Disable Bixby or alternative assistants
3. Check Default app settings
4. Clear cache and data from the Google app
5. Uninstall updates from the Google app
6. Leave Beta program

Why is Google Assistant not available on my device?

There are multiple reasons why users are getting this error when trying to use Google Assistant on their Android devices. Of course, there are some limitations considering device specs and overall Google Services support.

Here are the system requirements for Google Assistant:

• Android 5.0+ with at least 1.0GB of available memory or
• Android 6.0+ with at least 1.5GB of available memory
• Google App 6.13 or higher
• Google Play services
• 720p or higher screen resolution
• The device’s language is set to one of the supported languages. Ideally, you should set the Google Assistant language to English (United States) since that’s the safest bet.

Also, if you are using a custom ROM with sideloaded Google Play services, sometimes the Assistant won’t work. This specifically applies to Huawei devices and Xiaomi devices with Chinese ROMs. So, the steps below only apply to stock official ROMs.

Solution 1 – Make sure Google Assistant is enabled

Firstly, go and reboot your device once. There might be a temporary halt at hand and it gets resolved after restarting the device. If that doesn’t help, make sure that Google Assistant is enabled in the first place.

Most of the time, Google Assistant initializes and configures during the first startup. However, if you refused some of the license terms by accident, Google Assistant won’t work.

So, here’s how to enable Google Assistant on your device:

1. Trigger Google Assistant from the Home screen. Usually, pressing the Home button or swiping from the bottom corners will trigger Google Assistant. Or you can use voice commands.
2. Tap on the Snapshot icon at the bottom right corner.
3. Open Account (Profile) in the top right corner.
4. Choose the General tab.
5. Make sure that Google Assistant is enabled.
6. Reboot your device and give voice commands another go.

If you still get the Google Assistant is not available on this device error and you own a Samsung smartphone, disable Bixby.

Solution 2 – Disable Bixby or alternative assistants

If you are using a Samsung handset, we recommend disabling Bixby and selecting Google Assistant as the default option. This way, you’ll not only resolve possible issues but also get the extra physical trigger button to use with Google Assistant instead of sub-par Bixby.

Follow these steps to disable Bixby on your device:

1. Tap and hold on to the Home screen until the launcher menu appears.
2. Swipe right on the bottom to reach the -1 Bixby screen.
3. Toggle the Bixby screen off.
4. Now, from the Quick Actions area, tap on the Power icon.
5. Open Side key settings.
6. Make sure that Bixby is not set under both Double-press and Press and hold sections.

Solution 3 – Check Default app settings

Another thing you should check in local settings are settings for the default Voice assistant and Assist & voice input. Both options should be set to Google for Google Assistant to work as intended.

With that in mind, here’s where to find and change the aforementioned settings on your Android device:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose Apps.
3. Open All apps (Manage apps or Apps Manager).
4. Tap on the 3-dots menu and open Default apps.
5. Under the Voice Assistant and Assist & voice input sections, set Google as the preferred service.

Solution 4 – Clear cache and data from the Google app

If you are still stuck with the same error and the prompt is saying that Google Assistant is not available on your device, we suggest clearing the cache and data from the Google app and configuring everything from scratch.

Follow these instructions to clear cache and data from the Google app:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose Apps.
3. Select All apps (App Manager or Manage apps).
4. Open Google.
5. Tap Storage.
6. Choose to Manage Storage.
7. Clear all data.
8. Restart your device, initialize Google Assistant again, and accept the terms.

Solution 5 – Uninstall updates from the Google app

Alternatively, you can uninstall updates from the Google app and reset the app completely. Since the Google app is a pre-installed system app on the majority of Android devices, you won’t be able to remove it completely. What you can do is uninstall updates (reset it to the stock version) and update it again. Hopefully, this will resolve the bug.

Follow these instructions to uninstall updates from the Google app on Android:

1. Navigate yet again to the Google app via Settings > Apps.
2. Tap on the 3-dots menu.
3. Tap Uninstall updates.
4. Reboot your device and update the Google app from the Play Store.

Solution 6 – Leave the Beta program

Finally, if you are a part of the Beta program for the Google app, we suggest leaving it. Although Beta releases are fairly stable, they are not as stable as the public ones. There might be a bug at hand causing the “Google Assistant is not available on this device” error.

You can leave the Beta program for the Google app within the Google Play Store. Just look for the Google app, scroll down, and tap Leave under the “You’re a beta tester” section.

You can also reset the device to factory settings, although we can’t say with certainty that this will help. If you still get the Google Assistant is not available on this device error, report the problem to Google Help.

And, on that note, we can wrap up this article. Thank you for reading, in case you have any questions or suggestions, make sure to tell us in the comments section below. We look forward to hearing from you here or on Facebook or Twitter.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in May 2020. We made sure to revamp it for freshness and accuracy.