Since the family of Home devices were released [the original followed by the Mini and the Max] there has literally been an avalanche of articles all over the web describing obvious [and hidden] features, as well as others that provide in depth reviews.
Its a good idea to carry out your own research by typing something like "Google Home Speaker" or "Google Nest Hub" into a search engine like Google. No doubt there will be many hits so to focus the results try including a keyword like 'mini' or 'max'.
If you can't be bothered doing your own research then just take a look below.
Click here for a hand-picked list of interesting articles.
Note all of the tips are listed in a single Google Drive document so, once opened, you can easily search the whole document for keywords using the standard keyboard combination of Ctrl+f.
Click here for the Google Support page that tells you the current "Production" version of the firmware for your device[s] that are normally applied by automatic updates. It also tells you how you can optionally join the "Preview Program" to get an early look at new features that have not yet been rolled into the "Production" version.
Click here for an Android Police article called "Google Home introduces game-changing media controls and reinstates Routine triggering (APK Download)" that tells you all about the revised Media UI.
Click here for a HowToGeek article called "7 Smart Home Devices That Can Double as Hidden Security Cameras" that shows you how to re-purpose devices.
Click here for a CNET article that explains how to solve 3 common problems.
(1) Google Home app doesn't see any devices.
(2) Google Home doesn't recognise my voice.
(3) Google Home can't connect to my lights or the smart home.
Click here for another helpful article by DroidView that has examples of things for you to try when you have an issue with your smart speaker.
Here is how to go about solving the "Could not communicate" setup error that can occur without obvious reason.
This might seem like pure sorcery, but it has been proven to work with several speakers that would get lost right in the middle of setup.
1. Switch the phone you're using the Google Home app on to airplane mode.
2. Manually turn on Wi-Fi (but only Wi-Fi).
3. Open the Google Home app and set up like usual.
Here is how to go about solving the "Google Home can't connect to your smart home" error that can occur when controlling devices.
Your first instinct might be to reboot your modem and router, or, worst-case, the Google Home smart speaker and the device you're trying to control it with. Fact of the matter is rebooting may only work 9 out of 10 times. Here are the steps for the remaining 10% of cases when it doesn't:
1. Open the Google Home app on your phone or tablet.
2. Tap the Settings (gear symbol) icon and scroll to the bottom.
3. Tap Works with Google and find the device that quit working on the list.
4. If the device is listed, tap it then tap Unlink account, tap Unlink to confirm, then tap Settings > Works with Google again after the app returns to the home screen.
5. If the device isn't listed (or it was but you unlinked it and navigated back to the Works with Google menu), tap the Search (magnifying glass) icon in the upper right corner and type the name of the device.
6. Type the device name in the search results and follow prompts to connect it to Google Home.
Here is how to go about solving problems when Google Home says "Something went wrong" and simply refuses to do anything. It may come back at you with a message like, "Oops, something went wrong" or, "There's a glitch," leaving you thinking the problem might be a bit beyond your control.
Every interaction you have with Google Home gets processed remotely on Google servers and, believe it or not, sometimes they go down. If you've already rebooted everything and walked through every troubleshooting guide you could find and still Google Home won't lift a virtual finger to help you, you might just have to wait until Google fixes it on their end.
But you don't just have to sit there wondering. Head over to the Google Home outage page at DownDetector.com to see if other users are reporting issues. If DownDetector is reporting "no problems at Google Home," then you're not off the hook just yet. But if there's a bona fide outage at Google, all you can do at that point is hope you don't get carpal tunnel flicking all those switches like some kind of troglodyte.
Sometimes small problems arise that can be easily fixed by re-cycling the power to the device.
This can be done by physically unplugging it and waiting a minute or so before plugging it back into the mains.
It can also be done by software [handy for multiple speakers] by using the Home App. Click here for a an AndroidPit article that lists common issues and their resolutions.
Sometimes these 'quick fixes' may not clear your issue. In which case click here for a short video that shows you how to carry out a factory reset of your Google Home that should clear up most problems, or it can just be used if you just want to start over again with all the default settings.
Along the same lines click here for another video, this time by CNET, that is helpful as it distinguishes between the different physical models.
Click here for a CNET article "Google Home: 5 ways to fix the problem when Google Assistant doesn't understand you" that goes through these five issues ...
How to right the Wrong Room, Wrong Speaker problem
What to do when Google Home says, 'I don't understand'
When Google Home doesn't know its own speaker names
Perhaps the problem is physical
If your device names all sound the same, you're asking for trouble
Click here for a great video that shows you how to display a variety of things on your TV screen using a Chromecast device.
If you have a like pair [two speakers of the same physical type] then you can use them in a 'stereo pairing' that for your TV [or computer] to provide a better level of audio experience.
SINGLE Speaker
Click here to read another CNET article "Convert your Google Home into a free TV speaker -- here's how" that runs through what you need to do.
PAIRED Speakers
Click here to read a CNET article "Pair your Google Home speakers to uplevel your computer or TV" that shows you how to do it and give them a handy name like "MySpeakers"
Click here to read the Google Support page for more information.
Connect your Paired Speakers to a TV or other device
If you've created a speaker pair [as outlined at PAIRED Speakers above] then you can easily connect them to pretty much any Bluetooth-enabled device ....
1. Say, "Hey, Google, pair Bluetooth" to put your speakers into pairing mode.
2. Go to the Bluetooth settings on the device you want to use [your TV or whatever] with the speakers and look for "MySpeakers" (or whatever you named your stereo pair).
If you have two or more speakers / devices enabled with Google Assistant then you may want to have them work together at times so that they all play the same music, or whatever, simultaneously. In which case click here to read the support page on the topic.
Click here for a 9to5google article called "Android TV devices can now be added to Google Home speaker groups" which includes devices like the Nvidia Shield.
Click here for a Google Support page entitled "Use multi-room control with the Google Home app or your Google Nest display" for some clever tricks with speakers.
Click here for a CNET article about "Get thousands of free audio books on your Google Home".
Click here for a CNET article about "9 tips for music lovers".
Click here for a Google Support page that tells you how to "Relax with your Google Nest or Home speaker or display"
Click here for a CNET article that explains how to connect your phone etc. to your speaker[s] using Bluetooth, and also how to get 'awkwardly' named tracks or albums to play properly.
Open the Google Home app and scroll down on the home page to find your speaker.
Tap on it and then tap the gear icon in the upper right.
Next, tap on Night Mode and toggle on Enable Night Mode.
You can now select a 'quiet period' [say 9pm to 9am] where the volume level is lowered.
There is now a way to easily send an audio message to one of your contacts rather than just a plain old SMS text message.
Click here to see a HowToGeek article called "How to Send Audio Messages with Google Assistant" that tells you all you need to know.
The easiest way to fire up a podcast on Google Home is by simply telling your Google Assistant to play the podcast you want to hear.
You can start a podcast by saying “OK Google, play <podcast name>.”
For example, if you want to listen to the TrainerRoad Ask a Cycling Coach podcast, just tell Home to “play the latest episode of the TrainerRoad podcast” and it knows exactly what you are talking about.
You can pause, stop, and resume with voice commands, as well.
Just keep in mind that if you want to resume the podcast, you’ll have to explicitly state the podcast name again to get it to work correctly—so, “Hey Google, continue listening to the TrainerRoad podcast” should do the trick. This is currently the recommended command from Google.
Click here for a CNET article called "Learn 5 ways your smart speaker is a wiz with words" that can help you with all kinds of spelling, definitions etc.
Click here for a Google Support page that explains how to "Have a video meeting with your Google Nest Hub Max"