Google Home 12+

Hit and miss

Manually the switches work ok, connecting to the TV will only work some times. Chrome cast is a pain. I did a lot of work and is not paying off. I ask for a specific song and it only works on a single speaker, if I am using a group of speakers, google plays what ever it wants. I got three chrome cast and they were fine at first but after a few weeks voice commands to chrome cast stoped working on all three. Google says it doesn’t recognize that device, I reset to factory, start all over and nothing. I am getting board of this I am thinking of going back to apple TV. What a waste of money. I have 5 nest cams and they connect and disconnect constantly, that problem came after google took over. I am angry about that security problem. I tried everything to have the system recognize only my voice so people couldn’t open my garage or my front door, that does not work. I even had a google tech help me set that up, thats not safe, anyone who knows what I named the door can simply ask google loudly through my glass window or glass door and it opens anything. Google is not safe . I regret all the money spent on this worthless system.

Irksome, poorly designed (T-stat use only)

Edited after a season's use. Just don't. An advance that is far worse, cumbersome and otherwise difficult to use. I would put the old t-stat back if I hadn't recycled it. Junk. Overall, feels a bit like an acquisition they now regret and will let die. Like others say, the app is cumbersome, slow, and awkward. Using this for an old-style Nest t-stat obtained from my electric utility. As an example of poorly thought-out operation (that is, privileging circuit design over utility) it took me longer to find out which device version it was than to put it on the wall. (A page of text would be much better than lots of fun bouncy graphics-we're installing things like thermostats, not playing). Yes the device is an improvement (and is the only reason this isn't a one-star review), but really, it's easier to set the thermostat manually if you are away than it is to do it here. Just more things to go wrong with no actual advance. PS I really, really dislike the lack of a sign out in this app. Update 3/23: Pleasantly surprised that it has operated more or less faultlessly since setup, so will add one star (now 3) as I add another device to a different furnace. Just my opinion, but the secret seems to be to keep it local only (don't attempt anything other than in home & on same network) and use a simple routine-the rest is just a problem in search of something to do aka unnecessary.

Developer Response ,

Hey there, we appreciate customers who share with us their experiences and thoughts on our products. We're always looking for more ways to improve the Google Home app to make it more user-friendly. For more help, feel free to contact us here: https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/7072407?hl=en

Google doorbell camera

Excellent picture in day and night. Think the price is fair but if they could get the price down to $100 I’m not sure they’d be able to keep them in stock. The 2 way speaker works great I can hear people clearly even when they’re whispering about us having a doorbell camera. Lol. The camera runs off of the Google home app and install of camera and setup of app is very simple. Set up everyone in the home to work the app from their phone. Also has facial recognition in a sense. You can type the names of people that are viewed by camera and once you do and select that you know them the next time they’re seen on camera you get a smiley avatar along with there name. Camera isn’t backed up off sight but you can store All footage on your phone from the time it’s activated and go through it anytime you want or might need to if there’s a reason for the police to see the footage. Only thing I would improve is that I received the notifications when they were 10 to 15 yards from camera as opposed to 5 feet from camera.. If I lived in a bigger city I would have bought one that is monitored but I live in a very small town with a very low crime rate. Hope this helps anyone looking to purchase a doorbell camera