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Google Assistant doesn't understand commands


This has been asked about before but the forum threads seem old. So here it is again in case there is new information available.

My Sonos 1 sometimes understands commands but mostly doesn’t. We end up shouting at it, singing at it, saying please, and then usually give up and just play spotify/radio on it by using the app instead. Sort of defeats the object. For now I have the Google Home back in it’s place so the family can all use it without stressing every time. The Sonos has been relegated to my workshop where it barely sees the light of day :(  Any help please

 

 

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Best answer by GuitarSuperstar 10 March 2021, 19:30

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15 replies

Thanks all for the reply. I am thinking of buying a mini google as voice assistant and a sound bar.  I have heard sound bar works well with TV. Is it possible to connect google mini with a sound bar ? Is sound bar suited to provide good listening experience if connected with google mini ?

Userlevel 3
Badge +2

I can't comment on other speakers as I've only got Sonos. I love the sound / look of Sonos and my criticism is only directed at the GA intergration. If this functionality is important to you then I'd return them as they simply don't work very well (regardless of what 'fix' Sonos can supply over the phone). 

You can use a Google home mini as your voice assistant and set it up so that the Sonos (any Sonos not just the voice controlled ones) are your primary speaker. This way you get full GA functionality (like you should of got with the Sonos ones) along with the benefits of Sonos. 

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Or you could give Sonos a call and try if you can get better results with their help, before  you decide if you want to return the speaker.

I bought Sonos one yesterday. I am looking for google assistant and a high quality speaker.  If I return the Sonos now then what would you suggest I should buy  ? Should I buy a google assistant and a high quality speaker ? Which speaker would you suggest ?

Userlevel 3
Badge +2

Don.hk

If you've just bought the speakers, and are expecting good voice control, my recommendation is to give in now and get a refund whilst you're still able to. Most people have been waiting years for fixes that have never arrived so don't expect a fix in the future. 

If you want to stick with Sonos get some cheaper 'ones' without voice control and control them with a Google home mini - best of both worlds. 

I recently bought Sonos 1with inbuilt google assistant. My Sonos 1 sometimes understands commands but mostly doesn’t understand the command. 
 

 I end up speaking the same command in different phrases but it still doesn’t work. The google assistant doesn’t respond to the command also. It is not prompt to understand command and doesn’t get involved in the conversation.  I  usually give up and just play spotify/radio on it. How to treat this problem ? 

Userlevel 5
Badge +8

I’ve been using Google Assistant on Sonos One since it first become available, after starting out with Alexa on Sonos (I still have an Echo Dot next to the Sonos One stereo pair, set to direct music output to Sonos, so I can still use Alexa at the same time).

While there are some limitations compared to real Google Home speakers, and there have been occasional bugs, on the whole GA on Sonos works well enough. There are days when it seems exasperatingly unable to understand a routine command without a couple of repetitions, but on the whole it recognizes and executes commands as well as my Google Home speakers.

I’ve had a problem several times where GA on Sonos gradually stops being able to execute commands, increasingly responding with a long delay and “There was a glitch”. It starts happening on routines with several commands, and gradually grows worse until almost every single command fails. Powering on/off, resetting, disconnecting and reconnecting to the WiFi network, changing to ethernet connection - none of those helps. I accidentally discovered that the only way to fix it was to change the LAN IP address of the GA speaker to a different address, run it on that IP address for a little while, and then change it back (both dedicated LAN IP addresses completely separate from any other device). Somehow that process seems to clear whatever is wrong. But I have to say that this problem has not occurred for several months now, and I am crossing my fingers that something has cured it!

Userlevel 6
Badge +15

Hi @JustinBeamish, sorry to hear you’re still having trouble with Google Assistant.

I noticed you said that the Factory Reset didn’t work on your Sonos One - just to clarify, do you mean that the issue was still present when you set the One up again?

If the Factory Reset process completely failed, then I would recommend reaching out to our Support Team via either live chat or phone call, as that could be a sign of a larger issue with the speaker.

Sonos are probably taking a backhander from Amazon.

Userlevel 3
Badge +2

GA integration is a pile of bull, always has been. You can try multiple fixes but, in time, it'll break again. You'd think after years they'd iron out the non-stop issues but, if anything, they just get worse. 

Sonos don't seem to care. They're happy to promote voice control to sell speakers but they must know that it's absolute rubbish. 

Userlevel 4
Badge +6

I agree. The Google Assistant on Sonos rarely works properly, has trouble listening to commands and processing them and is missing many basic features such as shuffling music using your voice.

So many people have already complained about issues such as the one in your original post, yet Sonos doesn’t seem to want to fix any of these problems, as they’ve been plaguing users since the release of Google Assistant on Sonos back in 2019, and nothing has been done so far.

You might want to consider resetting the One and re-doing the Google Assistant set up process. Here is how you reset the One: https://support.sonos.com/s/article/1096?language=en_US

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

Unfortunatly resetting does not work with the Sonos 1.

As specified in professionaly reviews and in other places on this forum. Sonos simply haven’t done a good job of the google integration.

The only solution, at this moment, is to use Alexa.

So for now Sonos remains relagated to the workshop.

Userlevel 7

You might want to consider resetting the One and re-doing the Google Assistant set up process. Here is how you reset the One: https://support.sonos.com/s/article/1096?language=en_US

Thanks for the reply.

The room is totaly quiet and nothing interfering with the speaker. It recognises the initial command “Okay Google” and “Hey Google”. You can tell because the light flashes. But then nothing. It will occasionaly work.

Userlevel 7

Is there anything that could be interfering with the microphone like a noisy home, a TV, or other devices or objects nearby the speaker? Do you have the same problem if the room is completely quiet?