Do you own a Google Home speaker? Do you have a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone or tablet, as well as a music streaming account?
Then you’ve got a ready-to-use (and simple-to-use) speaker, as well as the controls you’ll need.
While most people think of Google Home as a smart assistant capable of taking directions and managing your home, it can also be used as a simple smart speaker, capable of producing music of astonishing quality for such a little device.
Whether you have an iPhone or an Android device, here are two methods to utilize your Google Home as a speaker. You have the ability to issue orders. When you’re finished, tap Finish Setup. You’re ready to go!
How to connect your Google Home to a Bluetooth speaker
Put your Google Home in pairing mode before using it as a speaker. This can be accomplished in two ways:
- “OK Google, Bluetooth pairing,” say.
- On your smartphone, open the app, press the Google Home device you wish to link, and then hit “Paired Bluetooth devices.” Select “Enable Pairing Mode” from this option.
After you’ve used one of these techniques to pair your Google Home with your smartphone, you may connect it to your phone like any other Bluetooth device.
So, here’s how it works on an iPhone:
- Launch the Settings application.
- In the first group of choices, choose “Bluetooth.”
- Allow your iPhone to search for devices for a minute, then choose your Google Home (GH) from the “Other Devices” section (if you’ve renamed it, it’ll display with that name).
- It will take a few moments for the two devices to link. If they still won’t connect, bring them closer together.
On an Android, it’s:
- Swipe down from the top of your screen with two fingers.
- Hold the Bluetooth symbol in your hand. Swipe left to see all of your Quick Access options and touch it there if it isn’t on this screen.
- Allow your Android handset to search for devices for a few moments. You may need to hit a button that reads “Pair new device” or “Search for devices” depending on your phone or tablet.
- When your GH shows in the list of Bluetooth devices (with its new name if you’ve renamed it), touch it.
- It will take a few moments for the two devices to link. If they still won’t connect, bring them closer together.
Once you’ve paired your devices, the GH will function like any other Bluetooth speaker, playing all of your phone’s music, whether it’s from YouTube, Spotify, Safari, or another app.
How to link a Google Home to your streaming accounts and use it as a speaker
You may also use your Google Home to connect directly to one of your music streaming accounts, such as Spotify, Pandora, Google Play Music, and others.
You’ll normally be prompted to link all of your streaming accounts when you set up your Google Home. Here’s what you can do if you weren’t, or if you elected to skip that stage.
- Launch the GH application.
- Select “Settings” from the homepage.
- Tap “Add…” under the “Rooms, groups, and devices” header.
- There are three options under the “Add services” section in the new menu. Select “Music and audio,” “Videos and photographs,” or “Radio” depending on the type of audio you want to listen to.
- You’ll see a list of streaming services that your Google Home can connect to on each page. Tap each one, sign in to your account, and then confirm that you want your Google Home to have access to that service.
After that, you’ll be able to utilize your Google Home as a speaker with simply a command.
You may say, “OK Google, play Spotify” to hear music from Spotify, for example. You may also be more precise, such as “OK Google, play Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ on Spotify.”
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