Step up your game with these Google Home features and the best Chromecast tricks for your smart home devices.
Want to buy one of the Google Home or Nest Audio smart speakers, or maybe a Google Chromecast? ¿ Might want to take advantage to the maximum that you already have ? Regardless of the hot option we give you a good list of the best hidden features of Google Home and Nest Audio, along with some tips from Google Chromecast.
Table of Contents
Google Home and Nest Audio tips and tricks
Find your phone
Having previously relied on IFTTT plugins, Google introduced native support for finding your phone using the smart speaker . Google Home and Nest Audio speakers can make your phone ring when you put it under a cushion or in the other room, even when it’s silent. All you have to do to get the job done is say, “ Okay, Google. Find / ring my phone ”.
To make sure the feature works, you will need to be on the same Google account on both your phone and the Home Hub . Google should be able to call your phone if you are connected to a mobile or Wi-Fi network.
Remember where you left things
In addition to finding your phone, Google Home and Nest Audio speakers can serve as a helpful reminder for those important but easily forgotten items found around your home, like your ID or house keys. For example, you can say something like ” Ok Google, my ID is on the nightstand “, and it will remind you when I ask later, ” Ok Google, where is my ID ?”
Share your smart home with Google Home
Exchanging Wi-Fi passwords with guests is a chore at best, and setting up a friend in your smart home is even trickier, especially if they just want to stream a new song for you to listen to. One of our favorite Google Home tips simplifies this process with its ” Guest Mode “.
Enabling this Google Home feature in your settings allows others with the Home app to quickly connect to devices in your home by entering a four-digit PIN on your guest’s smartphone. It is very simple.
To get the job done, open the Google Home app on your phone, switch to the home you want to share, tap the + icon at the top, select the Invite a household member option , and then add their email address. the person and tap Add . The person will then receive an email with instructions on what to do.
Meet your family by voice
Many of the most useful features of Google Home and Google Nest, such as managing your calendar or getting traffic tips for the route to work, are linked to your unique Google account. Fortunately, you can add multiple accounts to your Google Home, allowing your voice assistant to recognize the commands of each individual family member just by voice . In this way, it is possible for each family member to add new items to their own calendar or receive personalized news reports in the morning.
¿ Want to try if Google is paying attention ? Ask ” Who am I ?” Or “What is my name ?” And hopefully your voice assistant will be able to distinguish them all. You can set up multiple accounts for your smart speaker in the Google Home app.
Ask Google Home to remind you to exercise
Sometimes we are so busy that we forget to take care of ourselves. If you like to exercise at a certain time of the day or week, you can ask Google Home to remind you to exercise at a specific time. It’s one of our favorite Google Home features.
Get word definitions
Have you ever paused to reflect on a word or phrase while reading a book or article? One of the Google Home features can help with that, too. He simply asks, “What does ‘pontificate’ mean? ».
Control your smart home devices!
One of the best things you can do with smart speakers and displays is control your smart home devices. This includes smart bulbs, switches, cameras, locks, and any other smart home device you can think of.
Assuming you have compatible devices, you can say things like ” OK Google, turn on the lights in the living room ” or ” OK Google, open the front door .”
Play with Google Home
Bored? Google Home and Google Nest Audio devices have a host of voice-activated games and entertainment. They include fast-paced trivia to a geography quiz, or even a selection of selected jokes.
Quick phrases / shortcuts
Some Google Home features include handy shortcuts / routines for some of your most frequently spoken phrases. If you’re sick of asking for your favorite radio station or playlist when you’re chilling out after work, you can simply set a shortcut. These fully customizable options are found under Settings> More Settings> Wizard> Routines in the Home app.
Control your Chromecast with Google Home
Expanding your smart home beyond a single Google Home hub opens up a world of possibilities. The first add-on you should consider is a Chromecast, which frees up your TV to stream just about anything from the internet.
Read next: Set up Chromecast on Android and iOS
Using nothing but voice commands, it is possible to start a video of your choice on YouTube or Netflix . The same applies to Spotify, Google Play Music, TuneIn, and other music sites. You can also search for something less specific, like a recipe video guide, and Google will send a video result directly to your Chromecast. Google Home also supports pause, and volume controls via voice, so you don’t need to have your phone or remote nearby.
Relax to the sounds of nature.
If you just want to relax after a long day at work, you can ask Google Home to play the sounds of nature . These include river, forest, or chimney sounds. You can even tell Google to ” play the sound of the rain ” and it will show an hour-long recording.
There are many other sounds that Google Home has online. These include the sounds of the ocean and thunderstorms, just to name a few.
Chromecast tips and tricks
Also stream local content
Google’s Chromecast is all about webcasting, so streaming local content to your TV has been left as a secondary option. Using Chrome to stream your PC desktop or the streaming screen / audio option on your phone is an option that is fortunately contemplated in applications such as Plex, AllCast and LocalCast that can help you organize your collection of offline media that you have saved for stream directly to your TV.
Keep using your TV remote control
Being able to play, pause and adjust the volume of your streamed content from the phone is quite useful, but it is not always the best solution if the phone needs to be charged or even if you have left it in another room. Fortunately, Chromecast supports normal TV remotes for pause / play, etc. You just need a TV that is HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) compliant and have Pass Through Routing Control enabled in the TV settings.
The added benefit of enabling HDMI-CEC routing control is that the TV will be forced to switch to Chromecast input as soon as content starts playing. So you no longer have to scroll through HDMI input channels .
Some TV manufacturers call HDMI-CEC by different names. Here’s a quick list of some of the most popular brands: Samsung calls it Anynet + , Sharp calls it Aquos Link , Phillips calls it EasyLink , LG calls it SimpLink, and Sony calls it Bravia Link .
You can also get the newest Chromecast with Google TV. Besides having a real smart TV interface, it comes with a perfect remote control . You can even talk to him thanks to the remote’s Google Assistant support and built-in microphone.
Play, even with motion control
You don’t have to stick to streaming music and videos to use your Chromecast; games are perfectly workable too . In fact, there are games specifically designed for Chromecast available to download from the Play Store, so it’s not just about casting your phone’s screen to your TV screen.
Reactivate your vacation photos
Chromecast already displays some pretty cool wallpapers when it’s not streaming any content, but you can also customize the images and information displayed on the screen. Go into the Home app and then into the Background settings for your Chromecast , and you can select images from a variety of sources, including Google Photos, Facebook, and Flickr.
In combination with Google Home, you can also request that photos of a specific location , month, or person be displayed directly on your TV. If you are a Google Photos user , you will find your images automatically classified into various categories thanks to the service’s intelligence algorithms. This is a handy way to display your latest vacation photos.
Enable guest mode
As with Google Home, you don’t have to mess around with Wi-Fi codes to allow your guests to cast content to your Chromecast. Go to the Home app and your Chromecast settings. From here you can enable guest mode , which uses a guest’s location settings and audio pairing to quickly connect if they are within 10 meters of the device.
