If I’m not mistaken, owning a Google Assistant-powered smart speaker or display that is unable to play music undermines its fundamental usability. This issue appears to be more significant than the Sonos debacle, which only affected multi-speaker setups and volume controls. However, before reaching out to Google Support with another complaint, let’s attempt some troubleshooting steps on our own.
How to Fix Google Home Wont Play Music
If you’re encountering a situation where Google Home isn’t playing music despite issuing a voice command, please follow the steps outlined below for possible solutions. If you’re experiencing issues with Google Home not playing music despite issuing commands or trying to cast from your phone or PC, here are some steps you can follow:
Restart the Google Home/Nest and router, and check the volume
Start by restarting the Google Home speaker. Unplug the power cord, wait for a few seconds, then plug it back in. Allow the device to boot up, and then try asking it to play music again. Test other commands to see how it responds. If the issue persists, move on to the next step.
If Google Home is not responding at all and indicates a momentary glitch, try restarting your router. Unplug the power cord from the router, wait for a brief period, then plug it back in. Give the router some time to establish a stable connection, and then check if Google Home can play music.
If you continue to experience connectivity problems, consider the following options:
- Switch to the 2.4GHz band on your router, as it generally offers better range and penetration through walls compared to the 5GHz band.
- Place the Google Home speaker closer to the router to improve the signal strength.
- If all else fails, you can try resetting both the router and the Google Home speaker to their factory settings. Keep in mind that this should be done as a last resort if none of the previous steps have resolved the issue.
By following these steps, you should be able to address the problem of Google Home not playing music.
Check The Default Music Service Settings
Another factor to consider when Google Home wont play music is to check the default music service settings. Google Home supports various streaming services such as Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Music, among others. To utilize these services, you need to add them to the Google Home app and choose a default provider or leave it open with the “No default provider” option.
Here’s how you can check and link the default music service in the Google Home app:
- Open the Google Home app.
- Tap on the “+” sign in the top left corner and select “Music.”
- If you see your desired music service listed, tap on “Link” to connect it with Google Home. Follow the prompts to complete the linking process and check if the issue is resolved.
If you don’t see your preferred music service listed, you can link it through Google Assistant on your phone:
- Summon Google Assistant on your phone.
- Open the Snapshot or Discover page.
- Look for the Bulb icon at the top right corner and tap on it.
- Select “Explore more from Assistant” at the bottom.
- In the search bar, type the name of the music service you want to link (e.g., Spotify).
- Once you find the service from the search results, tap on it to link it with Google Assistant.
Keep in mind that certain services may be region-specific, meaning they may not be available in all countries. For example, Pandora or iHeart Radio may only be accessible to users in the USA or select countries. Additionally, in some regions, services like Spotify may not appear in the list within the Google Home app, but you can still play music from Spotify by simply asking Google Home to do so.
Lastly, note that there may be differences between the features and limitations of free and premium versions of these services. However, in the context of Google Home not playing music at all, these differences are not relevant since the issue persists regardless of the music service used.
Utilize recommended commands
While Google Home speakers are designed to be smart and responsive, in practice, it’s often best to stick to predefined commands for optimal functionality. You can refer to the complete list of available music-related commands. Personally, I find that using Spotify Direct allows me to rely mainly on the command “Play some music” for playback initiation, while handling other controls on my phone or PC.
Although more advanced commands like “OK, Google, play Discover Weekly” may work on occasion, it’s generally more reliable to stick to the basic commands.
Ensure music playback is not active on other devices under the same account
Most music streaming services allow multiple devices to be registered under the same account (e.g., up to 10 devices for YouTube Music). However, online streaming is typically limited to one device at a time. Therefore, if you are streaming music on another device, make sure to pause it to allow Google Home to play music. Offline music playback can be active on multiple devices simultaneously.
Note that sometimes the transition between devices may not be automatic. For instance, I’ve observed that even opening the app on my Android device can cause playback to stop. In such cases, closing the app usually allows uninterrupted playback on Google Home.
Google Home Wont Play Music – Factory Reset
If you’ve exhausted all other options and Google Home/Nest is still not playing music regardless of your attempts, you may consider performing a factory reset. The process may vary slightly depending on the specific device you own. To ensure accurate instructions, visit the Google Nest Support page and find your device model, then follow the provided guidelines.
After resetting the device, reconnect it, check the Music services settings, and issue a command to play music. If the problem Google Home wont play music persists, you should report the issue to Google Support using the Feedback feature in the Google Home app. Tap on your Profile at the top right corner, and select Feedback.
With these steps, we conclude this article. We hope it has provided helpful information to address your Google Home/Nest device issue. If you have any other concerns or questions, feel free to share them in the comments section below.