Rona
8:39 AM
Thanks for contacting us! My name is Rona. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about Google Home.
Rona
8:39 AM
Hi, am I chatting with Mark?
Mark
8:39 AM
Yes, Good morning Rona. Getting a little frustrated with my new Google home.
Rona
8:40 AM
Good morning Mark! Sorry to hear about your frustrations. How can I help you, sir?
Mark
8:41 AM
I have uploaded my personal music collection and sometimes, it works flawlessly. At other times, songs say they are not available in my area. But its not consistent and can change.
Rona
8:41 AM
I understand. Let me help you with this concern right away. May I know which country you are located in?
Mark
8:41 AM
UK
Rona
8:42 AM
Thank you!
Rona
8:42 AM
Where have you uploaded your music?
Mark
8:42 AM
To the Google Play using music manager.
Mark
8:43 AM
Also, If I ask my phones or tablets to play the troublesome songs, they play fine.
Rona
8:43 AM
I see. Are you using Google Home Mini or Regular? Also, what device do you have the Google Home app on? Android or Iphone?
Mark
8:44 AM
Regular Home. App is on Nexus 5x. Android
Rona
8:45 AM
Thanks. What kind of subscription do you have in the Google Play Music? Is it a Premium subscription or just he regular one?
Mark
8:46 AM
I have no paid subscription. My understanding is that I can upload a certain amount of songs for free. And as I say, It works fine on all except the home.
Rona
8:47 AM
That is correct Mark. However this particular feature on Google Home is available only in US and in Canada. For customers in UK, Google Home works best on paid Google Play Music subscriptions.
Rona
8:47 AM
I understand it works sometimes but due to the limitation, we are unable to guarantee that it works all the time on the Google Home device.
Mark
8:48 AM
What limitation is this and please point me towards more info.
Rona
8:49 AM
One moment please. Let me get that for you.
Mark
8:49 AM
If that is the case, I will return the Google home and get the Amazon Echo.
Rona
8:50 AM
One moment, I might be looking only at the free radio services which is available in US and Canada. Let me just verify the uploaded songs.
Rona
8:51 AM
Mark, can you tell me how you command Google Home to play a song from your playlist?
Mark
8:51 AM
Hey Google, Song title, artist.
Rona
8:52 AM
Thank you. What is the error message from Google Home?
Mark
8:53 AM
Error is "Sorry {song title} is not available in your area.
Mark
8:53 AM
Also, If I ask it to play Uptown Funk, it says not available in your area. If I ask it to play Mark Ronson, Uptown Funk is the first track that plays.
Rona
8:54 AM
For regular subscriptions, Google Home will not be able to play a particular song or artist you are requesting. You may, however, ask to play your playlist. Say, ""Hey Google. Play <named playlist>""
Mark
8:55 AM
I am sorry, but I am not sure you are correct.
Mark
8:55 AM
Again, please point me to where this is documented.
Rona
8:56 AM
Here it is, sir.
https://support.google.com/googlehome/answer/7030379?hl=en&ref_topic=7030084
Mark
8:56 AM
I understood that as of July this year, this limitation was changed.
Mark
8:56 AM
Please see here:
https://productforums.google.com/fo...oter#!msg/googlehome/E-Blpmr2UjI/HtSN2EO2BQAJ
Rona
8:57 AM
Checking..
Rona
9:00 AM
Thank you for the link Mark, however, we don't have update yet as to when this feature is rolled out to customers in UK
Mark
9:00 AM
OK Rona
Mark
9:01 AM
I`m not getting anywhere with this. I will leave it for now and return the unit. It simply does not do what is advertised for UK users. What a shame.
Rona
9:01 AM
You may still play your playlist though. But the limitation is on the particular song or artist.
Mark
9:02 AM
So why does it work on phones and tablets?
Rona
9:04 AM
It is different from the supported features and functionalities available on Google Home device in each country, sir.
Rona
9:04 AM
For UK, here are the supported features for Music services (voice supported):
GPM Subscription
Spotify Free
Spotify Premium
TuneIn
BBC
Rona
9:06 AM
If you can cast from your phone to the Google Home, it would also work that way
Rona
9:06 AM
But for voice commands, you would be needing the subscription
Mark
9:07 AM
OK, None of this makes sense. So If I understand correctly, if I ASK my phone to play a song, using my VOICE, it works, but the HOME unit does not. Is that by design?
Rona
9:08 AM
Your phone is playing the songs directly from your device. Not from the Google Play Music. That is why Google Home is unable to do it even though you uploaded it to your Google Play Music.
Mark
9:09 AM
No Its NOT. There is no music on my device. Its playing it from My Google Play Music Library.
Rona
9:12 AM
That is because Google Home can only support subscriptions for Google Play Music in the UK
Mark
9:14 AM
We are going round in circles. I Have to start work now. I will explore other options.
Rona
9:15 AM
Thank you for understanding and we appreciate your time. Will there be anything else for today, Mark?
Mark
9:16 AM
No thank you.