How does Google Home differ from Amazon?

[fasttimes]

So I picked up a few google minis at a sweet price.  20% off plus two $25 vouchers for Walmart on Google Express.

 

I hooked it up to the portal and it works fine but was wondering how it's usage with the portal differs from Alexa.  I noticed that Google Home allows you to assign devices to rooms, but I can't see what that does.

[stusviews]

If you assign a device to a room and ask Google to turn on the light, then only that room's light will turn on. That does require that the Google Home physically be in that room. Otherwise, you'd need to name the light, such as "bedroom light,"

 

So you can have a google Home in the living room and one in the bedroom and the same command in each room will affect only the devices in that room. You can add the bedroom lightt to the living room, but you'd need to name it, such as "bedroom light".

 

That way, if you're in the bedroom, you can ask Google to turn on the "light" and to "turn off the living room light."

[larryllix]

This a fairly new topic for these units. It may be in your interest to go to BestBuy and pick up an Echo Dot for $49 (or the occasional sale at $39) and try one yourself.

 

 

I have had four Amazon units for a year or so and just saw a GH the other day at my sister-in-law's for a few hours. I was very impressed with it's capabilities, non-HA features. 

She can't even program a dumb thermostat but had GH running music and radio stations coming up at will. We had music blaring and GH still understood soft voices across the room. My echo and dot in my gathering room becomes totally deaf if my TV is on with big speakers at normal medium volumes.

 

It's going to be mostly your decision and experiencing both before spending lots more money would be better made by experience.

 

There are a few hear with both so they may chime in here.

[fasttimes]

If you assign a device to a room and ask Google to turn on the light, then only that room's light will turn on. That does require that the Google Home physically be in that room. Otherwise, you'd need to name the light, such as "bedroom light,"

 

So you can have a google Home in the living room and one in the bedroom and the same command in each room will affect only the devices in that room. You can add the bedroom lightt to the living room, but you'd need to name it, such as "bedroom light".

 

That way, if you're in the bedroom, you can ask Google to turn on the "light" and to "turn off the living room light."

So let’s say I have two fans “Living Room Fan” and “Bedroom fan”, does that mean I can turn on either fan from any GV device and each specific GV I can use “turn on fan” and it will only turn on that fan?

[fasttimes]

If you assign a device to a room and ask Google to turn on the light, then only that room's light will turn on. That does require that the Google Home physically be in that room. Otherwise, you'd need to name the light, such as "bedroom light,"

 

So you can have a google Home in the living room and one in the bedroom and the same command in each room will affect only the devices in that room. You can add the bedroom lightt to the living room, but you'd need to name it, such as "bedroom light".

 

That way, if you're in the bedroom, you can ask Google to turn on the "light" and to "turn off the living room light."

What happens if you have unassigned devices? Will “turn on lights” do everything?

[stusviews]

So let’s say I have two fans “Living Room Fan” and “Bedroom fan”, does that mean I can turn on either fan from any GV device and each specific GV I can use “turn on fan” and it will only turn on that fan?

 

Yes as I understand Google rooms. I do that with multiple Amazon accounts. When I'm in the bedroom, turn on the fan controls only the bedroom. In the living room, the same command turns on just the living room fan. If I want to turn on the bedroom fan when I'm in the living room, then I need to specify "bedroom fan."

 

What happens if you have unassigned devices? Will “turn on lights” do everything?

 

 If a device is not added to the portal and the Google Home, then you won't have any voice control for that device.

[fasttimes]

 

 If a device is not added to the portal and the Google Home, then you won't have any voice control for that device.

I’m talking about devices that show in Google Home, but are not assigned to a room.

[stusviews]

How many Google Home devices do you have? With Alexa to respond differently in each "room" I need multiple portal accounts to accommodate using the same spoken for each actual room.

[fasttimes]

At the moment I have two GH minis. I have several echo dots, but was too lazy to create multiple accounts. There is the “wife factor” I have to consider. I don’t want to make it confusing for her, but I don’t want to annoy they hell out of her during setup time.

[stusviews]

Setting up multiple accounts doesn't affect anything during the set-up. But you may want to wait for the release of ISY skill V3 which purportedly allows the same result without multiple accounts.

[brians]

I tried this in my master bedroom google mini by saying to turn on the light and it turned on all lights in every room along with my master bedroom. Doesn’t work for me like explained in this thread. I do have lights assigned to specific rooms in google home app.

I tried different way asking to turn on lights in this room and it turned on lights in family room downstairs - and there is no way that google mini could have heard me down there.

[MWareman]

I have not tried this yet - but you said you assigned your lights to rooms. Did you assign the mini to the room as well?

 

I’m going to be figuring this one myself real soon.

 

Edit: I just tried ‘Turn on the lights in this room’ - and it seemed to turn all lights on only where they are in the same room that the home itself is assigned to. It tells me it’s turning on 6 lights... which is odd because I only have 3 in the group, and only 3 lights come on...

Edited December 3, 2017 by MWareman

[asbril]

I have not tried this yet - but you said you assigned your lights to rooms. Did you assign the mini to the room as well?

 

I’m going to be figuring this one myself real soon.

 

Edit: I just tried ‘Turn on the lights in this room’ - and it seemed to turn all lights on only where they are in the same room that the home itself is assigned to. It tells me it’s turning on 6 lights... which is odd because I only have 3 in the group, and only 3 lights come on...

In my case GH tells me that it is turning on 3 lights, but it in fact turns on (as it should) 7 lights