Google Home speaker debacle worsens with more failures — lawsuit imminent
The problems appeared to be related to Google Assistant, the current voice assistant that Google is going to replace with Gemini AI. The assistant has already been losing features ahead of its successor.
Aniah Kattukaran, the Chief Product Officer for Google Home Nest, admitted to problems on X. "We hear you loud and clear and are committed to getting this right — and making sure we have a long term solution that provides better reliability and capability," he wrote.
He added that the company is working on major improvements and would have more to share in the fall. Unfortunately, the bugs are occurring now and people are not interested in waiting.
Despite acknowledging the problems, users are unhappy and Android Police found a Reddit thread on the Google Home subreddit with people reporting that voice controls for smart lights were totally out of commission.
Usually device subreddits are filled with questions about products or attempts to solve problems but a glance through the Google Home subreddit shows a number of posts complaining about voice controls.
It's so bad that an official Google moderator for the subreddit popped into that post twice in response to complaints.
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"We're aware of an issue with using voice commands to control some lights. We'll share an update as soon as possible, thanks for your patience," they wrote.
Another response from June 28 claimed that a fix for the issue was being rolled out, though it was tempered with "some users might still be experiencing issues."
One frustrated user commented, "You're not adding features..so how do you manage to screw up the old ones that worked?"
Not something you want to see when Google has already promised to fix the problem.
These complaints have gotten so so bad that a potential lawsuit may be in the works.
The law firm Kaplan Gore announced (via TechRadar) that it is looking into a possible class action suit against Google for "failing to remedy increasing problems with its Google Home service."
With so many complaints rolling in, Kaplan Gore says that "rather than fixing these issues, Google is allowing the issues with Google Home to increase in scale and frequency nationwide."
The law firm is asking affected customers to fill out a form where they can explain what problems they are having with Google Home. That information would help the firm decide if it has grounds for pursuing a lawsuit.
Unfortunately, it looks like Google's Home problems may get worse before they get better.
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