Google Assistant voice commands not working when screen is off?

[jared81 6]

I tend to ask my phone what time it is when I wake up in the morning, and I haven't been able to do that with the Pro1; Google Assistant voice commands don't work if my Pro1's screen is off.

If I press the power button to turn the screen on then it responds to "hey google" from the lock screen (as I would expect it to). But if the screen is off, I do not get any response.

Is this a known issue? Is anyone else having this problem? Are there any fixes?

[david 929]

I haven't tried it yet, but this might be worth a shot:

https://www.pocket-lint.com/apps/news/google/139202-google-assistant-tips-and-tricks-master-your-android-assistant

Quote

Enable/disable always-on 'OK Google'

Open the Google Assistant settings > Tap on the Assistant tab under your name > Scroll down to Assistant devices > Tap on your phone > Scroll down to 'Access with Voice Match' and toggle on or off.

Turn on the toggle to give Assistant permission to recognise your voice whenever you say "OK Google" - even if your screen is off or you're using an app. This makes Assistant always-on.

 

[david 929]

Well, I decided to try it on my Pro1, and the settings have changed, such that it is only possible to do it when the screen is on.  A lot of other people online were very angry about the feature going away.  Apparently it is one of those things that google silently took away.  They really haven't gotten the idea that you don't remove features.  That really angers users. If you want a default behavior to change, fine -- make it an option that the user has to turn on.  

There are two schools of thought on why they did this:

1)  It was a security issue and people were complaining about their phones turning on randomly.  Again, they could have made it an option and the user would be responsible for turning it on.

2)  They have disabled it on all phones except Pixel phones, so that Pixel phones have a functional advantage.

I just booted up a Pixel 1 phone that has Android 10 on it.  I enabled google assistant, went into the settings and, sure enough, the setting had different wording about working when the screen is off.  I tested it and it works.  Here is the wording on the Pro1:

Quote

Hey Google

Access your Assistant any time you say "Hey Google" when your screen is on

Here is what the same setting states on the Pixel 1:

Quote

Hey Google

Access your Assistant any time you say "Hey Google", even if your screen is off or you're using your favorite apps

As for "or you're using your favorite apps", that does work on the Pro1.  It just doesn't work if the screen is off.

The Pro1 is running Android 9 and the Pixel 1 is running Android 10.  I guess there is a slim chance it will be enabled in Android 10 for the Pro1, but I wouldn't count on it.  I'm betting that they did make it an exclusive feature.