Google Home update results in Gemini “I didn’t understand” error

Google’s latest Gemini for Home update targets a few issues, like one where speakers randomly blurt out “I didn’t understand” when no one asks.

The second October update for Gemini for Home was released today by Google. It bundles a few fixes with a long section in the changelog dedicated to the Google Home app.

But there are six individual changes for Gemini in the Home app. However, one fix stands out the most. According to the update message, Google was aware that Home and Nest speakers/displays were experiencing a bug that caused them to say “Sorry, I didn’t understand” randomly. This would happen spontaneously, which is naturally a bit unsettling. This strange bug should be fixed in this new update.

Further down, two fixes target Gemini’s ability to understand users on Google Home devices. On the one hand, this would misunderstand requests to move music from one room to another. In other cases, this would incorrectly adjust sleep, media, or normal timers instead of the requested type. Both of these features would work as expected in the future.

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The changelog includes a few other tweaks, which should make the experience less stressful overall.

• More reliable YouTube TV controls on smart displays: Fixed an issue when playing YouTube TV on smart displays so that voice commands reliably start the content you are looking for.
• More predictable volume controls in rooms: Fixed an issue where asking to adjust the volume of a speaker or display in another room could accidentally change the volume of the device you were talking to if the other device couldn’t be found.
• Fixed Zero Volume Timers and Alarms: Fixed a specific bug where alarm and timer volumes were set to zero. In this situation, the alarm and timer volume will be adjusted according to the volume of your device.

The updates should be available to users starting today, although it may take some time to roll out to everyone. Hopefully Gemini will let you know that they don’t understand if they really don’t understand.

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