By design, if multiple Google devices are in your proximity when issuing commands, only one should respond. However, it seems that some users report that multiple Google Home/Nest devices keep responding at the same time. We have a few suggestions on how to deal with this. Check them out below.
Table of contents:
- Create some distance between two speakers/displays
- Lower the sensitivity
- Mute one speaker/display
- Remove the speaker or display and add it again
- Reset the device to factory settings and reinstall Google Home
How do I get only one device to respond to Google?
You can try keeping speakers/displays a bit further from each other, lowering the “Hey Google” sensitivity, or outright disabling the mic on devices you don’t want to hear you. You can also remove the speaker/display and add it again or perform a factory reset.
1. Create some distance between two speakers/displays
The first thing you can do is reboot all devices and ensure that there’s some distance between them. Also, whenever you get the “Which device did you expect to respond?” notification prompt on your Android or iPhone, choose the speaker you wanted to respond to your question. This should improve the way Google Home/Google Nest devices respond in the future.
2. Lower the sensitivity
The next thing you can do to reduce the possibility of multiple Google devices responding at the same time is to lower the “Hey Google” sensitivity for the speaker/display you don’t want to hear you and even increase the sensitivity for the one that you want to answer after the trigger word.
Here’s how to lower or increase the “Hey Google” sensitivity:
- Open the Google Home app on your smartphone.
- Tap on your account in the top right corner and open Assistant settings.
- Select “Hey Google” sensitivity.
- Select the device you want to make less sensitive and move the slider to the Least sensitive.
- In addition, you can increase the sensitivity of a preferred speaker or display by selecting Most sensitive on the slider.
3. Mute one speaker/display
The next thing you can do is mute the speaker or display with the physical button. If you just want to pair speakers/displays or create a Speaker group, you probably won’t need all devices to respond to the Hey Google trigger.
In that scenario, not all Google Home or Google Nest smart speakers or displays need to have their listening capabilities. You can disable them on any Home/Nest device and use a single device to give spoken commands. Every device in the Google Home/Nest speakers/displays lineup comes with a physical switch that will allow you to disable the mic.
4. Remove the speaker or display and add it again
You can also try removing the device from your Home and Speaker groups and adding it again. Once you remove and link the device to the Google Home app, the problem should be solved.
Here’s how to remove the speaker or display and add it again in Google Home:
- Open Google Home on your phone.
- Select the device you want to remove.
- Tap on the gear icon to open settings.
- Tap Remove device.
- Go back to the main screen of Google Home and tap Add (+).
- Tap Set up a device.
- Select New device.
- Follow the instructions and add the device to your Home again.
5. Reset the device to factory settings and reinstall Google Home
Finally, if you still have a hard time with your smart home setup and multiple Google devices keep responding at the same time, you can try resetting the device to factory settings and give it another go. Luckily, resetting and setting up Google Home/Nest devices is not big of a chore.
You can learn how to reset a certain device to factory settings in detail on the official support page. Every device has a bit different approach, so make sure to locate your device in the list.
Additionally, you can try reinstalling the Google Home app on your Android or iPhone. To uninstall the Google Home app, navigate to Google Play Store, search for Google Home, and uninstall the app.
On the other hand, if you use Google Home on your iPhone, tap and hold on the shortcut and tap Remove App and then Delete App. Install it later in the App Store.
On that note, we can conclude this article. Thank you for reading and feel free to share your thoughts with us. Are you satisfied with the Google Home/Nest devices you own? Tell us in the comments below.
