You are not allowed to manage this group in Google Home (FIX)

Grouping two or more devices and using them as stereo or surround speakers is one of the finest features in the Google Home ecosystem. When it works. After the Sonos patent dispute, device management lost some functionality. Which definitely affected the way speaker groups are used. But the problem we’ll talk about today is sort of unrelated. Some users get the You are not allowed to manage this group in Google Home, although they are the Household Manager and they created the speaker group.

This is, according to reports, a problem that started back in 2019, and some still run into it from time to time in 2022. We made sure to recommend applicable solutions with a huge thank you to users who provided them on Reddit and Google Nest forums.

Table of contents:

1. Restart your speakers and your phone
2. Clear the local data or reinstall Google Home
3. Use an APK to install the older Google Home version and remove the Group
4. Reset all devices to factory settings and start from scratch

How do I manage my Google Groups at Home?

You should be able to manage Google Groups with Google Home and all created groups are usually found under Devices. That’s where you can edit or delete groups. However, if you get that You are not allowed to manage this group in Google Home, even if you’re the one who created it (Manager), you can restart all devices, reset Google Home, or use an older version by sideloading an APK.

Finally, some suggest resetting all included devices to factory settings and adding them again to your household. Learn more below.

1. Restart your speakers and your phone

The first thing you should do is restart all the devices that are in the group and your smartphone and check for improvements. That’s usually a good way to fix temporary issues and glitches that devices in the Google Home ecosystem are prone to. After that, try deleting the group and setting it up again.

On the other hand, if this did nothing and you still can’t manage a Speaker Group in the Google Home app, try the next step.

2. Clear the local data or reinstall Google Home

It’s really hard to determine if speaker/display/Chromecast issues instigate this exact problem or if the Google Home app is causing it. Some users are certain that the app is the problem and we are inclined to believe that assumption is well-grounded. So, how to fix this? Well, you can try clearing the app data (Android) or reinstalling the app (Android and iOS).

Here’s how to clear data from the Google Home app on Android:

1. Open Settings.
2. Select Apps.
3. Open Google Home from the list of available devices.
4. Choose Storage.
5. Tap Clear data.
6. Or you can reinstall the app in Play Store. Just look it up and tap Uninstall. After that, install the app again and check for improvements.

And this is how to reinstall Google Home on your iPhone or iPad:

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.

Another thing worth mentioning is the Preview Program available for Google Home and Nest devices. We suggest leaving it and trying to delete or manage the speaker group again. To leave the program, expand the device in Google Home and tap on the gear icon to open Settings. Tap Device information and then select Preview. Leave the program.

3. Use an APK to install the older Google Home version and remove the Group

This is probably the most confirmed solution if we exclude the last one on this list. For some reason, it seems that recent versions of Google Home for Android (starting as far as 2019) just have issues with Home Groups. Some Reddit users found a simple way to sort this out by sideloading an older version of the app and, once you remove the Group, going back to the latest official version found in the Play Store.

Here’s what you need to do to rollback to an older version of Google Home and, hopefully, address the problem:

1. Uninstall the current version of Google Home from your Android.
2. Navigate to the APK Mirror Google Home section (trusted website with signed APKs) and download that exact version.
3. Run the APK and install the app. Allow installation from Unknown sources.
4. Sign in and expand the Home Group. Do whatever you need to do — remove devices, delete the group, rename it, etc.
5. Now, navigate to Settings > Apps > Google Home and uninstall the app.
6. Open the Play Store and install the latest available Google Home version.
7. Sign in again and create a new speaker group.

4. Reset all devices to factory settings and start from scratch

Ultimately, if none of the previous steps worked for you, we suggest resetting all included devices (speakers, Chromecasts, or display) to factory settings. That will remove them from the Google Home app so you should be able to set them up again and later create speaker groups. The exact procedure considerable varies so you can find detailed instructions on the official support page.

After you reset the devices, remove them from Google Home before adding them again under + or Add > Set up a device > New Device.

It won’t hurt to report the problem to Google in the Google Home > Account > Help & feedback, too. And hope that they’ll look into it.

Thank you for reading and feel free to share your thoughts, questions, or suggestions with us. When did this problem start? Tell us in the comments section below.