A ton of products and features were announced at Google's October 4th event, and among those was a broadcast feature for the Google Home line. If you have several Homes in your home, this is sure to come in handy when you need to communicate something with the entire house.
A simple "Ok Google, broadcast..." ahead of your intended message will get it sent out through every Home in the house, much like a PA system. These can be transmitted through Google Homes and Google Assistant on your phone. Examples given include "Ok Google, broadcast it's time to leave for school," and "Ok Google, broadcast I'm on my way home." Plus, saying "Ok Google, broadcast it's dinner time" will emulate a dinner bell's ringing, which is pretty nifty. Other "delightful sounds" (yes, that's what Google is calling them) will sound for other meals, waking up, "TV time," and so on.
The feature is rolling out today in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Just make sure that you're signed in with the same Google account on all Home devices, the Homes are on the same WiFi network, and they're running firmware version 1.26.93937 or higher.
Broadcast from Google Home device to Google Home device
- Two or more Google Home devices (any combination of Google Home or Google Home Mini).
- All Google Home devices are on the same Wi-Fi network.
- At least one member of the household has signed in to each of the Google Home devices.
- Do Not Disturb is off.
- Google Home device firmware versionis 1.26.93937 or higher.
If the message is started on a Google Home device, it plays on all Google Home devices that:
- are on the same Wi-Fi network.
- are signed in tothe same Google Account(s) as the originating device.
Broadcast from phone to Google Home device
- A phone with the Google Assistant and at least one Google Home device.
- Your phone meets the Google Assistant requirements.
- The same Google Account signed in on the phone is signed in to each Google Home device.
- Do Not Disturb is off.
- Google Home device firmware version is 1.26.93937 or higher.
If the message is started on a phone, it plays on all Google Home devices that are signed in to the same Google Account.Broadcast a custom message
To do this...
Say "Ok Google," then...
Create a custom message
"Broadcast/shout/tell/announce <message>"
This broadcasts on all devices except the device you're broadcasting from.
Broadcast delightful sounds
To broadcast a message for:
Say "Ok Google," then...
Wake up
"Broadcast..."
- wake up everyone
- "(it's) time to wake up"
Breakfast
"Broadcast..."
- breakfast is ready
- breakfast is served
- (it's) time for breakfast
Lunch
"Broadcast..."
- (your) lunch is ready
- it's lunch time
Dinner
"Broadcast..."
- dinner is served
- dinner is ready
- ring dinner bell
- (it's) time for dinner
- it's dinner time
Time to leave
"Broadcast..."
- (it's) time to get out
- (it's) time to leave
- (it's) time to leave home
- (it's) time to leave the house
Arrived home
"Broadcast..."
- I'm home
- I'm here
On the way
"Broadcast..."
- (I'm) on the way
- (I'll) be home soon
- (I'll) be back soon
Movie time
"Broadcast..."
- (it's) movie time
- the movie is about to start
- let's go to the movie
TV time
"Broadcast..."
- the show is about to start
- it's time to watch tv
- (it's) tv time
Bedtime
"Broadcast..."
- (it's) time to bed
- sleep time
- we should go to bed
These broadcast on all devices including the device you're broadcasting from.