Google Home Mini

Google confirms Home Mini update bricked devices for some, fixed for future updates [U]

Ben Schoon | Dec 23 2023 - 7:49 am PT

The Google Home Mini brought hands-free Google Assistant to the masses thanks to its cheap price and attractive feature set, but a recent update left the Google Home Mini and the original Google Home bricked for some users, as Google has now confirmed.

Google Home Mini was first announced in 2017 as a $49 smart speaker powered by Google Assistant. In our review at the time, we called it an “insta-buy” product, and it was indeed a hit. Even two years later, the Home Mini was the top trending tech gift for the 2019 holiday season, and that was after the launch of Nest Mini, the Home Mini’s successor.

The Google Home Mini remained on the market through 2021 when, two full years after launching its replacement, Google finally stopped sales of the device and kept the Nest Mini in that $49 price point.

However, many users still have active Google Home Mini devices in their homes since updates have not yet ended for the device. But the latest updates seem to be causing problems.

Many reports have surfaced over the past few weeks across Reddit and Google’s forums where users have noticed that their Google Home Mini is no longer functional. The device simply doesn’t turn on fully, and can’t even be properly reset. Some users also report that the original Google Home, released in 2016, is also being affected similarly, but reports here are limited.

For affected devices, the Google Home Mini turns on all four of its lights, but isn’t functional. As mentioned, the reset button on the back of the device also doesn’t fully work for users. One affected Google Home Mini user captured images of the error, showing the device attempting to boot after bring plugged in, showing four lights a few seconds later, and showing an attempted reset that turns the first light green, but ultimately fails to actually reset the device.

Google has so far only partially acknowledged the issue, with a comment from a Community Manager asking for further feedback and reports to be sent to Google’s team.

Top comment by Shay Davidson

Liked by 11 people

It’s not only minis, it’s the Google Home speaker as well. From the comments in the nest community forum, I wouldn’t be surprised if this affected all first gen devices.

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Update 12/23: In a statement to 9to5Google, Google has confirmed that an update rolled out to the original Google Home and the Google Home Mini caused “a small percentage” of devices to “stop working.” Google says the issue has been resolved for future updates and directs affected users to contact customer support.

A software rollout caused a small percentage of older Google Home (2016) and Google Home Mini (2017 1st gen) devices to stop working. The issue has been resolved for future updates. Users who are experiencing an unresponsive device with four unblinking white lights being displayed can contact customer support for assistance.

Notably, though, some users have said that customer support hasn’t been particularly helpful in resolving the issue, but presumably Google has issued new guidance now that the issue has been confirmed.

For some users, devices apparently have just started working again after being plugged in overnight, but it appears that most Google Home Mini users affected by this bricking problem are now just stuck with inoperable hardware.