[Poll results out] Has your Google Home or Nest become better or worse since you first got it, especially with regards to voice recognition?

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…

Original story (published on May 10, 2021) follows:

There seems to be no respite for Google Home and Nest users from a range of bugs and issues recently. We have covered several of them in the past. And some of the noteworthy ones have been given below.

Just yesterday, users woke up to discover their Home Minis playing a chirping sound as the alarm without them not setting any tone as such. Now, of course, the sounds themselves weren’t too bad.

However, what was annoying and even alarming for some is the fact that the Google Home Mini had switched the default tone on its own – something that it definitely shouldn’t have.

Then there are reports of the Google Home account getting unlinked from the Google Nest Mini on its own. The smart home device keeps pestering some users with a “Please login through the Google Home app” message.

And logging in once again as per the message only serves as a temporary respite as the prompt disappears only to return in a short while.

Last but not least are the complaints regarding the 4 white lights issue wherein the Google Home or Nest gets completely unresponsive following a random voice command.

But what makes matters worse is that going into such a stage means that the device simply cannot be factory reset. Therefore, there is seemingly no way to solve the critical issue.

Almost all of the aforementioned issues may have been officially acknowledged and even addressed in some cases indicating that Google is at least keen on providing quick fixes.

However, one can only tolerate continual bugs like these so much. With a new issue giving unwarranted surprise visits every once in a while, users’ frustration has grown over time.

That said, the aforementioned issues are the kind that although might be pretty widespread in some cases, are still not faced by all. But there is indeed one bothersome problem that almost every Google Home/Nest user can swear by.

The one that makes me crazy is when I say hey Google in Room A… And the device in room b activates as well the one in room A… When there’s no way room b heard me.
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I think voice recognition has become progressively worse over the past two months.
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Several users have claimed that the voice recognition of Google Home and Nest has grown progressively worse over time. There are times when the device doesn’t respond to commands at all. Or when it does, it mishears the commands and instead performs a task that wasn’t even asked.

All this goes against the very essence smart home products were built for – reliability. With Google Home and Nest allegedly growing more and more unreliable, its users will foray into alternatives.

But before jumping to any conclusions, let’s first take your opinion on the matter:

You can either drop a comment in the section at the end of this article, cast your vote on the Twitter poll above, or do both, as per your convenience. As always, the poll results will be out by next week.

06:22 pm (IST): The poll results are now out! As it stands, 42.9% of users agree that Google Home has gotten worse, 42.9% again feel that it’s still good as new, and 14.3% of users feel that it has improved.

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