Google Home Guides

Google Home is a smart and connected  speaker powered by Google Assistant, which is a new version of Google Now.

Or, you can see Google Home is a voice-activated personal assistant. You can dictate it just using your voice.

Some owners may consider Google Home as a Chromecast Audio with a built-in speaker.

The direct competitor of Google Home is Amazon Echo.  If you are an Echo user, you can just imagine Google Home is a similar device with a smarter brain.

Anyway, Google Home can be a quite different device if you look at it with different perspectives.

This page will try to explain to you what is Google Home from 3 perspectives.

Google Home as a connected speaker

On the surface, Google Home is a speaker that always connects to internet.

So, in this sense, Google Home is similar to Chromecast audio + speaker. Actually, Google Home can be used as Chromecast audio: whenever you want to cast to Chromecast audio, you can cast to Google Home.

The difference between Google Home and Chromecast audio is obvious: Chromecast audio requires a speaker. And you can use 3 types of audio cables to connect Chromecast to … Read the rest

The post What is Google Home? appeared first on Google Home Guides.

When you need to change Google Home WiFi network settings?

After setting up Google Home, normally you will not change WiFi settings although you may change other settings for Google Home.

Some Google Home settings can be done through voice command, or through the touch panel, or through Google Home app.

For example you can adjust volume of Google Home with any of the 3 methods.

Because Google Home can only save one WiFi network info, you may have to change Google WiFi network settings if you change your WiFi network.

Sometimes, you may have to factory data reset the Google Home due to WiFi network changes.

How to use a new router without changing Google Home WiFi network settings?

You can use a new router without changing Google Home WiFi network settings.

Some guides in the internet may mistakenly tell you that you must factory data reset Google Home if you change router.

But actually, it is NOT necessary to factory data reset your Google Home.

Actually, it is not necessary to change anything in Google Home if you follow these two rules:

1. Use the identical WiFi network name (SSID) when you set up the new

… Read the rest

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If you want to change the volume for your Google Home, you may not know actually there are 3 different methods to change Google Home volume: use the touch panel, use your voice, and use the Google Home app.

The result is identical, regardless of the method you choose.

In addition to adjusting Google Home volume, this guide also shows you 4 methods to silence Google Home and how to resume the media playing.

Please note, the 3 methods introduced in this guide apply to media sound and Google assistant. If you want to adjust the volume for alarms and timers, you have to use the Google Home app, as explained in this guide.

These three methods apply to all Google Home speakers, including Google Home, Google Home Mini, Google Home Max,  Google Nest Mini (2nd Gen of Google Home Mini), and Nest Audio.

If you paired two Google Home speakers and are using the speaker pair, the volume settings will be applied to both speakers automatically.

Method 1: use touch panel to change Google Home volume

As explained in Google Home layout and buttons page, you can control Google Home with the top … Read the rest

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Google Home Mini does not have a flat touch panel as in Google Home. But the top and two sides of Google Home Mini are touch-enabled.

You can use touch to control Google Home Mini if you do not want to use voice.

This Google Home Mini guide explains to you how to use touch control for Google Home Mini to adjust volume, pause/resume/stop playing.

Where is touch control for Google Home Mini located?

The touch sensors are located in 3 locations in Google Home Mini as shown below.

One touch control location is in the top (center) of Google Home Mini and the other two in two sides.

The functions of these 3 touch controls are different:

• Left (marked as 1 in the illustration below) is for lowering the volume, pausing/resuming media playing, silencing/snoozing alarm and timers.
• Right (marked as 2) is for raising the volume, pausing/resuming media playing, silencing/snoozing alarms and timers.
• Middle/top (marked as 3) is for triggering Google Assistant (without speaking the hotword). But it is still disabled due to some phantom touch events reported by some owners. So, you cannot use this one until Google finds a solution and fixes it through

… Read the rest

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Google allows you to adjust the equalizer (EQ) of Google Home, Google Home Mini, and Google Home Max with the Google Home app.

You can boost or cut the bass and treble for your Google Home devices to get desired audio effects.

This Google Home guide explains what an equalizer is, when you may want to adjust the equalizer of Google Home, Google Home Mini (including Google Nest Mini),  and Google Home Max, and how to adjust the EQ for your Google Home devices.

What is equalizer (EQ)?

In a nutshell, an equalizer boosts or cuts specific ranges of the frequency of your audio without distorting it.

For example, when you use an equalizer to boost the bass (low-frequency range), the low-frequency audio signal becomes louder. A good equalizer will deliver the desired loudness of the bass. At the same time,  the change of the loudness keeps smooth so that the audio is not distorted (i.e., unbalanced).

When speakers or headphones leave factories, the manufacturer usually tunes the hardware so that the best audio quality can be achieved for most users.

High quality usually means balanced responses of all frequencies. Some audiophiles can tell you immediately whether the audio … Read the rest

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Nest Audio (released in 2019) is the successor of Google Home, which was released in 2016. And it is sometimes called the second generation of Google Home. Nest Audio guides are just for it!

Nest Audio and Google Home are substantially different: there are many improvements and a few new features, as explained in this guide.

So, many Nest Audio owners need some guides for the unique features on the device.  Of course, some Google Home guides, and even some Home Mini guides, apply to Nest Audio.

About Nest Audio Guides

Nest Audio guides explain the features and functions of Nest Audio and demonstrate how to use them with detailed step-by-step illustrations.

Some common features among Google Home, Google Home Mini, Google Nest Home Mini (Google Home Mini 2nd Gen), and Nest Audio, are also listed so that you can find all guides you need for your Nest Audio.

All generations of Nest Audio are covered in this section. We will highlight the unique feature for each generation when applicable.

How to use Nest Audio guides?

Most of the Nest Audio guides include a very detailed explanation of the feature discussed so that you will not only know how … 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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In the Made by Google 2019 event on October 15, 2019, Google released an updated version of Google Home Mini under the name of Google Nest Mini (2nd Gen).

Google started to brand their smart home devices under Nest in 2018. Google Home Mini actually is the last Google Home device getting the Nest brand.

As the 2nd generation of Google Home Mini, many owners and potential buyers want to know the differences and improvements of Google Next Mini (2nd Gen).

This Google Home guide compares Google Nest Mini vs Home Mini and explains the new features and some unchanged features.

The layout of Google Nest Mini (Google Home Mini 2nd Gen) can be found here.

Google Nest Mini vs Home Mini: what’s not changed?

Google Nest Mini (2nd Gen) looks like the Google Home Mini. There are many unchanged features/design.

Price ($49)

Google Nest Mini has an identical price tag ($49) as Google Home Mini. It is one of the most affordable smart speakers in the market.

Similar to other Google smart speakers, Google (and some retailers) will very likely try to give you a free Google Nest Mini when you purchase some other products.

Some … Read the rest

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Google Home Guides community welcomes your feedback.

Of course, the fastest way to contact us is through comment box in related Google Home Guides pages if your question or problem is on using Google Home.

Another way to contact us is through our Facebook page. You can post any questions, problems or thoughts in the Facebook page.

Email reply is always slower than the other two methods mentioned above.

Please note, we are NOT affiliated to Google or any sellers of Google Home. We are NOT able to answer any warranty or sales inquiries.  You may check with Google or the seller directly.

In addition, based on our experiences, our reply cannot reach following email providers:

• Microsoft (Outlook, Hotmail).
• AOL.
• Many other free email service providers.
• Some cooperate email providers.

Please try to use Google Mail (GMail).   We do not have issues with GMail up to now.

Please try to provide details of your questions so that we can help you.

If you did not hear from us within 3 days, you may contact us through our Facebook page.… 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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