Frustrated Google Home users say ‘smart’ speakers stopped working

Google’s ‘smart’ speakers have failed to live up to their name. 

A mysterious technical glitch has left internet-connected Google Home speakers unable to respond to queries.

The smart speakers house the AI-powered Google Assistant which responds to voice commands and requests.

Users worldwide reported that queries were met with the response of ‘there was a glitch’ or ‘sorry, something went wrong’ and to ‘try again in a few seconds’, but the device still failed to work.

Many user also said the glitch meant their morning alarms on their smart speakers failed to go off.  

 

Google has apologised after a technical glitch left its internet-connected Google Home ‘smart’ speakers unable to respond to queries 

The technology giant said it has corrected the issue, confirming it had also affected some of its Chromecast TV streaming devices.

‘We’ve rolled out a fix for the issue impacting Google Home and Chromecast users. If you’re still experiencing an issue, contact us at Google Home Support,’ a Google spokesman said.

‘We are really sorry for the inconvenience and are taking steps to prevent this issue from happening in the future.’

Google has not disclosed the cause of the issue, but said users should reboot their device to get it working again.

Users reported a range of issues, including some who claimed the issue meant their wake-up alarms did not go off and caused them to oversleep.

This week, Google rolled out a software update for Google Home which allows the smart speaker to respond to commands made in Spanish. 

If a bug was present in this update, the inter-connectivity of all Google devices would mean it could spread easily.

These comes less than two weeks after the same devices were hit with another bug that revealed the location of its user to potential hackers. 

Social media indicates the issue likely started around 09:00 BST (04:00 ET), with many pointing out they noticed the issue when their device was meant to play a wake-up alarm

Social media indicates the issue likely started around 09:00 BST (04:00 ET), with many pointing out they noticed the issue when their device was meant to play a wake-up alarm

It was found by security researcher Craig Young, who said the issue allows cyber criminals to find your address or make scam messages more convincing.

These include fake calls from the IRS or demands for cash from hackers making phony claims that they have webcam footage of the victim watching pornography. 

Google said it plans to fix the security flaw, which leaks your location with an accuracy of up to a few feet, in an update next month.

Mr Young found he could access router location data stored on a Home or Chromecast gadget via a computer connected to the same network.

‘I was actually able to use data extracted from the devices to determine their physical location with astonishing accuracy,’ he wrote in a blog post.

Google has not disclosed the cause of the issue, but said users should reboot their device to get it working again. This didn't appear to work for some users 

Google has not disclosed the cause of the issue, but said users should reboot their device to get it working again. This didn’t appear to work for some users 

The smart speakers house the artificial intelligence-powered Google Assistant which responds to voice commands and requests. The glitch meant all Google's interconnected devices were affected 

The smart speakers house the artificial intelligence-powered Google Assistant which responds to voice commands and requests. The glitch meant all Google’s interconnected devices were affected 

Customers took to Reddit and Twitter to discuss their issues, with the issue appearing to be a global one 

Customers took to Reddit and Twitter to discuss their issues, with the issue appearing to be a global one 

HOW IS GOOGLE ASSISTANT GETTING SMARTER?

At the search giant’s annual I/O developer conference, CEO Sundar Pichai unveiled a new technology called ‘Duplex’ that enables its Google Assistant to make phone calls in real-time with actual humans.

It can book a hair appointment and reserve a table for you at your favorite restaurant, among other things.

That’s on top of a slew of other tools that Google says can make it easier than ever for you to interact with your smart devices. 

Duplex, which Pichai says the firm has been working on ‘for many years’, will be rolling out to a limited number of users for now.

Pichai showed off the new technology at the I/O conference, which kicked off on Tuesday in Mountain View, California and runs through Thursday.

In a demo, Google Assistant dials up a local hair salon to schedule an appointment.

First, a user asks Google Assistant to make them a hair appointment, which prompts Assistant to make the phone call.

It sounds like any other women talking, but one half of the conversation is being held by Google’s AI-infused digital assistant.  

Google Assistant is able to work out a time and date for the appointment, even when the salon employee says there are no appointments available at the time the Assistant originally suggested. 

Assistant then sends a notification to the user to let them know that an appointment has been scheduled.  



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