Google Home

Do you want to control your home from the application of Google Home?The Google app is very useful to have control of all the accessories in the same place, without having to navigate between the applications of the devices. But... what can and can't be done with this application? Here you will find some questions and answers about the app to control your smart home.

How to know if my smart device is compatible with Google

Not all smart devices are compatible with Google Home and the Google Assistant, although there are very easy ways to tell.In most cases, the manufacturer includes a label on the product box stating that the device is compatible with Google Home or Google Assistant. The badge usually says "Works By Google Home" In addition, it also usually appears in the product description.

However, there are other devices that it does not mention if they are compatible with Google Home. In this case it is advisable to ask the manufacturer's technical support if the bulb or accessory that we want to connect can be linked to the Google application so that it can be controlled from there . You can also search the internet for the compatibility of this accessory. There are even devices that are sold separately that allow any accessory to be compatible with a Google Home, Google Nest or the Google Assistant. The latter is very useful if, for example, you want to control your air conditioning or your television through your voice.

How to connect a light bulb or other smart device

This is how you can set up a smart device through the Google Home app. The Google Assistant supports a large number of manufacturers: Sonos, Xiaomi, Tp-link…

First of all, it is best to connect the device to your mobile through the manufacturer's application. So then you only have to synchronize it with the Google Home app and the process is easier. Once you've set up the light or that smart accessory, go to the Google Home app and tap the '+' button that appears at the top Then, select the “Configure device” option.

There will be two options here:

• Set up new devices: those that need to be set up directly through the Google Home app (Chromecast, Nest devices, some smart bulbs) .Unless the device is from Google or from the Nest brand, it will not be necessary to configure it from here.
• Do you have something already configured? This is the option that interests us, since we would have previously configured our smart accessory.

When you click on the second option, a list of brands and manufacturers that have devices compatible with Google Home will appear. We just have to search for the manufacturer of our accessory. For example, Tp-link, Weelight etc. Pressing will open a new window that will allow us to log in to the service account that we have configured. That is, in the app account of our light bulb or accessory. We just have to enter our username and password and Google Home will synchronize the devices that we have linked to the app automatically.

After selecting the name and other settings we can control the accessory through the Google Home application.

Can the accessories be ordered by rooms? Living room bedroom…

Yeah. In fact, ordering the accessories by rooms is the most recommended if we have more than one smart device in our home. This way we can ask Google to turn on the lights in one specific room without having to tell it device by device.

To add an accessory to a room or create a room, we just have to click on the icon of that device and click on the option that says "Add to a room”. Next, we select a room or create one if it's not on the list.

How to control your device from the Google Home app

If you already have your lights or accessory connected to Google Home, controlling it is very simpleAll the accessories connected by rooms and with the name you gave them when configuring them will appear on the main page. You just have to click on one of them and the control menu will open. Depending on the device the controls may be different. In the case of smart lights, we can turn them on or off, adjust the brightness and change the color.

Control your home lights through the Google Home app. It is very useful if you have bulbs from different manufacturers, since you can group them all without having to go into each application.

If you have a group of lights and you want to control them separately, you will have to click on the top button, where the number of lights appears. Next, a new tab will open with the devices in the group. Select the one you want to control independently and you will access the settings menu for that light.

The lights can also be configured through the routines, which allows, for example, to change the color when we go to see a movie and activate a routine. Or, turn them off at a certain time when we go to sleep or leave the house.

How to control the device by voice

When you have the device connected in the Google Home application, you can control it through your voice You just have to open the assistant from Google (either through an action or through your voice) and ask you to turn on, adjust or change the color of the light bulb or any connected device. Remember that you have to tell him the name you gave the device. For example "Bedroom lights" or "Reading light". In this way, Google will know what device it is. “Hey Google, turn on the bedroom lights” and it will turn them on. Here are some very useful commands to control your home devices.

• “Hey Google, turn on / off the al »
• "Hey Google, turn all the lights in the room on/off"
• "Hey Google, turn the living room lights on/off"
• “Hey Google, change the color of to »
• "Hey Google, turn on the TV (if you have Chromecast or it's compatible"
• "Hey Google, play music on speaker (if supported)"

Remember that Google recognizes two voice commands. The most classic is 'Ok Google' (with the pronunciation "okay"). Recently Google Assistant also supports the "Hey Google" command, which I personally find a much more natural choice.

Can you control music by voice?

This is how you can set up your music service on your Google Home. Recently, Google has confirmed that Apple Music will be available later. At the moment it can only be configured in some countries.

If we have a smart speaker with the Google Assistant or we want to control our music through voice, we can connect our music service to Google Home. Not all music services are available, but the most popular are: Spotify, YouTube Music, Deezer... To link a music service, we just have to go to the Google Home app. On the main page, click on the '+' button that appears in the upper area. Then, in 'Add services' we select Music. Now we just have to choose the music service and link our account.

When the process is ready, we can ask Google to play music, a specific album, a playlist or an artist. You don't need to tell it the name of the service. Here are some useful commands you can use.

• "Hey Google, play music I like"
• "Hey Google, play music by Taylor Swift"
• "Hey Google, play Taylor Swift's Folklore album"
• "Hey Google, play some music"
• "Hey Google, play the latest Billie Elish album"
• "Ok Google, play the playlist »

To control music playback through your voice you can also use the Google Assistant You just have to ask it to raise, lower the volume, skip to the next song, start the song again etc. If you want to control music through the app, you will need to have a smart speaker paired and control it from the device section.

Personally, the best service to control music through our smart speaker is Spotify With this music service synchronization is very complete, and we can play any song. In addition, from the Spotify application we can also send the music through Google Home.YouTube Music also works in a similar way, so if you have YouTube Premium feel free to set YouTube's music service as default.

How to create routines with Google Home and the Google Assistant

Google routines is one of the most interesting features of the assistant.

Can you imagine being able to leave home and have the lights turn off by themselves?, or that at a specific time the light turns on music? This is possible thanks to Google routines. The Google Home app has a specific section with default routines. In these routines we can perform different actions with the accessories that we have connected. To set up a routine, we just have to follow these steps.

• Go to the Google Home app.
• Click on the 'Routines' section that appears at the top.
• Select one of the preset routines.
• Choose the accessories and what you want them to do when you apply the routine.
• Saves the options.

You can also create custom routines. For example, a "work" routine for the assistant to perform some actions during working hours (play music, change the tone of the lights, etc.). To do this, we just have to press the '+' button that appears in the lower area, add the command and link accessories to that routine. Another very useful routine is the morning one. Imagine waking up and having Google turn on your lights, read you the news, and tell you what the weather is going to be like. You can configure it from the Google Home options and activate the routines even when the alarm ends or after saying the command 'Ok Google, good morning'.