Google Nest Home Keeps Playing Music: How To Fix [2023]

Music has always been an integral part of our entertainment and a relaxing side of quotidian life.

Whether you are inclined to listen to the operas and classics of a bygone era or the sounds of the present (EDM!), music will always be a part of our valued characteristics.

The Google Nest series of speakers, apart from its world-class AI features, are also excellent speakers that provide clear vocals and bassy low notes. The trebles may need a bit of tweaking, especially in the lower-end models.

I have had quite a lot of these products, especially the Nest Minis and the Nest Hub Maxs, over time, and with each advancing generation, these devices have proved their worth time and again.

So what about the problems? Well, they are some known issues with these devices, and I'll be addressing one of them in this article.

If your Google Nest/Home keeps playing music, check the connected devices list and turn off any interference-inducing devices around the Nest. A quick restart or a reset may also resolve the issue. The common reasons for this problem are interference from other devices or multiple users accessing the device.

Below I have discussed the possible fixes if your Google Nest/Home keeps playing music even after you turn it off.

Reboot Your Nest/Home Device

As a primary troubleshooting step (also one of the most effective solutions) restart the device as soon as the issue starts showing up on your device.

Easier said than done, there are a couple of methods that you can try to restart your Nest/Home speaker. Most notably, perform a Power cycle test on your device.

A power cycle test is a simple process that will clear any temporal bugs and inconsistencies off your device. These bugs and inconsistencies are likely causing the issue on your device.

Google also recommends a power cycle test in times of adversity. That's something, am I right?

To perform a power cycle test, all you have to do is to unplug your Nest/Home device from the power supply. Leave the device in this state for a couple of minutes.

Then, press and hold the power button or the center/select button (depending on the device) for a few seconds. Release the pressure and repeat this step a few times.

Plug back in the power supply and check for the issue now.

You could also restart the device using the Google Home app on your phone or tablet. Follow these steps to reboot the device from the Google Home app.

Before continuing with the steps, make sure to connect both devices to the same network.

1. In the Home app, click and open your Nest/Home device.

3. Tap on the Settings icon at the top right corner of the app.

4. Click on the three-dot icon and select Reboot.

After restarting the device, check for the issue.

Check the Network Connection

Another grey area that may be the reason for the music issue is your very own internet.

An unstable internet may result in unrecognized or unexecuted commands. This may well be the reason for the speaker to play the music.

You can check the state of your network by testing the speed and latency of the network through a speed testing application.

If the speeds are not up to the mark, you are bound to have high latencies and buffering issues. In such cases, try restarting the router as a remedy.

You can restart the router using the same power cycle test.

Unplug the router and leave it idle for a few minutes. Press and hold the power button, or any other button, for a few seconds and release it.

Plug the power cable back into the router. Using the speed testing application, check the speeds once more. Connect the Nest device to the network. Check for the issue now.

If you are still having issues with the network, read on.

Switch to a Higher Bandwidth

If you are having problems communicating with the Google Nest/Home device, most probably, you may be having high latency in your network.

A traditional 2.4 GHz WiFi band is known to have such a limitation. This issue becomes evident once the traffic in the network exceeds the threshold.

A remedy for this issue - switch your network to a higher bandwidth connection, the 5 GHz band to be precise.

To switch the network on your Nest device, follow these steps on the Home app.

1. On the Home tab, click and open your Nest/Home device.

2. Tap on the Settings icon.

3. Click on Device Information and then select WiFi.

4. Tap on the Forget tile.

Return to the Home screen and set up your device with the higher bandwidth network.

Check for Unwanted/Unintended Connections

Did you know that anyone that has access to your network can connect to and control the Nest/Home device?

Whether intentional or not, someone in your vicinity that has access to your network can make things a bit hard for you.

It is recommended that you check the list of connected devices once you start having issues like the one at hand.

If you have unauthorized users controlling the device, it is high time you take action.

You can do so by checking the status on the Home app or by looking at the list of connected devices on your network through the router portal.

To find the list of connected devices on your network, follow these steps on your PC after you have connected the router to it through an ethernet cable or a USB cable.

1. Open the web browser on your PC.

2. Enter the IP address of the router onto the search tab. You can find the IP address on the bottom side of the router.

3. log in to the portal by entering the login credentials.

4. Look for a tab called Connected devices or Mac Filter, usually found under security.

5. Within this tab, you will find the IP/MAC addresses of all the devices connected to your network.

6. Now, you will have to manually check and verify the IP addresses of your devices and find the odd man out.

7. Disable the device, and voila, you have successfully blocked an unauthorized device.

Restart the router and check for the issue now.

Check the Bluetooth Connection

Apart from using the Nest/Home as a standard AI assistant, you can also use it as a Bluetooth speaker. This feature especially comes in handy when you have no internet access.

Sometimes, while using the device via Bluetooth, you may encounter issues with music playback. To remedy this, try refreshing the connection.

You can do so by removing/forgetting the device and adding it again.

Follow these steps to unpair and pair back your device on the Home app.

1. On the Home tab, click and open your Nest/Home device.

2. Tap on the Settings icon and then select Audio.

3. Click on the Paired Bluetooth Devices option.

4. Click on the "X" icon next to the name of the device you want to unpair.

5. Click on Unpair to confirm your selection.

Restart the device and check for the issue.

You can find more about Bluetooth and Bluetooth issues on Can you use the Nest Mini Without WiFi.

Check for Changes on the Home App

As you may know by now, most of the configuring of the Nest devices (minus the ones with display) takes place through the Google Home app.

And so, if a problem does take root in the device, you might as well check the app for a possible remedy.

Features like Routines, and Multiple User access, among others on the Home app, are known to exhibit such issues, partly due to the ill-configuration of these features.

Make sure to check these features and configure them properly to avoid mishaps.

Mentioned below are some of these features that can leave you irritated if ignored.

Check Your Routines

Routines are one of those features that can make your life a whole lot simpler. Once triggered, a Routine will cause the Nest device to execute a series of operations in tandem.

One fine example of a Routine is the Morning Routine.

With a trigger command similar to "Hey Google, Good Morning", you can make the Nest device perform a series of tasks like opening the shutters, playing the morning radio/news, turning ON the Coffee maker, etc.

Similarly, you can configure multiple Routines on the Nest with its very own proprietary commands to enable them.

And that's where the problem lies. Failure to properly configure the Routine can cause inadvertent issues, like music playing intermittently, to pop up time and again on your device.

To avoid such unfortunate happenings, make sure to check and modify your Routines. To do so, follow these commands on the Home app.

1. On the Home app, click and open your Nest/Home Device.

2. Click on the Routines icon and choose the Routine you would like to edit.

3. If you want to edit the trigger command, click on the trigger command you would like to edit under the "How to start" tab.

4. For changing the actions (tasks) associated with the Routine, click and select the action under the "This Routine will" tab.

5. After modifying the Routine, click on Save and exit the app.

Restart the device and check for the issue.

Check the List of Users

Google does allow multiple user support for all their Nest/Home series of devices, six to be exact.

And with this multiple-user support, you can personalize the Nest/Home device to recognize and distinguish between multiple voices and the preferences associated with that particular user.

But there is a catch. Anyone who is a permitted user can connect to and control the device regardless of the proximity.

Open the Nest/Home device from the Home app, and voila, you can now access the device remotely.

Apart from being a very nifty prank trick, this feature may get on your nerves, especially after a tiring day's work.

But not all mishaps are intentional.

Sometimes, if no parent devices are available, the Nest device automatically connects to the next available device on the list. And this, in turn, may lead to problems like the music issue.

Follow these steps to check and modify the users on your Nest/Home device.

1. In the Home tab, click and open your Nest/Home device.

2. Tap on the Setting icon and then select Household.

3. Click on the Member/User you want to remove.

4. Tap on the Remove icon on the top right corner of the app.

Exit from the menu and restart the device. Check for the issue now.

Turn OFF "Let Others Control Your Cast Media"

With this feature, anyone who has an Android device (version 6.0+) can cast and stream the media of their choice on your device.

To cast media on your Nest/ Home device, click on the cast icon on the app/service of your choice. Then click on the Nest/Home device from the list of available devices.

The only requirement is to be on the same network as the Nest/Home device.

But there is no reason for panic since you can turn off this feature quickly from the Home app. Follow these steps to turn OFF the feature.

1. On the Google Home app, click and open the Nest/Home device.

2. Tap on the Settings icon and select Recognition & sharing.

3. Toggle OFF the "Let others control your cast media" option.

Exit the menu and restart the device. Check for the issue now. 

Check the Speaker Group Settings

Speaker groups are great for collective listening and parties. By employing this feature, you can connect multiple Nest/Home devices into a system that lets you play music.

And this very feature can aid you in dispersing the music issue on your Nest/Home device.

The trick is to quickly join and leave a speaker group as a possible remedy. Make sure to connect all your speakers to the same network.

To perform this trick, follow these instructions on the Home app.

1. First, you will have to create a speaker group with at least two devices.

2. On the Home tab, click and open the + icon on the left side.

3. Click on the Create Speaker group option. Then select the devices you want to add to the group.

4. Tap on the Next option and enter a name for your group.

5. Click on Save to finalize your selection.

6. Once you have created a Group, play some music.

7. While playing the music, open the Home app and click on the Speaker Group you have created.

8. Tap on the Delete group option and then click Remove.

Once done correctly, the music will cease to play on your devices. Restart the affected device and check for the issue now.

Clear the Cache Memory of the Associated Services/Apps

Since we have looked into a lot of troubleshooting steps associated with Nest/Home devices, let's try playing with the music services on your master device.

More often than not, issues such as the one we are dealing with right now may root from the services themselves that stream the media to the speakers.

One effective solution to such issues is to refresh the cache memory of the associated apps/services.

To do so, follow these steps on your smart device.

1. On the Settings tab of your smart device, search and open the Apps menu tab.

2. Under the Apps tab, click and open the music service of choice.

3. Click on the Clear Cache open.

4. Confirm your selection.

Restart the device and now try playing music via the app.

Reset the Nest/Home Device

Last but not least, try hard resetting the Nest/Home device as a possible fix to the issue.

A Factory reset will steer the system clean of all personal preferences and changes that you have made on the device.

Resetting the device will also remove any piled-up bugs and stale files that are bound to cause problems.

Depending on the device, you can reset the Nest/Home mini in a couple of ways. The easier one is through using the buttons on the device itself.

On a Nest/Home Hub device, press and hold the Volume Up and Down buttons simultaneously for about 10 seconds.

Wait for the device to turn OFF and back ON again, signifying the completion of the reset.

The first-generation Nest Mini devices do have a dedicated Reset button on the nether side of the device. Press and hold this button for a few seconds until the device turns OFF and back ON again.

You could also reset the device through the Google Home app. Follow these steps to do so.

1. On the Home app, click and open the Nest/Home device.

2. Tap on the Settings icon, and then select the three-dot menu icon.

3. Select the Factory Reset option.

Confirm the selection and wait for the device to reset. You can now set up the device from scratch.

Final Thoughts

Apart from the tips and fixes that I have mentioned above, check for interferences that may arise from a nearby gadget. Interference is a known cause of abrupt problems on Nest/Home devices.

Check for any wirelessly communicating devices like a smart TV, a gaming console, or a smart refrigerator, as a matter of fact, near the Nest/Home device.

If so, replace the device to a different location. Check for the issue now.

Make sure to check and try each and every one of these steps before coming to a conclusion.

If none of these fixes and tips were of no use to you, try contacting the customer services of Google for further assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can we change the trigger words for Google Assistant?

Unfortunately, you cannot change the wake-up command for Google Assistant as of the present. But you could change the trigger commands for other features like invoking a routine. You can find out how to do it in this part of the article.

How do you set timers on the Nest?

You can quickly set a timer or an alarm on your Nest device by speaking the right phrase/trigger command. Phrases like "Hey Google, set a timer for 5 minutes" or "Ok Google, set an alarm for 5 in the morning" will yield results.

How do I make Google Home sleep?

You can make the Nest/Home device go to sleep by enabling Night mode or Downtime on the device. With either of these features enabled, the device will restrict notifications and become unresponsive to your commands. To enable Night mode on your device, go to the Home app>Nest Device>Settings>Night mode>Enable.

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