S10 family of 3 in crisis! (Google Assistant/lock screen issue.)

[SF_Ballard]

So my family and I just bought 3 S10's, set them up (seamless) say down in our kitchen, and someone said, "Hey Google" to activate our Google mini (which runs, like everythingi n our house) and all our phones lit up, even though they were in our pockets and locked.

Hours of googling later, and we fear that this is the definitive answer:

https://forums.androidcentral.com/s...gle-assistance-locked-screen.html#post6585162

Please say it ain't so. It appears that the Google Assistant needs to be Always On (including when the phone is locked) or Always Off (even when the phone is unlocked). There's just the one switch toggle in Assistant settings. My old S7 did the same thing that iPhones with Siri and every other android phone I've used does: if Google assistant was on your home screen, then it was automatically always on so long as the phone was unlocked. That way, I could just get in my car, unlock the phone, and start talking to it. With my new $400 phone, I need to either swipe through settings and toggle it on every time I drive, or else reach out and click the tiny google mic button every time I want Google Assistant.

At this point, if we can't fix this, we're gonna have to return the phones and try to figure out if Google Assistant works different on different models (maybe Google Pixel line?). This is so frustating; I can't believe that Google would think that we would want an all-or-nothing, especially with the prevalence of Google-mini wired homes such as ours. We're obviously not the only ones who want our phones to not light up every time we interact with our smart home, but do want them to listen to us when they're unlocked. I'm open to any fixes, including wonky third-part lock screen apps (there are so many) or side-loading an old version of Google Assistant...any ideas?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Do you have Voice Match turned on for all of your individual accounts?

 

[Mike Dee]

So my family and I just bought 3 S10's, set them up (seamless) say down in our kitchen, and someone said, "Hey Google" to activate our Google mini (which runs, like everythingi n our house) and all our phones lit up, even though they were in our pockets and locked.

Hours of googling later, and we fear that this is the definitive answer:

https://forums.androidcentral.com/s...gle-assistance-locked-screen.html#post6585162

Please say it ain't so. It appears that the Google Assistant needs to be Always On (including when the phone is locked) or Always Off (even when the phone is unlocked). There's just the one switch toggle in Assistant settings. My old S7 did the same thing that iPhones with Siri and every other android phone I've used does: if Google assistant was on your home screen, then it was automatically always on so long as the phone was unlocked. That way, I could just get in my car, unlock the phone, and start talking to it. With my new $400 phone, I need to either swipe through settings and toggle it on every time I drive, or else reach out and click the tiny google mic button every time I want Google Assistant.

At this point, if we can't fix this, we're gonna have to return the phones and try to figure out if Google Assistant works different on different models (maybe Google Pixel line?). This is so frustating; I can't believe that Google would think that we would want an all-or-nothing, especially with the prevalence of Google-mini wired homes such as ours. We're obviously not the only ones who want our phones to not light up every time we interact with our smart home, but do want them to listen to us when they're unlocked. I'm open to any fixes, including wonky third-part lock screen apps (there are so many) or side-loading an old version of Google Assistant...any ideas?

It works the same way on other devices. Doesn't cause an issue for me because my Google home hub takes priority

 

[SF_Ballard]

Yeah, our google hub winds up responding (and not the phones, usually), but everyone's phones still light up and show notifications. Battery life is definetely better if your phone isn't listening as a smart speaker all the time as well, hence my complaint that there really should be a way to turn this off, without completely losing voice assistant functionality.

Interestingly, Bixby works the same way. It's either on all the time (including on the lock screen) or off all the time. It would appear that modern phone users perhaps want this. Although I'm not the only one, I'm assuming that if this was an issue it would have been fixed by now in an update...

At this point, I'm toggling through 3 screens of settings every time I drive, so that I don't have to reach for my phone to talk to it. Sucks, but there does not appear to be another solution. There's no toggle that simply turns google assistant wake-up on that I can find...

 

[SF_Ballard]

The only toggle that we've found that seems relevant reads:

Voice match

Hey Google
Access your Assistant any time you say "Hey Google" even if your screen is off or you're using your favorite apps."

This is the heart of the problem. If it is on, then Hey Google is always on, even with the lock screens off. If it toggled off, then only a manual button press can turn it on, even when unlocked. So we've tried it with Voice Match off and on. We've tried it training it to one of our voices, and it doesn't effect it one way or another.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Yeah, it's super annoying.

Older (and cheaper) phones don't do it because they don't have low power co-processors that can always listen.

I did a lot of research to try to stop my phone listening while the screen is off, but unless something has changed recently, it can't be done.

 

[werkx]

I've turned Google Assistant off on my S10 because of it. The voice match option is probably the next thing to do so that only your phone responds to your voice..at least, that's the plan. Although, I did reprogram the Bixby button to start Assistant manually.

 

[VidJunky]

I've turned Google Assistant off on my S10 because of it. The voice match option is probably the next thing to do so that only your phone responds to your voice..at least, that's the plan. Although, I did reprogram the Bixby button to start Assistant manually.

I've not been successful in getting the Voice Match to do much of anything. I have it enabled and trained and retrained, and it still responds to my son, so I imagine anyone. He thrills at getting my phone to respond to him and I can't get it to stop. My annoyance with this whole thing is I have a mini and if I want my phone to display something the mini takes over and tells me it's still learning or some dumb crap. Or I'll ask my phone for something I know my phone can do and the mini will jump in. I've more or less given up fighting it.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Voice match is entirely worthless. I'm a man with a British accent, and assistant not only responds to other men with British accents, but anyone. Including women with American accents.

I've heard a lot recently about voice being as good as a fingerprint... If that is true, everyone who is currently in prison based on fingerprint evidence should be released immediately.

 

[Adam Frix]

My investment advisors use voice match technology to verify me. It's an automated gatekeeper system, not unlike what they showed in the movie Sneakers. Once I validate that way, I'm in and people will talk to me.

I guess it takes actual horsepower--not a phone processor--to do this well. On the phone, it's just a gimmick to sell phones. Best ignored as if it never existed.

 

[Morty2264]

My husband and I sometimes run into the same issue with our Nest Mini. Sometimes when I try to activate my S10's Google Assistant, the Mini will respond. Or it may just chine in when I'm talking to myself - like yesterday! That was a little embarrassing!

 

[Jimmy Le1]

Not bothering me a bit ..
I wouldn’t call it crisis .. lol

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

My husband and I sometimes run into the same issue with our Nest Mini. Sometimes when I try to activate my S10's Google Assistant, the Mini will respond. Or it may just chine in when I'm talking to myself - like yesterday! That was a little embarrassing!

Yeah, it seems to kick in totally randomly too... With words that sound nothing like "Google".

One of my biggest bugbears was when I'd unlock my phone, look at it and say "hey Google, send a message to X" and my Sonos soundbar would say "sorry, I can't send text messages!"

That's what prompted me to do what I recommend the OP do; turn it off and remap the Bixby key.

 

[VidJunky]

Before I got the mini I couldn't think of a single reason to remap the Bixby key to Google. In my mind, why have a physical button to do what my voice can do, so I mapped mine to Gas Buddy. Which is great and all when I remember to use it. This thing has so many shortcuts and side panels that I rarely remember them all. I have like one app that I use in my side panel. The Bixby button almost might as well not be there, for me. It's a swiss army knife when all I need is toothpick, someone wrote in one of these threads. Don't take that as I don't use my device to the fullest, I certainly do. I do more with my device than about anyone I know. It's just with this device I'm given all this extra stuff and keeping track is not always easy.


I have to agree with fuzzylumpkin and Morty2264 on the randomness of the Google Assistant in general. Sometimes any random conversation will activate it and I can only think of one time, recently actually, where it told me it couldn't help with that or it didn't know how to do that after an unwanted activation.

While it sometimes causes issues and confusion at home, I kind of don't want to turn it off because it is handy when I'm out. So for now I guess I'll just have to suck it up find my own work arounds. Now if I could just get my kid to stop pressing my buttons saying "Hey Google" just to spark my phone, that would be nice.

 

[Mike Dee]

Before I got the mini I couldn't think of a single reason to remap the Bixby key to Google. In my mind, why have a physical button to do what my voice can do, so I mapped mine to Gas Buddy. Which is great and all when I remember to use it. This thing has so many shortcuts and side panels that I rarely remember them all. I have like one app that I use in my side panel. The Bixby button almost might as well not be there, for me. It's a swiss army knife when all I need is toothpick, someone wrote in one of these threads. Don't take that as I don't use my device to the fullest, I certainly do. I do more with my device than about anyone I know. It's just with this device I'm given all this extra stuff and keeping track is not always easy.


I have to agree with fuzzylumpkin and Morty2264 on the randomness of the Google Assistant in general. Sometimes any random conversation will activate it and I can only think of one time, recently actually, where it told me it couldn't help with that or it didn't know how to do that after an unwanted activation.

While it sometimes causes issues and confusion at home, I kind of don't want to turn it off because it is handy when I'm out. So for now I guess I'll just have to suck it up find my own work arounds. Now if I could just get my kid to stop pressing my buttons saying "Hey Google" just to spark my phone, that would be nice.

I get mine to respond to "hey boo boo" and other phrases as well like "hey noodle".

 

[SF_Ballard]

Not bothering me a bit ..
I wouldn’t call it crisis .. lol

I'm so glad that it doesn't bother you! Thanks; that info is super helpful to this thread...

 

[SF_Ballard]

Yeah, I did that too (re-mapping Bixby key). It's certainly better, but I tried it driving today, and it doesn't change the fact that now I need to reach for my phone to get it to play a song or a podcast, something that I haven't had to do since my S5. 6 years of driving and talking to my phone does build certain habits.

What I'm hoping for is a toggle app for my homescreen that simple toggles the switch to turn the Always On voice wakeup feature on/off. I work on my phone, and use my Google mini continuously throughout the day, as does my family, and after the last few days it's clear that having my phone light up or visually interupt what I'm doing every time someone says OK google doesn't work for me, so leaving it on is not on the table. But a simple toggle that would turn it on, so that with one press, instead of going 3 layers deep into settings, I could turn it on voice wakeup as I get into my car, that would work...

Overall, I like the idea of a mappable side button; camera, flashlight, it's a nice feature...

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

I get mine to respond to "hey boo boo" and other phrases as well like "hey noodle".

I can get mine to respond to "ok, boomer" I find it quite amusing.

 

[dekatch]

@SF_Ballard

I think Nova gives an option for the 'hey Google' on lock screen

but I'm on android 9. don't know if it works on the s10 latest

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

@SF_Ballard

I think Nova gives an option for the 'hey Google' on lock screen

but I'm on android 9. don't know if it works on the s10 latest

Where's the setting in Nova? Had a quick look and don't see anything...