Assistant on the Samsung galaxy S7

[Android Central Question]

Samsung crippled the S7 from using the google assistant completely, as the voice control does not work ( i have tried all the workarounds, disabling svoice etc, none of them work, the "OK Google" voice command does nothing.

Now they have the S8 with bixby.
That leaves the S7 with no google voice and bixby is not avialable for the S7.

besides rooting and invalidating the warranty to get bixby on my S7, is there any legit way to get an assistant fully working on the S7?

 

[theonecid]

What are you talking about? Did you even enable Google voice in the settings in order to trigger it with "Ok Google" ? It works if you have it enabled. Go to Google settings, Search, Voice and enable it. Google Assistant works great on S7.

 

[wilson_smyth]

What are you talking about? Did you even enable Google voice in the settings in order to trigger it with "Ok Google" ? It works if you have it enabled. Go to Google settings, Search, Voice and enable it. Google Assistant works great on S7.

Completely free hands free operation does not work for me on the S7 .
If i hold the home button, yes, ok google works then, but to have the phone sitting on the table, or the dash of a car and say "ok google", nothing happens.

I have spend a few hours trying various solutions online and none have worked. Samsung have disabled the option of having the mic always on, on the s7.

 

[11B1P]

Samsung crippled the S7 from using the google assistant completely, as the voice control does not work ( i have tried all the workarounds, disabling svoice etc, none of them work, the "OK Google" voice command does nothing

From the lock screen, my S7 will not open with GV. But, if I simply press my home button and say OK Google, it opens right up with GV asking me what I need. It seems like it used to open from the lock screen, but that was MM and I barely had any experience with it until Nougat arrived.

 

[wilson_smyth]

From the lock screen, my S7 will not open with GV. But, if I simply press my home button and say OK Google, it opens right up with GV asking me what I need. It seems like it used to open from the lock screen, but that was MM and I barely had any experience with it until Nougat arrived.

You need to press the home button. there is the problem, i want the assistant mostly when im driving. On my wifes phone it works flawlessly when im driving. with my s7 i have to hold the home button before saying "ok google".

Its basically slightly inhibited purposefully by samsung, in hope that at the time we would use S voice, but as its not particularly good, nobody did use it.

Now the s7 is in limbo, google assistant doesnt fully work, and bixby doesnt work at all.

 

[11B1P]

You need to press the home button. there is the problem. with my s7 i have to hold the home button before saying "ok google".

It's not a problem. Press, release and say OK Google. If you're "holding" the home button down, you're either (a) doing it wrong, or (b) your phone is messed up.

Pressing, holding and saying OK Google gives me the same results as pressing, releasing and saying OK Google.

 

[wilson_smyth]

It's not a problem. Press, release and say OK Google. If you're "holding" the home button down, you're either (a) doing it wrong, or (b) your phone is messed up.

Pressing, holding and saying OK Google gives me the same results as pressing, releasing and saying OK Google.

i dont want to touch the phone when im driving. holding or touching the button, either way its a fail

 

[11B1P]

i dont want to touch the phone when im driving. holding or touching the button, either way its a fail

I agree. Put it in your pocket and forget it until you reach your destination.

 

[wilson_smyth]

I agree. Put it in your pocket and forget it until you reach your destination.

Point is if it worked correctly I could utilize it while im driving rather than putting it in my pocket and forgetting about it.

its a 700 quid device, id like to get value from it and use it safely when driving, rather than it turning into an expensive pocket warmer when i drive.

Anyway, long thread short, seems that the answer to my question is that there is no legit way to get any of the assistants working fully on the S7

 

[Ca_lvn]

I have the pixel 2 and the Google Assistant works from my pocket every time amazing she can her like that

 

[TNRonin]

I wonder why it won't call out in car mode but will sitting at the house.

 

[Groundhound]

Here’s what works for me; I keep my screen on when I want Google Assistant to listen for the “OK Google” command. Keeping the screen on past 10 min. is not available on the normal screen timeout settings, but I can toggle between 2 min and indefinite by using the Trigger app and a single NFC tag (sticker) on the side of my desk. So I typically have my phone on a wireless charger on my desk with the screen timeout set to stay on via the NFC tag. When I leave my desk and take the phone with me, I tap it against the NFC tag and the screen timeout goes back to 2 min. You could also use an NFC tag in your car to do the same thing or just run an app that keeps the screen awake. Obviously you will need to keep your phone plugged into a charger but that’s usually a good idea while in a car anyway.

Alternately, there is an option to keep the phone awake while charging in Settings > Developer Options, but I’ve not used that.

 

[anon(10271520)]

Point is if it worked correctly I could utilize it while im driving rather than putting it in my pocket and forgetting about it.

its a 700 quid device, id like to get value from it and use it safely when driving, rather than it turning into an expensive pocket warmer when i drive.

Anyway, long thread short, seems that the answer to my question is that there is no legit way to get any of the assistants working fully on the S7

It is working correctly. It was never sold as a device that Google Assistant can be activated even when the screen is off. If you want that feature than get a Pixel or something else. This is a you problem, not a phone problem.

 

[chessmck]

Here’s what works for me; I keep my screen on when I want Google Assistant to listen for the “OK Google” command. Keeping the screen on past 10 min. is not available on the normal screen timeout settings, but I can toggle between 2 min and indefinite by using the Trigger app and a single NFC tag (sticker) on the side of my desk. So I typically have my phone on a wireless charger on my desk with the screen timeout set to stay on via the NFC tag. When I leave my desk and take the phone with me, I tap it against the NFC tag and the screen timeout goes back to 2 min. You could also use an NFC tag in your car to do the same thing or just run an app that keeps the screen awake. Obviously you will need to keep your phone plugged into a charger but that’s usually a good idea while in a car anyway.

Alternately, there is an option to keep the phone awake while charging in Settings > Developer Options, but I’ve not used that.

Another simple option is to load the free KinScreen app and use it to keep the screen on anytime the phone is in a reading position and have the screen timeout at 15 sec when lying flat. This way it works all the time and the screen save activates quickly when out of tilt for "always on". One of the more useful apps I've found.