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Unable to Re-enable Google Assistant on Sonos One After Trying to Switch to Alexa. I’m in the (UK)

Hi everyone,

I'm based in the UK and had Google Assistant running smoothly on my Sonos One until last week. I decided to switch to Alexa temporarily and update the Sonos app. However, I couldn't get Alexa to work satisfactorily, so I tried to revert back to Google Assistant. 

Since then, I've been unable to re-enable Google Assistant. Despite several attempts at resetting the app, rebooting the device, and trying again, I keep encountering the error message: "Google Assistant is not available in your country."

This is puzzling because Google Assistant was working fine before, and according to the Sonos support page https://support.sonos.com/en-gb/article/google-assistant-availability-on-sonos), it is available in the UK. 

It feels like Sonos is blocking me from using either Google Assistant or Alexa now. I’m concerned that this might be an issue to push for upgrades, which I’m not willing to do after this experience. 

Has anyone else faced this issue? Does anyone know how to fix it? Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks!

16 replies

Z

I connected my Sonos system to my new mesh wifi and since then whenever I try to activate google assistent it goes to the google assistent app and there it keeps loading but never finds my Sonos system.

I know recent/new Sonos systems don’t work with google assistent and it feels like this had an impact on older speakers. 

U
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I also have same issue…
 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @FixS1Please 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

Sorry to hear of the issues you’ve been having. Although existing Google Assistant configurations already on Sonos speakers will continue to work, at present, the Sonos app is unable to add Google Assistant to a speaker not already running it. This feature will return in due course, but in the meantime, you will not be able to add Google Assistant to your speaker(s).

I will update this thread to let you know when the functionality has been restored.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
U
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Hi @FixS1Please 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

Sorry to hear of the issues you’ve been having. Although existing Google Assistant configurations already on Sonos speakers will continue to work, at present, the Sonos app is unable to add Google Assistant to a speaker not already running it. This feature will return in due course, but in the meantime, you will not be able to add Google Assistant to your speaker(s).

I will update this thread to let you know when the functionality has been restored.

I hope this helps.



Can we get a official ETA? Some more information about this? Is it planned to be worked on, or is it currently being worked on? 

Kinda awful that you purchase new Sonos in hope to be able to use the Google Voice assistant..

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @user98281 

I have no further information that I can share at this time.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
F

In my opinion, this is a poor excuse and response from Sonos.

The functionality was working until I updated. As someone who knows about coding there is no reason I should have to wait so long for it to be added back; this could be addressed quickly with a simple update.

I've seen posts (something I’m also considering doing) on social media suggesting that you are withholding this functionality to push people to upgrade to new Sonos models. After this experience, upgrading is something I would never consider again, and I wouldn't invest in Sonos in the future. Additionally, I can't even downgrade because you've stopped that too. I don’t believe Sonos will last with this kind of behavior that fails to treat its customers well.

It’s July 5, 2024 let’s see if an update comes out that addresses these issues within the next few days.

U
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In my opinion, this is a poor excuse and response from Sonos.

The functionality was working until I updated. As someone who knows about coding there is no reason I should have to wait so long for it to be added back; this could be addressed quickly with a simple update.

I've seen posts (something I’m also considering doing) on social media suggesting that you are withholding this functionality to push people to upgrade to new Sonos models. After this experience, upgrading is something I would never consider again, and I wouldn't invest in Sonos in the future. Additionally, I can't even downgrade because you've stopped that too. I don’t believe Sonos will last with this kind of behavior that fails to treat its customers well.

It’s July 5, 2024 let’s see if an update comes out that addresses these issues within the next few days.

I totally agree with you, this should be an easy thing to fix for any developer. Such a same that we need to suffer because of stupid decisions. 

I literally bought a new Beam gen 2 and era 100, knowing that the Beam gen 2 had support for Google voice assistant… Now even the my old Sonos one doesn’t work with Google Assistant.

Bumper

 

It’s July 5, 2024 let’s see if an update comes out that addresses these issues within the next few days.

Additional context is both companies have accused each other of patent infringement and are fighting it out in court. IMO, pure speculation, it would be surprising if Sonos brings this back at all. 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @FixS1Please 

In my opinion, this is a poor excuse and response from Sonos.

I’m sorry you feel that way.

The functionality was working until I updated. As someone who knows about coding there is no reason I should have to wait so long for it to be added back; this could be addressed quickly with a simple update.

Google Assistant worked on your Sonos device until you removed it. If you had not removed it, it would still be working - it is just the functionality to add the GA service that is not currently working. We re-wrote the Sonos app from scratch, with no code carried over, so, while you are correct in saying that this could be fixed reasonably quickly with an update, so could the other current issues - we are working though them as quickly as we can, and cannot fix every issue in one go.

I've seen posts (something I’m also considering doing) on social media suggesting that you are withholding this functionality to push people to upgrade to new Sonos models.

This is blatantly untrue - our latest products (Era 100/300, Roam 2, Move 2) do not support Google Assistant at all, so the (conspiracy) theory makes no sense whatsoever.

After this experience, upgrading is something I would never consider again, and I wouldn't invest in Sonos in the future. Additionally, I can't even downgrade because you've stopped that too. I don’t believe Sonos will last with this kind of behavior that fails to treat its customers well.

I understand, and am sorry to hear that you feel that way.

It’s July 5, 2024 let’s see if an update comes out that addresses these issues within the next few days.

There are no updates scheduled for next week.

I hope this answers your queries.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
U
Badge

 

It’s July 5, 2024 let’s see if an update comes out that addresses these issues within the next few days.

Additional context is both companies have accused each other of patent infringement and are fighting it out in court. IMO, pure speculation, it would be surprising if Sonos brings this back at all. 

 

This is why their newer devices doesn’t have support for Google Assistant, only their own Sonos Voice. On their “older” devices that has (read should have) access for Google Assistant they even advertise this on their product page. So would make no sense to just remove a feature they advertise, no?

Moderator edit: Google has changed the technical requirements for Google Assistant on third-party devices. We’re evaluating these requirements, but it’s a heavy engineering lift and we’ll continue to prioritize work that builds on our vision of voice assistants all working concurrently.

S

6th July 2024:- Australia, Vodafone. 
 

couldn’t get google assistant connected on wifi 2.5. Kept saying can’t find devices.
 

solution: Turned beam (gen 2) off, turned off router. Plugged an earthnet cable into Sonos beam. Restarted router, restarted beam. Then disabled wifi on Sonos app. Unlinked Sonos from google home. Started the process again. Works now. 

F

@Sknig31 Nothing to do with my thread. Sonos are restricting The ability to add Google Assistant. I’ve tried everything and As someone who has coded before as a programmer, I know they’re doing this.

I believe Sonos are up to their old tricks and have no qualms about it. There was a previous outcry and now they’re just doing it on the quiet, that’s what I believe.

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Of course losing the option to ad Googles Assistant is not nice. The fact Sonos did not code this into the new app (they technically did not remove it from the app, but released a new app that cannot do this) is a bad decision to say the least. But your reaction, even after Sonos answered you, is bordering on being paranoid. Best example is that Sonos would be pushing you to buy new speakers because of this - the new Sonos speakers do not even do Google Assistant (which is a shame in it’s own right).

 

F

@106rallye That's quite amusing, but it would be funnier if so many people weren't affected by it and all the other poor decisions Sonos have made, including killing off systems that aren't even that old. Not only does this issue deter customers from buying Sonos equipment, but it's also hugely wasteful in many ways.

It's nonsense to say, "they didn’t technically remove it from the app, but released a new app that cannot do this.” They also removed the ability to revert to a previous version by removing access to the file on their website. This is just a calculated move on Sonos's part.

When you claim a reply is bordering on paranoia, you should reflect on the uproar from Sonos customers. I guess that's easily forgotten when you're Sonos and a company who have a complete disregard for their customers base.

Your responses are not worthy of my reply from here on out.

U
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The Google VA issue is not even listed on their roadmap which is a shame…
https://support.sonos.com/en/article/the-new-sonos-app-and-future-feature-updates


@Corry P are you able to get a official statement from the developers/PO if they’ve acknowledged the issue and has it in their todo list. Maybe get a eta? 

 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @user98281 

 

@Corry P are you able to get a official statement from the developers/PO if they’ve acknowledged the issue and has it in their todo list. Maybe get a eta? 

The fact that I have acknowledged the issue means that we - Sonos - have acknowledged the issue (I’d get in a lot of trouble, otherwise). All bugs are on our to-do list. The only statement I can give you is: For the initial rollout of the Sonos app (2024), we focused on how we could answer some of the most common requests from our customers, including increased reliability, performance, and faster access to music. Over the coming weeks, we will reintroduce a number of features, while fixing bugs and performance issues.

I have no ETA that I can share with you for this particular issue.

I hope this helps.

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

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