Android

you can do all this with the Google Home app on your smartphone

If you have smart devices at home, you can bring them all together in the Google Home app. You can do this with this extensive application.

You can do this with the Google Home app

The idea of ​​the Google Home app is that you can control all the devices in your smart home in a central place. For example, you can turn the lamps on and off and adjust the thermostat down or up. If you have a smart camera or smart doorbell, you can view the image via the app. All those parts are clearly marked under headings such as ‘Lamps’, ‘Thermostat’ and ‘Camera’.

Add devices

You can add devices in two different ways. If you have devices from Google itself, such as the smart Nest speakers, you can simply set them up via the Google Home app. If you put the plug in the socket, you will soon see the option to connect a new device in the app.

Things are slightly different with devices from other manufacturers. You must first set this up via the app of that manufacturer. After that, you sometimes immediately see the option to connect the device to Google Home in the Google Home app. This happens with Philips Hue, for example.

Otherwise, press the plus button and select ‘Set up device’ and then ‘Have you already set up something?’. You can then add all kinds of smartphone services. Use the search function to find the brand of your device and connect it to Google Home. You can then control the devices via the Google Home app and Google Assistant.

Controlling media

Via the Media button you can control the media in your home. Here you can see, for example, whether Spotify is on and on which speakers it is played. You will also find the media that are connected to your Google account under this heading, such as Netflix and YouTube. You cannot control these apps via Google Home, but you can control them via the Google Assistant. Under the heading ‘Camera’ you can of course see what can be seen via your smart camera.

Control your devices individually

Most of the main screen of the Google Home app is filled with all the devices and rooms that you have set up. If you have a lot of devices, such as lamps and speakers, this can be quite a list. Under the icons of your devices there is often a direct action that you can take. For example, turn a specific lamp on or off and play music through a speaker.

Using routines

One of the most useful features in the Google Home app is routines. This allows you to perform a series of tasks for a specific word. If you go to ‘Routines’ in the app, you will see what words you can use. For example ‘Bedtime’ or ‘Good morning’.

Each word has a list of tasks that the Google Assistant can perform. For example, turning off the lights, turning off the silent mode of your phone, playing the weather forecast or providing information about commuting. At the bottom you can even indicate whether something should be played after the tasks, such as music, the news or an audiobook.

If you regularly perform the same tasks in sequence, it is much more practical to set a routine. This is done quickly by ticking the tasks, adjusting them if necessary with the gear wheel and tapping ‘Save’.

These are the priority events

The Google Home app has two tabs. The first is the home lab where you will find basically everything you need. If you tap the other tab, you will go to your priority events. Recent events from your camera are posted here, if motion or sound has been registered. You can also see tips on how to improve your experience with your devices.

Add people to your home

If you tap the plus sign in the app, you can add anything. For example services or a new speaker group. Here you will also find the option to add a person to your home. Do that for relatives or roommates so that they can manage the house too and see the priority events. It is also possible for all members of the house to link personal media services.

Adjust the settings

You can also adjust a lot of settings in the app. You can find the settings by tapping your icon at the top right and then pressing ‘Settings of the Home app’. Here you should be, among other things, to indicate which e-mail notifications you want to receive and whether saved WiFi networks should be deleted. You can also control your privacy in this section. You can read our article how that works: 5 tips for your privacy in a functional Google Home home.

Download Google Home app

The Google Home app can be downloaded for free from the Play Store via the button below.

Google Home

Combine with a smart speaker

Once everything is set up correctly in Google Home, you can also control your smart home with the Google Assistant. That is ideal in combination with a smart speaker. For example the Google Nest Audio. Check out our Google Nest Audio review of this speaker or watch the video below for more information.

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