Google Home Guides

After 4 years, Google finally updated the iconical cylindrical Google Home with a bigger and lounder Nest Audio in 2020.  So, the question for many existing users of Google Home is the comparison of Nest Audio vs Google Home

This Google Home guide explains the new features and improvements of Nest Audio vs Google Home to help you understand whether you should “upgrade” your Google Home, or whether Nest Audio is the right smart speaker for you.

The comparison of Nest Audio and Google Nest Mini (Google Home Mini 2nd Gen) is covered in this post (coming soon).

Before we explore the new features and improvements of Nest Audio (vs Google Home), let’s check what has not been changed (i.e., the shared features).

Nest Audio vs Google Home: what are NOT changed?

As a successor to Google Home, Nest Audio share some identical or similar features with its predecessor. This part highlights the common features of these two smart speakers.

Similar software

Both Google Home and Nest Audio share a similar software package. Google Assistant works in an identical way.

The setup and customization are also almost identical. This means existing owners of Google Home will have nothing … Read the rest

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You need to understand the layout of the Nest Hub (including Nest Hub 2nd Gen and Google Hoem Hub) to use the smart display effectively.

This Google Home guide explains the layout of Nest Hub, the function and usage of each part of the smart display to help you get started quickly with your Google Nest Hub.

Because the layout of Nest Hub, Nest Hub 2nd  Gen, and Google Home Hub is identical, this guide applies to all of these 3 Google smart display devices.

Why do you need to know the layout of Nest Hub?

Although you interact with Google Home Hub, Google Nest Hub, and Nest Hub 2nd Gen mainly through voice commands (Google Assistant) and the touchscreen, you may still need to use some buttons, for example,  to mute the microphone, to reset Nest Hub.

Also, if you know the location of the sensors, you may have a better understanding of some issues you may encounter due to blocked sensors.

Anyway, a smart display can work for you for at least a few years. You should spend a few minutes understanding the layout of Nest Hub. It will pay off soon.

Are there any differences in the

… Read the rest

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How is Google Home named?

When you set up Google Home, the app asks you to specify the location/room of the Google Home device.

By default, your Google Home will be named as XXX room Home.

Most Google Home owners may be OK with the name. But some owners may want to rename Google Home so that the name of Google Home is more meaningful and personalized.

It is even more useful to rename Google Home devices if you have more than one Google Home device at home.

Anyway, it is easy to change the name of Google Home in Google Home app.

How to rename Google Home?

To rename Google Home (i.e., change name of  Google Home), you can follow these steps.

Step 1:  make sure Google Home is connected to internet

You can change Google Home name (rename Google Home) only when Google Home is connected to internet.

If there are any issues with Google Home, you can check the LED light colors in the top touch panel in Google Home device.

Step 2: Start Google Home app

From any of your mobile devices which are connected to the same WiFi network as the Google Home … Read the rest

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Why you need to customize Google Home settings?

After settings up Google Home, you can start to use it immediately.

But you may not know you can customize Google Home settings to meet your needs and to get more from your Google Home.

All customization for Google Home settings can (and must) be done through Google Home app.

In this guide, I will show you how to customize Google Home settings (and Google Assistant settings), and what the options are for all Google Home devices and what are for individual Google Home devices.

What are the options to customize Google Home settings?

Google Home is actually powered by Google Assistant as explained in this page.

So, to customize Google Home settings, you have the following two options to:

• customize Google Assistant, which is tied to your Google account for all Google Home devices.
• customize Google Home (and Google Assistant) settings for individual Google Home device.

These two options to customize Google Home settings work to compliment each other, both from Google Home app.

Some Google Assistant settings and customization will affect all your Google Home devices using Google Assistant.

This means if you have more than one Google … Read the rest

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After recent firmware update, Google allows you to use Google Home as a Bluetooth speaker.

You can easily pair Google Home with your smartphones, tablets, or other devices through Bluetooth and then use Google Home as a Bluetooth speaker.  The audio will then be routed to Google Home.

Although Google Home is used in the text, this guide applies to all Google Home products including Google Home, Google Home Mini, Google Next Mini (Google Home Mini 2nd Gen), and Google Home Max.

Why may you want to use Google Home as a Bluetooth speaker?

Google Home and Google Home Max offer decent audio quality, compared to speakers with similar sizes.

Even Google Home Mini is surprisingly loud and clear considering its compact size.

Therefore, many Google Home users may want to use Google Home as a Bluetooth speaker when playing music on the phone.

After pairing Google Home to your phone, you may not need to buy a Bluetooth speaker. This would maximize your investment in Google Home, Google Home Max or even Google Home Mini.

And you can even adjust the bass and treble for Google Home, Google Home Mini, and Google Home Max as explained in this … Read the rest

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You can understand the status of Google Home by checking the LED lights (and colours).

This Google Home guide explains why you should know the meaning of Google Home LED lights and the exact meaning (and possible implications) of all LED lights pattern on Google Home.

Please note, due to the differences between Google Home vs Nest Audio (2nd gen Google Home) and Google Home vs Google Home Mini (and Google Nest Mini), the LED lights on Google Home are different from other Google Home speakers. So, this guide applies to Google Home (1st Gen) only. You may check this guide on the meaning of Nest Audio LED lights, and this guide for the meaning of LED lights on Google Home Mini (and 2nd Gen Google Home Mini/ Google Nest Mini).

Why do you need to know the meaning of Google Home LED lights?

As mentioned in Google Home layout, Google Home only has one physical button to turn on/off the microphone,  or to factory data reset Google Home.

The touch panel in the top of Google Home plays a very important role in using and configuring Google Home.  And the LED lights (and their colours) give … Read the rest

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Although all Google Home devices share almost identical features and functions, Google Home Mini is different from Google Home and Google Home Max in the layout and buttons.

This means some operation and controls in Google Home Mini may be different from those in Google Home and Google Home Max.

Some how-to guides prepared for Google Home or Google Home Max maybe not applicable to Google Home Mini.

Therefore, the Google Home Mini guides section was created to host special guides for Google Home Mini.

For common features among Google Home, Google Home Mini and Google Home Max, you may check Google Home how-to guides section.

List of Google Home Mini guides

This is a live page. More Google Home Mini guides will be released regularly.

If you cannot find the guides for your Google Home Mini, you can leave your questions in the comment box below.

We will try to find a quick solution for you.

Here is the list of release and to-be-released Google Home Mini guides.

1. Google Home Mini vs Google Home

This Google Home Mini guide tries to explain the differences between Google Home and Google Home Mini to help you decide whether you … Read the rest

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Google Home Hub, Nest Hub,  Nest Hub Max, and Nest Hub 2nd Gen are Google’s answer to smart display demands. Nest Hub guides help you get the most from the smart display devices.

Unlike Google Home speakers (Google Home, Google Home Mini, Google Home Max, Google Nest Mini, and Nest Audio), the smart display device has a 7″ (or 10″ for Nest Hub Max) display, which offers an additional stream of information.

Of course, they also share many similar or even identical features. For example, the Google Home app is used to manage both smart speakers and smart displays.

So, we group the how-to guides, especially for Nest Hub and publish them here.

About Nest Hub Guides

Nest Hub guides on this page help you understand and use Google smart display devices.

All Nest Hub guides not only demonstrate how to use some specific features with detailed step-by-step illustrations but also offer in-depth (yet easy to understand) explanations of the features and underlying technologies.

The Nest Hub guides cover all generations of Google smart display devices, including Google Home Hub, Nest Hub, Nest Hub Max, and Nest Hub 2nd Gen.

Some features are limited … Read the rest

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Google Home was designed for mainstream users. Most owners will find it is easy to set up Google Home.

Actually, you can set up Google Home from a PC or any mobile devices that can run Google Home app.

In this guide, I will show you the steps involved to set up Google Home with Google Home app which is available in Android and iOS devices.

The setup process for Google Home, Google Home Mini, and Google Home max is identical. This guide applies to all Google Home devices released so far: Google Home, Google Home Mini and Google Home Max.

When do you need to set up Google Home?

You have to set up Google Home:

• when you get a new Google Home.
• after a factory data reset for Google Home.
• if you changed your wireless network.
• if Google Home cannot connect to the wireless network. You can find the status in the LED light colors in the top touch panel.

Please note, if a Google Home is working properly, you can change the WiFi network (if both old and new networks are available).

The setup option only appears when Google Home cannot connect to … Read the rest

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Like other Google Home speakers,  Nest Audio LED lights indicate the status or feedback of the speaker, and therefore you need to understand them if you want to use the smart speaker effectively.

This Google Home guide explains the meaning of Nest Audio LED lights to help you understand these lights and act properly to use the speaker as desired.

Where are Nest Audio LED lights?

As explained in the Nest Audio layout, there is a row of 4 hidden LED lights embedded in the middle of the front panel.

The fabric materials cover the whole front panel of the Nest Audio, including the LED lights. So, you cannot see these LED lights when they are not lit up.

As on other Google Home speakers (e.g., Google Home, Google Home Mini, and Nest Mini), the Nest Audio LED lights light up only when it wants to tell you something.

Please note, the 1st gen  Google Home has a colourful LED ring. All other Google Home speakers (Google Home Mini, Google Nest Mini, Google Home Max, and Nest Audio) have 4 LED lights in a row with white as the main colour.

Can I control or customise

… Read the rest

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