Turn off voice feedback on Google Home devices (EXPLAINED)

Out of all user suggestions concerning Google Home devices, the most common one is the ability to turn off voice responses. Besides the overall functionality that suddenly declined for many users. There are definitely more subtle ways for Google Home to inform users that a smart device is turned on or off instead of stating the obvious. Google made some effort and interactions with smart lights (bulbs, lamps, and strips) will nowadays notify users with a single chime. But what if you want this for other devices? You can use a workaround to turn off  Google Home voice feedback on your smart speaker or display. Learn more below.

Table of contents:

1. Disable Google Assistant speech output on Android and iOS
2. Change the device type to Light to get the chime instead of voice feedback
3. Use Assistant Routines to control devices

How do I turn off Google Home voice response?

Sadly, you can turn off Google Assistant voice responses only on handheld devices. You can create routines with different phrases instead of predetermined voice commands. Alternatively, you can set some devices as lights which will, as you expect, replace spoken responses with a chime. Still, this works only if the speaker and the linked device are in the same room.

1. Disable Google Assistant speech output on Android and iOS

To disable Google Assistant voice responses on Android or iOS, you should open Assistant Settings. You can choose to get Full Speech output, settle for Brief, or choose None. Keep in mind that, even if you choose None, the speech output will still be heard on headphones.

Here’s how to disable Google Assistant voice feedback on Android:

1. On Android, navigate to Settings > Google > Settings for Google apps.
2. Select Search, Assistant & Voice.
3. Tap Google Assistant.
4. Open Assistant voice & sounds.
5. Under Speech output, select your device.
6. Tap None.

2. Change the device type to Light to get the chime instead of voice feedback

Some users suggest grouping all lights in the same room where the speaker is. In principle, you should get voice feedback only if the smart speaker and smart bulb/strip/lamp are in different rooms. But, you can imagine how inconvenient is this if you have dozen or so smart lights.

A valid alternative is to change the device type to Light. I set my smart outlet as a Light to avoid getting voice feedback whenever I turn it off or on. And you can do this for the majority of linked devices. Of course, some people might dislike the device grouping in Google Home. All devices assigned to Lights will be under the same toggle in the Google Home app which, for some, might be an unfortunate design choice. But, if you primarily use voice commands to control smart devices, this shouldn’t bother you.

Here’s how to change the device type in the Google Home app:

1. Open Google Home on your Android or iPhone.
2. Tap and hold on to the device.
3. Tap on the cog icon to open Settings.
4. Select Device type.
5. Choose Light from the list.

The next time you give a command to that smart device, you should hear only the chime, as you were turning on or off smart lights.

3. Use Assistant Routines to control devices

Finally, some users suggest using Routines to create custom commands for lights and other linked devices. That way, you’ll avoid voice feedback. Also, you can use shorter custom phrases instead of “Turn off the X lights/switch/fan…”. We understand that this isn’t exactly an ideal solution for a problem that shouldn’t exist to start with, but Routines can definitely be beneficial in their own right. So how would you go about it? The thing is the routines are highly specific when it comes to smart home control and it all depends on the devices you own and your own preferences.

Here’s an example of how to use Google Assistant routines:

1. Open Google Home on your Android or iPhone.
2. Tap Routines.
3. Now, you can choose one of the personal routines that are already available or create a new one. To create a new routine, tap on the plus sign at the bottom right corner.
4. Here, you can choose between Household or Personal routines. Household routines can be edited by household members and only you can edit Personal routines.
5. Let’s say we choose Personal Routines and want to use a “Bedroom off” command to turn off the bedroom light. Choose the Add starter and then select “When I say to Google Assistant“.
6. Type in “Bedroom off” and tap the checkmark at the top right corner. You can add a command of your choice — Bedroom off is just an example.
7. Now, tap Add action and select Adjust Home Devices.
8. Select the bedroom light and then select Turn on or off.
9. Tap Turn off.
10. Save the routine and create a new one. Repeat the steps but just do it with Bedroom On and Turn On.

With these commands, you’ll practically turn off Google Home voice feedback on your smart speakers or displays. Not even a chime. You can leave your feedback in Google Home > Account > Help & feedback and ask for an option to disable spoken responses in the future. With that said, we can conclude this article. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments below.