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Contributor I
March 10, 2021
Answered

Google Assistant doesn't understand commands

  • March 10, 2021
  • 15 replies
  • 648 views

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

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

15 replies

Lead Maestro
March 10, 2021

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?

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
Contributor I
March 10, 2021

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.

Lead Maestro
March 10, 2021

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

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
Contributor I
March 16, 2021

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.

JamesDan
Prominent Collaborator I
March 16, 2021

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.

Enthusiast I
March 18, 2021

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. 

Contributor I
March 18, 2021

Sonos are probably taking a backhander from Amazon.

Xander P
Retired Sonos Staff
March 19, 2021

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.

Headliner I
March 20, 2021

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!

Lyricist I
April 20, 2021

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 ?