Google Home not showing connected devices (FIX)

Google Home as a hub for all things smart is not as reliable as advertised. Essential functionality can disappoint, especially in recent times where there are dozens of reports claiming that Google speaker or display is misinterpreting commands or that linked devices fail to comply. The problem we’ll try and solve today concerns connected devices. For no apparent reason, Google Home is not showing connected devices that were previously there. For some users, a random bulb or switch just disappeared from Google Home and they can’t seem to find it. Luckily, we have some solutions to suggest.

Table of contents:

1. Restart linked devices and Google Home speakers/displays
2. Clear data from the Google Home app
3. Reinstall Google Home
4. Unlink and re-link a device to Google Home
5. Reset connected devices to factory settings

How do I relink a device to Google Home?

You can re-link a device to Google Home in the + menu > Set up a device. But, make sure to unlink it beforehand. If Google Home is not showing connected devices, you can restart them, ensure that they are connected to a network, or reset them to factory settings.

You can also reset the Google Home app since the problem might be in the app and not in the linked devices. Learn more below.

1. Restart linked devices and Google Home speakers/displays

The first thing you can try is restarting linked devices and Google Home speakers. Just unplug them or power them off with a physical switch. After you turn them on, wait for some time for the devices to reconnect to the network and you should see them in the Google Home app.

The second thing is to check other rooms. There’s a slight chance that you moved them by accident. Finally, check the network. If the devices won’t appear in Google Home, it’s probably due to a network problem. Restart your router and sure that devices are assigned to a 2.4GHz wireless band. If you have a lot of smart devices, we suggest getting either a high-performing router or opting for a mesh Wi-Fi system like Google Wi-Fi.

If smart devices in your household still can’t connect to Wi-Fi, continue troubleshooting in the next step.

2. Clear data from the Google Home app

Although slight, there’s always a chance that the Google Home app is not working as intended on your Android or iPhone. The simplest way to address this is to clear data from the Google Home app.

Here’s how to clear data from Google Home and, effectively, reset the app:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Select Google Home from the list of available devices.
4. Choose Storage.
5. Tap Clear data.
6. Confirm and restart your device.
7. Open Google Home, select your home, and check if the linked devices reappeared.

3. Reinstall Google Home

If the previous step didn’t help, your next move should be reinstalling the app. Google Home (under a redesign as we are writing this) is not exactly the best-optimized, the most intuitive, or the most stable app. Especially if you have a dozen or so devices, multiple rooms, or even multiple homes to manage. So, we recommend reinstalling the app. That way, you’ll get the latest app version, too.

Here’s how to reinstall Google Home on Android:

1. Tap and hold on to the Google Home shortcut. Any shortcut will do.
2. Tap Uninstall in the contextual menu.
3. Open Play Store.
4. Search for Google Home and install the app.

And this is how to reinstall Google Home in iOS:

1. Tap and hold on to the Google Home shortcut.
2. Select Remove App.
3. Tap Delete App.
4. Then navigate to App Store and install Google Home again.

4. Unlink and re-link a device to Google Home

If the issues persist, you can unlink and relink a device that isn’t showing in Google Home. The procedure is rather simple if you know the device OEM and sign-in credentials. Once you add the device again, it should appear under Devices in Google Home.

Here’s how to unlink and re-link a device to Google Home:

1. Open Google Home.
2. Select the device. Usually, you can expand it with the tap-and-hold gesture.
3. Tap on the gear icon to open Settings.
4. Tap Unlink.
5. Now, tap on the + sign at the top left corner (or Add device) and select Set up a device.
6. Select Works with Google.
7. Choose the OEM and sign in if necessary.
8. The device should appear and you get to select the room placement.

There are some devices that support Seamless Setup. If your device comes from Google or an OEM partnered with Google, you should choose New Devices instead of Works with Google in the Set up a device menu.

5. Reset connected devices to factory settings

Finally, we can recommend resetting the devices to factory settings and setting them up again. We can’t provide you with detailed instructions on each device because the procedure is substantially different for diverse devices made by different companies.

Inform yourself either online or in the companion app, remove the device from Google Home, and then reset it. After that, just follow the instructions from the previous step to link the device again. Hopefully, that will sort out the problem.

Thank you for reading and we look forward to hearing from you. Is home automation powered by Google Home meeting your expectations? Tell us in the comments below.