OK Google no longer works while listening to music on my

[Android Central Question]

I tried to resolve the issue for a couple of hours. I could not find anyone having a similar problem. I contacted tech support they worked on it for two or three hours. They could not resolve the issue. I gave them remote control of my phone and it seemed like they tried

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Which device? Are you saying that you're unable to access Google Assistant by saying "Ok Google" while the device is playing music?

 

[Steve Comeau]

Welcome to Android Central! Which device? Are you saying that you're unable to access Google Assistant by saying "Ok Google" while the device is playing music?

About 2 weeks ago I broke my Pixel 2 xl and replaced it with a 3 xl. That is when the problem started. (At least I'm pretty sure it had not happened at all while I had the 2xl)

Here's what happens when I say OK Google: I hear the beep of the microphone coming on, then I say call so and so, or text whomever or create an event or whatever just like I have done literally a few thousand times before.

The problems is that the microphone immediately shuts off so it does not even start to complete my task. Although maybe 25% of the time, it does at least start to complete the task, as in "What is the name of the event?" then it shuts off.

I assumed it was a problem with the 3xl so I traded for a Note 9. It is still doing the exact same thing.

If I turn the radio off it works perfectly. I have 3 Mpow headsets that I've been using for the last year without problems so it's not the headsets.

Like I said, after I tried everything I could think of I let a tech take remote control of my phone and watched him do his thing. He tried everything, had me reboot and no luck. Then he tried everything again and nothing.

He'd never seen anything like it and I was unable to find anyone else in the world with this problem. I really need to resolve this problem. BTW, things work fine if I physically launch the Assistant mic, but that's hard to do while I'm driving.

 

[B. Diddy]

Thanks for the details. Which radio are you listening to when you're trying to use Google Assistant? The car's own radio, or a radio app on your phone? Does this happen if you're listening to Google Play Music or YouTube Music?

 

[Steve Comeau]

I listen to streaming radio stations on Simple Radio and Tune In radio.
I don't listen to Play Music or YouTube. Maybe for 2 hours a week I listen to a podcast but that's not during business hours when I don't need OK Google.
This is just so strange because it worked perfectly 99% of the time until just recently. It's like vodoo or something. I can't even imagine why this might be happening.

 

[Steve Comeau]

I just tried to use OK Google without the headset, just listening to the station through the phone speakers.
Whereas the headphone mic will at least open the OK Google mic for just a second, without the headphone on, I cannot activate OK Google at all.

 

[B. Diddy]

The reason why I'd suggest testing it out on a Google app like Google Play Music or YouTube Music is to see if there might have been some change in a recent monthly patch that suddenly made certain 3rd party apps have problems. I'd guess that a Google-made app would stay up to speed on any changes made in system updates, while 3rd party developers might not be so quick on the uptake.