Learn about sound detection for speakers and displays

With sound detection, your speaker or display can notify you when it detects the sound of any smoke or carbon monoxide alarm or glass breaking, even when you’re away from home.

For example, if you’re gone but have left something on the stove, the smoke alarm in your home should go off when it detects smoke. With a Nest Aware subscription, the speaker you have in the same room as your smoke alarm can detect the sound your smoke alarm makes.

Your device records the alarm and saves the audio clip in the Home app. If you have notifications turned on, you’ll get a notification from the Home app.

You can use the notification to go directly to the sound detection event in the Feed. From there, you can simply tap the sound detection event to review the audio clip in the Home app. You can even listen to live audio to try and verify the sound of an alarm in your home.

If needed, you can use emergency calling in the Home app to quickly contact a 911 call center close to your home, even if you’re very far away.

Your speaker can work the same way if it were to detect the sound of a glass window breaking in your home. That way, if there is an intruder, you can contact emergency services to dispatch assistance to your home.

Activity  shows the events your supported Nest products detect.

1. Open the Google Home app .
2. Tap Activity .
3. Find and select the sound detection event to open the sound clip. You may have to scroll down to find the sound detection event you want.
   • Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm and glass breaking events will automatically show up under Priority events at the top of the Feed.
   • Older smoke and carbon monoxide alarm and glass breaking events will move under Recent events in the Feed.

1. Tap a sound detection event to open its audio clip.
2. Tap Options in the top right corner of the screen.
3. Select Delete audio clip.

Note: You need to turn on the microphone for your speaker or display for sound detection to work.

Once you turn sound detection on, you can do the following:

• Choose which sounds can be detected.
• Select which speakers and displays participate in sound detection.

Note: These settings will apply to everyone in your home. Home members cannot set their own sound detection preferences. However, each home member can set their own notification preferences.

1. Open the Google Home app .
2. Tap Settings  Subscriptions  Nest Aware.
3. Select Sound detection.
4. Tap the switch to turn Sound detection on or off.

When you change which sounds you want to be detected, it will apply to all speakers and displays you have set with sound detection.

1. Open the Google Home app .
2. Tap Settings  Subscriptions  Nest Aware.
3. Select Sound detection.
4. Under “Sounds,” check or uncheck the box next to Smoke alarms, Carbon monoxide alarms, and Glass breaking to set the sounds you want your device to detect.

When you change which speakers and displays participate in sound detection, it will apply for all home members. A home member cannot individually set which devices participate in sound detection.

1. Open the Google Home app .
2. Tap Settings  Subscriptions  Nest Aware.
3. Select Sound detection.
4. Under “Devices,” tap the switch to turn sound detection on or off for each device.

Each home member can choose whether to receive notifications when a device detects a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm or glass breaking in your home.

1. Open the Google Home app .
2. Tap Settings  Subscriptions  Nest Aware.
3. Select Sound detection  Sound detection notifications.
4. Tap the switch next to Smoke alarms, Carbon monoxide alarms, and Glass breaking to turn notifications on or off for each sound.