The ability to use your voice to ask for precise information and manage the (possibly numerous) lights, outlets, and other smart devices in your house is Google Assistant’s main selling point. For example, you may walk into a dark room and say to a nearby speaker, “Hey Google, turn on the lights,” and the Assistant would generally obey, lighting the space.
Unfortunately, Google Assistant is now experiencing a problem across phones and smart speakers, preventing it from controlling smart home devices and instead merely responding “I don’t understand.”
Fix for the Google Assistant issue
The Google Assistant appears to be unable to answer effectively to smart home-related inquiries. If your Google Home devices are involved, regardless of what you ask the Assistant to do, the Assistant will respond “Sorry, I don’t understand” or “Sorry, I didn’t understand.”
Based on 9to5google testing, the problem appears to be widespread, as they confirmed it occurring in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The problem also affects the Assistant on Android phones and Nest smart speakers/displays. Just as the Google Assistant issue was gaining popularity, the brand sprang into action with a fix. It appears that Google has rectified this issue with the Assistant, and it can now handle smart home items normally.
Other general questions to the Assistant, such as inquiring about the weather or the hours of a nearby company, appear to operate as expected. Just smart home controllers are now impacted. The problem appears to be limited to the Google Assistant while managing smart home devices via the Google Home app continues to function correctly – well, the good thing is it’s fixed.
