Google Home/Nest smart speakers have been there for a while and user opinions are divided. Some users find them quite useful, especially when integrated into a larger smart home ecosystem as voice-control hubs. Others claim that the speakers got worse over years in spite of all the data that Google collects. Today, we’ll try and address quite a common problem that will definitely occur at least once in every household that owns Google Home Mini (or newer Nest speakers). Of course, we’re talking about the Google Home Mini “Something went wrong” error. Learn how to fix it below.
Table of contents:
Why does my Google Home Mini keep saying Something went wrong?
Your Google Home Mini will keep saying Something went wrong or There was a glitch whenever it disconnects from the Wi-Fi network or when you ask it to do something while offline. So your best bet is to ensure that the network problems are not present.
Alternatively, you can reset the device to factory settings to avoid further issues. Setting it up again is not as tiresome as with some other devices so we definitely recommend it.
1. Check the network
When you hear your smart speaker informing you that Something went wrong, the problem is almost always related to network issues. Yes, there are some server-side issues that occasionally occur, but those are rare and your primary focus should be on ensuring that your Google Home Mini has access to a stable network at all times.
Weak Wi-Fi signal or frequent disconnections is something you need to mitigate. Start by restarting your router and smart speaker (unplug it and plug it back). If that doesn’t help, place Google Home Mini closer to the router and disconnect some devices from the network.
Also, and this is important, make sure to use the 2.4 GHz band instead of the newer 5 GHz. Google Home Mini doesn’t require super-fast bandwidth but it needs to be stable. You can change this in the router settings.
Alternatively, you can remove the network or even remove the smart speaker from the Google Home app and set it up again. Hopefully, this will fix the problem at hand.
2. Remove and add the network
Removing and adding the network will delete Google Home Mini from the Google Home app so you’ll need to add it again. Luckily, the majority of settings will remain the same and everything is done from the app. And the procedure itself is pretty straightforward. This, of course, applies if you see Google Home Mini in Google Home. If not, go straight to step 3 and reset Google Home Mini to factory settings.
Here’s how to remove and add the network on Google Home Mini via the Google Home app:
- Open Google Home.
- Select the Google Home Mini smart speaker from the list of available devices.
- Tap on the cog icon to open Settings.
- Select Device information.
- Tap Wi-Fi and then tap Forget network.
- Get back to the home screen in Google Home and tap on the plus sign at the top left corner. Enable Bluetooth and Location services on your phone.
- Tap “Set up device” and then select New device.
- Google Home should appear and make sure to select it and follow the instructions to set it up.
3. Reset Google Home Mini to factory settings
This seems to be the best solution in most cases. Like with all other Google things, all important things are cloud-based so a factory reset won’t delete anything. It seems that it resets the preferred assistant voice but you can change that in Assistant settings in no time. Other than that, restoring Google Home Mini after a factory reset is a rather simple and short process.
Here’s how to reset Google Home Mini to factory settings:
- While the speaker is plugged in, turn it on top.
- Press and hold on to the G letter until you hear the prompt that the factory reset will occur.
- Keep holding until the Google Home Mini reboots. All 4 LEDs should be blue.
- Now, open the Google Home app on your smartphone.
- Tap on the + icon at the top right corner. Alternatively, you might see the prompt to add a new Google Home Mini at the top of Google Home’s home screen.
- Tap “Set up device” and then select New device.
- Follow the instructions and after a few minutes of setup, you’ll be able to use Google Home Mini again.
If you have the tutorial prompt and want to skip it, just plug out Google Home Mini and plug it in again. Hopefully, you won’t get the Something went wrong error on your Google Home Mini after this.
If you’re still experiencing issues, report the problem to Google from the Google Home app. Just tap on the profile/account photo at the top right corner and select Feedback from the contextual menu.
And, on that note, we can conclude this article. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to share your thoughts, questions, or suggestions with us in the comments section below. We look forward to hearing from you.
