Unable to use Google assistant when phone is locked

[Thunderbird227]

I currently have a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and I've been trying for the longest to get Google assistant to work whenever I activate with my phone locked so I can play music or set a reminder whenever I'm biking or just dont want to bring my phone out. I used to be able to do it on previous android models, but for some reason I can only activate the "unlock with voice" function in order to use Google assistant and not just use it while the phone is still locked. Any workarounds?

 

[pizza_pablo]

Weird things going on with GA, lately.
It used to read my last text message if I asked it to. Now, it won't read text messages from third party apps, life Textra.
It used to ask if I'd like to reply, after reading a message. Now, sometimes it does, but other times it only asks if I'd like the message repeated. And this is with the Google or Samsung SMS apps.

 

[Darth Mo]

I think I'm having a similar problem. I often use my phone as a timer while cooking and it's nice to not have to pick it up while in the middle of something. However, it no longer responds while the screen is off. Was never an issue on two previous phones.