Google routers can prioritize video conferencing or gaming traffic

An update to Google's Nest Wifi and Wifi routers will allow you to choose what traffic the devices will prioritize automatically. Using the Home app, you can select if it should prioritize activities like video conferencing or gaming. The feature arrives with the Q4 firmware update (v13099.118.19), and it requires version 2.31 of the Home app.

Heading into the Wi-Fi settings of the app, you should see the new Preferred activities option. The two choices are currently focused on the two activities mentioned above. For gaming, it will prioritize Stadia. While for video conferencing, it prioritizes apps like Google Meet and Zoom. It isn't clear if this network prioritization option only applies to the mentioned apps.

Click to read more ...

Google says its working on old Bluetooth connectivity issues on Home devices

Google Home device's issues with staying connected via Bluetooth isn't a new problem. Users have been complaining about the issue since 2018. But it took Google until this year to publicly acknowledge the issue and say that it is working on the problem. The Google Nest account on Twitter replied to a user reporting the problem. The company said, "We're sorry for the trouble! Our team is already aware of this and we're working on a fix, we'll bubble this up to our team and check back in once we have an update. Hang tight!"

A specialist on the Google Nest support also acknowledged the issue, saying the team is working on a fix. They're encouraging users to send feedback about the problem via voice command by saying, "Hey Google, send feedback," and use the keywords "GHT3 Bluetooth IN keeps on disconnect." Now, we're hoping the company fixes this relatively old problem quickly.

Source: Android Police

Google Assistant will be less talkative when controlling lights

This may have happened to you. You asked Google Assistant to switch off the lights for the evening so you can sleep. Google Home then answers back, probably a bit louder than you'd like, to confirm that it's turning off the lights... as it, well, turns off the lights. It seems kind of redundant and counterintuitive, doesn't it? Google has heard you and it's started rolling out a new feature. Assistant will no longer verbally confirm that it's turning off lights. Google Home will chime to let you know that it's processed your request, as long as it's in the same room as the lights. And it doesn't just work for turning off lights, it'll work for all light-related actions like dimming, changing colors, etc. It'll also work for switches and plugs identified as lights in Assistant's settings. Smart lights will reportedly be getting the new, quieter confirmation in the coming weeks. And this feature will supposedly work for all Assistant-powered speakers and displays, as long as the device is grouped in the same room in your account.

Source: Android Police 

Digital Wellbeing features spotted by some Google Home users

Looks like Google is taking its Digital Wellbeing features beyond Android 9 Pie and bringing it to its Google Home platform. Reddit user /u/alexanderbumpertramp spotted a new Digital Wellbeing option in the Google Home app. This feature is meant to help people curb smartphone addiction by showing how much time they’ve spent on their phones and do things like set app timers, help wind down usage at night, to name a few. There are currently two features available in the app: filters and downtime. Filter lets you add an age restriction and prevents non-registered users from playing media. Meanwhile, downtime blocks all voice commands during a specific time. This seems to be a staged rollout, though, so you might not see it for your Google Home device of choice just yet. We can’t say either if it’s coming to all Google Home users as sometimes these features get regional restrictions but we’re keeping our eyes peeled for any updates.

Source: XDA Developers