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11 simple tips and tricks for your Google Nest Hub

Google's Nest Hub smart displays can be easier to use than your smartphone or PC. The integrated voice commands make using the Nest Hub an intuitive experience. Still, learning about less obvious features is difficult when there's no graphical user interface. Google shows tips and tricks on the Hub's homescreen, but they don't go into much detail.

Did you know that many of the best smart light brands are compatible with this tool? The Nest Hub (formerly named the Home Hub) and Nest Hub Max have many features you might not catch at first glance. Most of these features are relevant to any smart display powered by Google Assistant.

11 Change the Photo Frame

The Nest Hub displays recent images from your Google Photos library when not in use. You can change this default setting by selecting your smart display in the Google Home app and tweaking the assistant settings. To swap out Google Photos, open the Home app, tap the Settings gear icon, and select Photo Frame.

You can select what appears on the Nest Hub's main screen. Options include images from Google Photos, an art gallery, or a full-screen clock. If you choose Google Photos, you can pick specific albums and the default Recent highlights collection.

There are a lot of settings in the Photo Frame menu you can try. Settings worth checking out include a temperature display, alerts for upcoming events, and a photo display timer. Personalizing your home display is a neat element of any smart display system.

10 Turn off the screen at night

You can have your Nest Hub auto-detect when the lights are off and adjust accordingly. This feature is helpful if you keep your smart display in the bedroom. Select your Nest Hub in the Google Home app, tap the Settings icon, and select Display Settings.

Screenshot shows the low light Display settings options in the Google Home app.

There are various helpful settings options in Display Settings. Look at During low light to tinker with how your smart display responds to the lights being turned off. You can have your smart display turn off the screen or show a clock. If you want to wake up your display, all you need to say is, "OK Google."

9 Use Google Chromecast to share content

Screenshot shows a podcast streaming on a Nest Hub smart display.

Watching YouTube on the Nest Hub is easy enough, but what about other content? Perhaps the most versatile aspect of the Nest Hub is that it functions as a Google Chromecast target. You can press the Cast button from many apps on your phone to play content like music, podcasts, and movies on the Nest Hub's screen.

You can play podcasts from Pocket Casts, watch a series from services like Plex or Hulu, stream your favorite games from Twitch, cast a Chrome tab from your PC, and more. You can also pause or skip content with voice commands ("OK Google, pause") or by tapping the screen. The catch is that a handful of content providers block the ability to cast to smart displays. Amazon Prime Video is the main offender here, as Netflix finally enabled casting support on the Nest Hub in 2020. Presumably, the e-commerce giant would rather you buy an Amazon Echo Show to watch Prime Video on a smart display.

8 Turn your Google Nest device into an interpreter

Screenshot shows the interpreter screen on a Google smart home system display.

Many people don't know that Google Translate's interpreter mode is available on all Assistant-powered smart displays. The feature allows two people to speak to each other in different languages, with the smart display acting as a two-way translator. To get started, use the "OK Google" voice command and say something like "Be my French interpreter" or "Help me speak Spanish."

Interpreter mode is still prone to Google Translate's usual problems with complex sentence structures, and it only works with around 30 languages. It's still an interesting function that could come in handy.

7 Search in Google Photos

Animation shows Google Nest Hub display showing a slideshow of requested images.

You can start a slideshow of images from your Google Photos library on your Nest Hub. Just say a command like "show my photos from Florida" or "show my photos of Bob," and matching images cycle through on the display.

This works with the same search queries as the Google Photos app, so matches are usually very accurate. Even specific commands like "show my photos of raccoons" should yield results.

6 Set up Routines

Google Assistant Routines are as close as you can get to automation on the Nest Hub. Once you create a Routine and give it a command phrase, saying the activation phrase starts any actions contained in the Routine. For example, you could create a routine called "rain" that sets your Nest Hub to a specific volume before playing rain sounds. To activate it, all you say is, "Hey Google, rain."

To create and edit your Routines, open the Google Home app on your phone and press your profile icon in the upper-right corner. Then navigate to Assistant Settings, go to the Assistant tab, and select Routines.

Routines are one of the most powerful features you can use on the Google Home platform. Google has some ready-made options you can try, like the popular "Good morning" routine. This preset tells you the news of the day, the weather, and more. Routines aren't as powerful or customizable as something like Tasker, but they bring a lot of convenience (and simplicity) to your smart display system.

5 Connect with IFTTT

IFTTT, short for "If This, Then That," is an online automation platform that connects hundreds of services. You can use it to create DIY integration between Google Assistant and other platforms. Examples include custom voice commands that can help you create notes with Evernote, restart your PC, or post a tweet. This is similar to Routines but with expansive third-party service support.

Screenshot shows a basic explanation of the IFTTT system. Subheadings read "Say a simple phrase, Say a phrase with a number, Say a phrase with a text ingredient, Say a phrase with both a number and a text ingredient."

If there's something you can't do with your Nest Hub on its own, there's a chance it could be done with IFTTT. To get started, browse the pre-made Assistant applets. You can even create your own once you're familiar with the system.

Screenshot shows an example of a set of IFTTT actions.

Each phrase can only execute one action unless you sign up for IFTTT Pro. Pro grants unlimited applets and the option to create multiple actions from one trigger. Also, Google has no way of knowing if IFTTT fails to execute the action. Sometimes it can be hard to tell if the command was successful.

4 Manage multiple calendars

By default, the Nest Hub only displays upcoming events from the calendars you created. For example, if you subscribe to an external calendar for upcoming sports events, asking your Nest Display, "What's on my calendar," won't include results from the sports schedule. However, you can change this behavior.

The setting for which calendars Assistant can access can be tricky to find. Here's one way to get to it:

  1. Open the Google Home app on your phone.
  2. Press your profile icon in the upper-right corner.
  3. Select Assistant settings.
  4. Scroll down and tap Calendar.

Here you can change which calendars Google Assistant (and, by extension, your Nest Hub) can read. You can also set the default calendar for creating events to any calendar you have permission to modify.

3 Add all your hardware and services

It's alright if you don't always want to cast from your phone to your Google Nest Hub. You can connect your favorite video, music, and radio services to Google Assistant. Once connected, you can ask your smart display to play content from Netflix, Spotify, Apple Music, Sling, and other streaming services.

The simplest way to set this up is by pressing the plus button in the upper-left corner of the Google Home app's homescreen. Under Manage services, you can pick music, video, radio, and other options. Most categories allow you to set a default service, which will be used when you don't specify a service in the command.

If you prefer to watch your favorite shows from the Google Play Store and other streaming services, connect your new Nest Hub to your Google TV and say, "OK Google, play the latest episode of Russian Doll on my TV." You can even connect your Hub to other devices in your house, like your Google Nest Mini or Nest Cam. This allows you to stream audio in every room of your house and see who's at the door without getting off the couch.

2 Enable start/stop sounds

By default, the Nest Hub doesn't play a sound after you say the activation keyword (either "Hey Google" or "OK Google"), so there's no way to know if it hears you until you stop talking. If you want to add an audio confirmation that tells you the Nest Hub is listening, you can do that.

  1. Select your Nest Hub in the Google Home app.
  2. Tap the Settings gear in the upper-right corner.
  3. Select Audio.
  4. Tap Audio accessibility.

You can enable start and stop sounds for Assistant on this screen.

1 Connect via Bluetooth

If you want to play audio content on your Nest Hub from another phone or smart home device that doesn't have Google Chromecast, there's an easy workaround. The Nest Hub can act as a Bluetooth speaker, allowing you to stream audio from any device that supports the Bluetooth protocol. It's especially useful with PCs, iPhones, and other devices with limited Chromecast support.

  1. Select your Nest Hub in the Google Home app.
  2. Tap the Settings gear in the upper-right corner.
  3. Select Audio.
  4. Select Paired Bluetooth devices.

Here you can enable pairing mode, which causes the Nest Hub to appear as a Bluetooth speaker to nearby devices.

Make the most of your Google Nest Hub experience

Now that you've picked up some of the most useful Google Nest Hub tips and tricks, you're ready to get the most out of your smart home system. A good place to start is by setting up lighting routines. If you've already done so with the popular Philips Hue smart lights but want to reconfigure them, you can always look at how to reset your Philips Hue smart lights.