Google fixes issue that caused Nest speakers, displays to not respond to basic requests

what you need to know
- Google Home and Nest products are experiencing an issue this week that causes speakers and displays to become unresponsive.
- This problem particularly affects verbal commands, even ones as simple as “What’s the weather like?”
- Google says the issue should now be resolved for most users and is investigating what caused the issue.
Google said today that it has resolved a widespread issue that had plagued users for nearly a week with its Google Home and Nest products not responding to commands. The issues, first reported by Android Authority, prevent Home and Nest speakers and displays from answering the most basic questions, like the time or weather. The company is still investigating what caused the issue, but confirmed that most users should not experience unresponsiveness for now.
A Google spokesperson explained: “The team is still investigating the root cause, but has fixed the issue so all users should now be able to run normally.”
These issues particularly affect voice commands and date back to at least December 30, as evidenced by a post on Google’s support forums (via 9to5Google ). Although the Nest Hub display specifically showed the correct weather and time, the voice assistant hung up when asked for the same information. The display shows a permanent loading screen and cannot respond to basic requests.
Google Home Mini (1st gen) suddenly just keeps “thinking” and doesn’t do anything? via r/googlehome
Certain requests, such as smart home or media controls, are still valid. However, any operation that requires a response from the Home or Nest speaker or display will fail. Fortunately, the problem seems to have been resolved. Android Authority reports that its issue no longer affects its devices, and Android Central tested that both its Google Home Hub and Nest Hub Max were able to respond to requests.
It’s unclear what has prevented the speakers and displays from responding to requests for the past week or so. The bug may have to do with how Google Home and Nest products decide which one will respond to requests, as a support post suggests people with multiple speakers or displays were adversely affected.
Google Support and Reddit posts documented users’ understandable frustration, but at least the issue appears to have been resolved for now.