8 Tips To Fix Google Home Routines Not Working.

Google Home is one of many apps provided by Google and it offers many features to control home devices including lights, cameras, door locks, and so on. You can also check your reminders and recent notifications, all from this app.

One of the most useful features provided by this app is “routines”, this option allows you to do several things automatically, in other words, a routine is a series of actions that you want your devices to take automatically when prompted by voice commands or through the Google Home app.

These routines can also be scheduled at certain times and days to start automatically, this way you can set it and forget it and the app will take care of triggering the routine without any intervention from you.

Many people who use this feature reported that sometimes Google routines stop working and they want to know how to fix this problem.

The following chapters of this article are about the solution that you can implement to resolve this issue and get your routines back to work.

How to Fix Google Home Routines Not Working?

There are many causes that lead your Google Routines to stop working such as an outdated app or operating system, the problem of using multiple languages on your phone, or a problem with your internet connection.

In the next sections, we’re going to explore these problems in more depth and show all the tips and tricks that you can do to get your Google Home Routines to work properly.

Solution 1: Power Cycle Your Smartphone.

When the smartphone is not working properly, the apps inside may encounter problems, including your Google Home application, so I recommend that you power cycle your smartphone to help it work properly.

Power cycling a device involves turning the hardware off, waiting a few seconds, and then turning it back on. This process will help your phone to clear memory, apps and conflicts which will prevent crashes, extend battery life and increase phone performance and let it run more efficiently.

Note: If you’re using the Google Home app from a tablet, you can also reboot it to resolve the Google routines issue.

Solution 2: Update The Google Home App.

Google regularly releases updates for its apps including Google Home, these updates are released to fix bugs and performance issues and to add new features.

When the app is not updated for a long time, its performance may decrease and many issues start to appear and which could be the reason why the routines aren’t working.

Here’s how to update the Google Home app on Android devices:

1. Open the Google Play Store app.
2. Tap Menu, then my apps & games.
3. Find the Google Home app.
4. Tap Update.

And here’s how to update it on IOS devices:

1. Go to the App Store.
2. At the bottom right of the screen, tap Search.
3. Tap your account.
4. Find the Google Home app.
5. Tap Update.

Solution 3: Update The OS (Operating System).

Also, when the phone’s operating system is not updated, the overall performance of the device will be bad, which may impact the apps installed on the phone and a lot of issues will appear such as the Google routine issue.

So updating your smartphone’s OS will help fix security gaps and clean up outdated software that may slow down your device which may improve your device’s overall performance.

Here’s how to update an Android phone:

1. Make sure your device is connected to Wi-Fi.
2. Open Settings.
3. Select About Phone.
4. Tap Check for Updates.
5. If an update is available, an Update button will appear. Tap it.
6. Install.
7. Depending on the OS, you’ll see Install Now, Reboot and install, or Install System Software. Tap it.

And here’s how to update the IOS phone:

1. Back up your device using iCloud or your computer.
2. Plug your device into power and connect to the internet with Wi-Fi.
3. Go to Settings > General, then tap Software Update.
4. Choose the software update that you want to install.
5. Tap Install Now.

Solution 4: Update The Smart Speaker & Display Firmware.

A routine can be triggered via your voice using devices such as Google’s smart speaker and display, but sometimes there are some bugs inside these devices that may prevent your commands to be processed and the routine will not work as a result.

One of the major issues that prevent your smart speaker and display from working is outdated firmware, updating the firmware to keep the device working efficiently.

Here’s how to check the firmware version you’re using:

1. Open the Google Home app.
2. Tap on the smart speaker or display you want to check.
3. Then tap on Settings.
4. Scroll to the bottom and you’ll find the firmware that your device is using.

Solution 5: Rely on One Language in Your Phone & Google Home app.

It is not recommended to change your language on your Google Home app after setting up your routines, as the voice assistant will not be able to understand what you are saying.

So if the language you use in your Google Home app is different than the one you used when you set up the routine, we recommend changing it to allow the voice assistant to understand your commands and perform your routines accordingly.

Here’s how to change the language on your Google Home app:

1. Open the Google Home app.
2. At the top right, tap your account and then Assistant settings.
3. Then go to Languages.
4. Tap your current language and then choose a new language.

Note: Choosing the language of the same area is also important, If your current language is the English UK and your routine is set up to work with English US, then the routine will work only after changing the language to English US.

Solution 6: Set Up The Routine Again.

If you notice that your routines stopped working right after an update, then the problem is with that update, and the solution here is to delete the routine and create a new one again.

Here’s how to delete a routine:

1. On your Android phone or tablet, say “Hey Google, open Assistant settings.” Or, go to Assistant settings.
2. Under “Popular settings,” tap Routines.
3. Tap a Routine.
4. At the top, tap Edit.
5. At the bottom, tap Remove Routine.

And here’s how to create a new one:

1. Open the Google Home app.
2. Tap Routines and then choose the Routine you want to edit.
3. By default, ready-made Routines already have existing triggers that can’t be deleted.
4. If you want to add an additional trigger, tap When I say to my Assistant then Add another, and then Done.
5. Go back to the Routines screen, then tap Add action and then choose a routine category and then choose an action and then tap Done.
6. Tap Save.

Solution 7: Fix Connectivity Issues.

An internet connection is needed to trigger Google Home’s features. This app relies heavily on an internet connection to perform its tasks.

So if you notice that the routines aren’t working when you run them, go and check your internet connection as it could be the root cause of this issue.

To fix connectivity issues I recommend doing things such as resetting the router, improving Wifi signals, reduce radio frequency interference.

Solution 8: Contact Google’s Customer Support.

The last solution I recommend doing if all previous solutions didn’t get your routines back to work is contacting Google customer support and they’ll provide you with more solutions to your issue.

Final Words.

Finally, I hope this blog post was helpful for you and the tips presented above solved your problem, you can come back to this post whenever you have problems with Google Home Routines.