Cannot control volume of my Beam when listening to Google News (via Google Assistant)


Hello guys,

 

I am quite new to the Sonos world but so far I have been nothing but satisfied. However, today I experienced something that I cannot seem to fix. When I command the Google Assistant to play the latest news, Beam’s volume goes down no matter how loud it was before. Plus I cannot increase the volume either from the app of physically via Beam. The volume is stuck at low for the news! That is if I increase the volume manually the volume bar moves in the app, and the sound is very loud if I change to music, but the news in that moment do not react. 


I have done a Factory reset but it did not help. Plus, this problem did not occur earlier, as we were able to control the volume for news normally. 


Any suggestion what it may be? Could it be some Google Home or Assistant settings? 

 

 

Very thankful for any help!

Tnx in advance

Regards 

Dule


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18 replies

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Having the exact same issue with my new Beam right now. Listening to my Google Assistant news briefing, and some recordings are incredibly quiet while some are super loud (it's not like this on my Google Home Hub). The Beam's volume buttons are reacting to my touch but doing nothing until the news is over, then it plays music/whatever at normal volume. Also tried this on my Sonos One, same issue.

Having the exact same issue with my new Beam right now. Listening to my Google Assistant news briefing, and some recordings are incredibly quiet while some are super loud (it's not like this on my Google Home Hub). The Beam's volume buttons are reacting to my touch but doing nothing until the news is over, then it plays music/whatever at normal volume. Also tried this on my Sonos One, same issue.

 

Exactly, it’ so annoying. But have you had this issue from day one? As a matter of fact I did not have this problem from the beginning (been using Sonos for couple of weeks). 

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Having the exact same issue with my new Beam right now. Listening to my Google Assistant news briefing, and some recordings are incredibly quiet while some are super loud (it's not like this on my Google Home Hub). The Beam's volume buttons are reacting to my touch but doing nothing until the news is over, then it plays music/whatever at normal volume. Also tried this on my Sonos One, same issue.

 

Exactly, it’ so annoying. But have you had this issue from day one? As a matter of fact I did not have this problem from the beginning (been using Sonos for couple of weeks). 

 

Nope, I first noticed it when I posted. My Beam is new though, so I'm not sure if it's that or a recent software update that caused it.

Hi @Dule13, and @nluchs. Welcome to the Community. I understand that you are having some issues with Google Assistant on your Beam. In both of your cases, the Assistant volume is lower compared to what the Beam is playing, correct? 

Do either of you have a Sonos One, or Move in your systems? If so, how does Google Assistant work on those devices; is it also low voice volume?

We would like to have you submit a diagnostic of your system and reply back with the confirmation number. This will allow us to see how your system is functioning, and help provide a resolution.

Hi @Dule13, and @nluchs. Welcome to the Community. I understand that you are having some issues with Google Assistant on your Beam. In both of your cases, the Assistant volume is lower compared to what the Beam is playing, correct? 

Do either of you have a Sonos One, or Move in your systems? If so, how does Google Assistant work on those devices; is it also low voice volume?

We would like to have you submit a diagnostic of your system and reply back with the confirmation number. This will allow us to see how your system is functioning, and help provide a resolution.

 

Hi Richard! Tnx for answering. 

Well I do have two Sonos One’s but they are of SL type and I use them as surround speakers in the same room. So, I only use Beam with Google Assistant. 

 

To be clear it is both Assistants voice and the Google news volume that is lower. For example, I am listening to music at high volume and they I ask the Goolge to play the latest news. From that point, both the Google voice and all the news are at low volume and the volume is “stuck”. Cannot be changed via voice, Sonos app or physically via Beam. (the volume bar moves and everything else will be louder after the news stops, but the news are stuck at low). 

 

Ok, i will submit a diagnostic. 

 

Tnx again! 

Cheers

My confirmation number is: 605783975

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Hi @Dule13, and @nluchs. Welcome to the Community. I understand that you are having some issues with Google Assistant on your Beam. In both of your cases, the Assistant volume is lower compared to what the Beam is playing, correct? 

Do either of you have a Sonos One, or Move in your systems? If so, how does Google Assistant work on those devices; is it also low voice volume?

We would like to have you submit a diagnostic of your system and reply back with the confirmation number. This will allow us to see how your system is functioning, and help provide a resolution.

Thanks Richard, just confirmed the issue is still happening and submitted a diagnostic. I have reproduced it on both the Beam and a Sonos One that I have in another room.

Diagnostic confirmation number: 1644282426

Also, when the Beam is playing news and I tell it “hey google, stop” the response is “I need to know which device to use. Try again by telling me the device.” It’s like it doesn’t even realize that it’s actively playing news.

Sorry for the delay in response. To see if this clears up the issue, I would like to have you remove Google Assistant from your Sonos devices, and then red add it back. Does the issue still continue, or does it seem to improve? 

You can remove a voice service by going to Settings>Services & Voice> Google Assistant> (Name of the Room)> Remove Assistant. 

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Sorry for the delay in response. To see if this clears up the issue, I would like to have you remove Google Assistant from your Sonos devices, and then red add it back. Does the issue still continue, or does it seem to improve? 

You can remove a voice service by going to Settings>Services & Voice> Google Assistant> (Name of the Room)> Remove Assistant. 

Hi Richard, just tried removing the assistant from all speakers and added them back. Played my news briefing and still couldn’t adjust the volume.

Also, I _can_ somewhat adjust the volume of the GA responses outside of the news briefing, but the minimum volume is still a good bit louder than the Sonos minimum volume. Very jarring in a quiet bedroom.

Thanks for trying that, this is very strange behavior. Because of that, we would like to troubleshoot this issue with you over the phone. I am going to send you a direct message so we can gather more information from you to create a phone case on your behalf. This way, when you call in. We know what was done already. 

I’m having the same issue. Google assistant news volume maxed out but still quiet. Bolume varies story to story.  Music plays fine through assistant. Beam and two play: 1 ‘s

Hello @jbacheld. I am sorry to hear that you are also having the same issue. Would you mind submitting a diagnostic report from your Sonos application, and then replying back with the confirmation number? 

What is the volume level of your Sonos devices when the Assistant is not speaking?

Thank you.

 

Diagnostic number: 1176583417

When my assistant is not speaking?

 

if the question is about the general volume level/quality, then it seems fine and can get to very loud level.  Whereas it’s pretty quiet when I ask the assistant to play npr news.

 

if the question is specifically what volume level it’s at before I ask, then I’m not sure and I think it varies.  I usually try in the morning after having not used the Sonos system once the night before with the tv.

 

thank you

Thank you for providing that information. What happens if you increase the volume on the Beam when the Assistant is talking, does it get louder or does it stay the same? 

Please try removing the Google Assistant from the Beam, and then add it back as a next step. If the issue still remains, we are going to move your case over to our phone team for more advanced troubleshooting. 

If I repetitively press volume up on the beam while Assistant is talking it doesn’t change the volume at first.  At a certain point of tapping the volume up on the beam the volume jumps way up.  Then when the news is playing it doesn’t seem like i can manipulate the volume physically from the beam or from the app.  Then the volume is too high and can’t be turned down.  I already tried removing and adding the assistant per the above advice given to other folks.  Thank you.

Thanks for trying those steps. I am going send you a direct message, so we can gather more information from you. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this issue may best be troubleshot on the phone with us.

Same issue here. After interacting with GA the music volume is stucked at a low volume. It looks like it stays on the assistant listening mode forever.

Switching off and on solved the problem, however that's very annoying.

After months the problem is still there. I have to unplug and replug the sonos one every time I accidentally use the Google Assistant.