How To

How to control Google Home without your voice – CNET

Published

The most common way you interact with your Google Home ($99 at Walmart) is speaking to it, but it’s not the only way.

Perhaps you’ve lost your voice, or it’s late at night and you don’t want to wake up anyone. Maybe you’re just flat-out annoyed at having to say “OK, Google” for the most basic of commands.

No matter the reason, here are a few handy tips (pun fully intended) for controlling the Home without saying a word.

Now playing: Watch this: Tips on picking out the perfect smart speaker

3:50

Taps and swipes

While the Google Home Hub ($129 at Walmart) has a full touchscreen, the Google Home, Home Mini ($49 at Google Store), and Home Max speakers all let you use touch gestures to control the speaker, too.

Note: Gesture volume controls only affect media playback. To change the volume of alarms or timers, you must use the Google Home app.

Google Home

  • Tap once on the top of the Home to play or pause music or videos playing on a nearby TV through Chromecast ($39 at eBay).
  • A single tap on the top also stops alarms and timers.
  • Long press until Assistant’s lights start blinking, awaiting your voice command.
  • Drawing a circle in a clockwise motion increases volume.
  • Drawing a circle in counter-clockwise motion decreases volume.

Google Home Mini

  • Long press either side of the speaker to play or pause music or end phone calls.
  • Tap the right side to increase the volume.
  • Tap the left side to lower the volume.
  • You can also start requests with your voice on the Mini.

Google Home Max

Horizontal configuration:

  • Tap the line on the top of the speaker to pause and play media.
  • Swipe left to right on the line to increase the volume.
  • Swipe right to left to decrease volume.

Vertical configuration:

  • Tap the line on the right side to pause and play media.
  • Swipe up on the line to increase volume.
  • Swipe down to decrease the volume.

Adjust volume from your phone

The Google Home works just as any other Chromecast device when streaming content from your phone or tablet, so you can adjust the volume without touching Home or using a voice command.

To do so, open the Google Home app and tap on the speaker you want to control, then adjust the volume as you see fit. Alternatively, if you’re casting music from an app on your phone or tablet, you can use the volume slider in said app or the physical volume buttons on your device to adjust playback levels.

How to set up your new Google Home speaker

CNET’s Guide to Smart Living: Make you home and life smarter

Google Home