Fix: Google Assistant not responding

Google Assistant is, in many aspects, the best personal assistant out there and the fact that’s available on every post-Android 6.0 smartphone heavily works in its favor. The best thing about it is the voice access, however, many users state that Google Assistant is not responding after the trigger word on their devices.

Table of contents:

1. Make sure that the Voice Match is enabled
2. Retrain the Voice model
3. Clear cache and data from the Google app
4. Check the permissions
5. Make Google Assistant your default Assist app
6. Uninstall updates from the Google app
7. Reset your device to factory settings

What to do when Google Assistant is not working?

There are more than a few ways to tackle this problem. Make sure that your device runs on Android 6+ and has Google app above version 6. If you meet those requirements, try restarting your device. Additionally, you can leave the Beta Program if you have enrolled and stick to the public releases.

If that doesn’t help, continue with the troubleshooting by following the steps we provided for you below.

Solution 1 – Make sure that the Voice Match is enabled

In order for Google Assistant to be summoned by voice commands, you’ll need to enable this option first. The Voice match, if previously enrolled, should work by default. However, certain system changes (firmware updates) tend to toggle off this option.

So, here’s how to enable Voice match on your device:

1. Open Google Assistant from the Home screen.
2. Tap on the Account icon in the top right corner.
3. Choose the Assistant tab.
4. Scroll down and select Phone.
5. Make sure that both Google Assistant and Hey Google options are enabled.
6. Reboot your device and give voice commands another go.

Solution 2 – Retrain the Voice model

Moving on, we might be looking at a bug and the next step to take is to retrain your voice match. Based on many reports by users, retraining the voice model is a viable fix for the problem at hand.

Follow these instructions to retrain Google Assistant’s Voice model:

1. Follow the same path as in the previous solution.
2. On the Assistant settings screen, under the Hey Google option, tap Voice model.
3. Tap Retrain voice model.
4. Follow the instructions.

Solution 3 – Clear cache and data from the Google app

Before reinstalling the app, we always recommend clearing cache and data from it. There might be a cache corruption at hand so this should deal with it. Since the majority of settings are stored in the cloud, clearing data won’t relieve you of anything valuable.

Here’s how 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. Clear cache and then data.
7. Reboot your device and follow through with a fresh setup of the Assistant.

If Google Assistant is still not responding to your voice commands, continue troubleshooting by following the steps below.

Solution 4 – Check the permissions

Now, the Google app usually has all the necessary permissions granted by default. However, chances are that a system update made certain changes and is preventing access to the microphone. The microphone is, obviously, essential for the voice commands so make sure to check permissions and grant the mic permission again.

Follow these instructions to check permissions that the Google app has:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose Apps.
3. Select All apps (App manager or Manage apps).
4. Open Google again.
5. Tap App permissions.
6. Make sure that the Microphone permission is granted.

Solution 5 – Make Google Assistant your default Assist app

Some OEMs offer alternative built-in smart assistants and there might be a conflict between the two (e.g. Samsung Bixby and Google Assistant). What you need to do in that case is set Google Assistant as your default Assist and Voice app.

This is usually done within the Default apps settings menu. Once you ensured that Google is your default Assist app, the problem with non-responsive Google Assistant should cease to bother you.

Solution 6 – Uninstall updates from the Google app

In case the Google Assistant is still not responding to your voice commands, make sure to uninstall updates from the Google app. Or, if possible, uninstall the app completely and then install it from scratch.

Follow these steps to uninstall updates from the Google app:

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

Solution 7 – Reset your device to factory settings

Finally, if none of the previous steps worked for you, the only thing we can suggest is resetting your device to factory settings. This is the last resort and we don’t recommend doing it unless it’s absolutely imperative for you to run Google Assistant with voice commands.

With that said, we can conclude this article. Thank you for reading and, hopefully, these solutions helped you in resolving issues with Google Assistant. In case you have anything to add or take, feel free to do so in the comments section below.