What to do if Google Assistant isn't working

Google Assistant will easily talk to you, set an alarm for a specific time, turn on your favorite music and very soon make an order in a restaurant on its own - you just have to tell him about it. The assistant recognizes dozens of commands that will come in handy in everyday life. But what if your smart assistant doesn't work on your device?

Check if your helper starts

To use the Google Assistant, all you have to do is download the Google search app and install English, German or French on your device. If you have everything, then try pressing and holding the "Home" button unlocked, or use the voice command "Ok Google". You should see the message “Hi, how can I help?” Appear on your screen. This means Google Assistant is working.

If, instead of a dialogue with the assistant, a window with a search engine or the Now on Top function appears, then you should turn on Google Assistant yourself. To do this, go to the Google app settings. From the Settings menu, select Phone. There, turn on Google Assistant and Access with Voice Match. Do not forget to change the device language to English: Russian is not supported yet.

See if your phone supports Google Assistant

Please note that for the voice assistant to work properly, your device must meet these minimum requirements.

Android:

Operating system Android 5.0 or higher.
Google app version 6.13 or higher.
Installed Google Play services.
RAM from 1, 4 GB.
Screen resolution 720p or higher.

iOS:

Operating system iOS 10 or higher.
Works on iPhone or iPad only.

Some devices do not support Google Assistant without a standalone app. If Google does not show the voice assistant function in the settings, then install it via Google Play.

To download the app from the App Store, you need an American Apple ID.

Disable Bixby or S Voice

Samsung devices have their own built-in Bixby and S Voice voice assistants, which can block access to Google Assistant. If you do not want to use them, then they should be disabled.

To disable Bixby, go to the Settings menu and select Bixby key. Click on Don’t open anything. Try running Google Assistant.

If that doesn't help, then turn off S Voice. Double-click the Home button and then go to the Settings menu. Disable the Open with Home Button feature. After that, S Voice should not interfere with the use of Google Voice Assistant.

Reinstall the Google app

If the above methods did not help you, then try reinstalling the official Google app on your device or do one of these actions:

Clear the cache and do a data reset in the Google app.
Try to install the latest version of Google search engine. It can be downloaded here.
Restart your phone or do a factory reset.