Google Home won’t announce to the household it’s turning your lights off anymore

While there has been evidence that Google are looking to implement a way to alter the volume of the Google Assistant voice on smart speakers and displays while keeping the media at the same level there are times where you just want the Assistant to do what they are told without announcing it. Now it will.

On the Google Next Help forum today Googler Rachel Chambers has announced that no longer will Google tell you it is turning off lights when you turn them off as you are going to sleep:

You, about to fall asleep: “Ok Google, turn off the bedroom lights”.
Google Home responds, a bit louder than you’d like: “Ok, turning off 2 lights”.
You, now wide awake, but at least the lights are off.

Of course after many complaints instead of responding to your command to turn off the lights with “Ok, turning off 2 lights” it will simply ‘chime’. This will only work if the Google Home or Nest Hub device is in the same room as your smart lights which is annoying if the Nest Hub in the bedroom picks up the command to turn off the lights in the lounge room (which has happened to me on several occasions).

The new ‘chime’ will work for not just lights but also for “switches and plugs which are identified as lights”. To achieve this, when naming your smart plug call it Adam’s lamp rather then Adma’s smart plug etc — not too difficult I’m sure. The new ‘chime’ will also apply to ALL light functions such as brightness control ‘and m uch more’.

The new feature is rolling out now and they will let us know when it is available for everyone. Keep an eye out for it in your smart home and let us know what you think.