Skip to content
Tech News
← Back to articles

Google Nest Doorbells suffer mild identity crisis, start speaking with new accents

read original get Google Nest Doorbell (battery) → more articles
Why This Matters

A quirky bug is causing Google Nest Doorbells to announce visitors in a US English accent even when users have set a different language or regional accent for all their other Google Home devices. While minor, this highlights ongoing reliability issues with Google's smart home voice assistant ecosystem as it transitions to Gemini for Home, following a separate Voice Match recognition bug reported recently.

Key Takeaways
Worth a Look

Google Nest Doorbell (battery) — If you're already navigating the quirks of Google's smart home voice assistant, the Nest Doorbell itself remains a solid, easy-to-install video doorbell that integrates tightly with Google Home. It's a great way to get familiar with Gemini for Home's announcements and language settings firsthand, accent glitches and all.

See Google Nest Doorbell (battery) on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.

C. Scott Brown / Android Authority

Add Android Authority on Google: Preferred Source Google Discover

TL;DR Users in countries outside the US report that their Nest Doorbell announcements have inexplicably switched to an American accent.

The issue reportedly does not occur with any other Google device interactions.

One user claims that you can fix the issue by setting English (US) as your secondary language and deleting it after a few seconds.

Google Home has had a flare-up of issues in recent days. Most recently, Voice Match has been struggling to identify who’s speaking. As Google toils away on a fix for that problem, another odd bug has shown up unannounced. This issue specifically affects the Nest Doorbell.

Gemini for Home supports up to 10 languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, and Japanese. You can even pick a preferred accent, like US or UK English. While there may be some people who prefer to hear accents other than their own, most people tend to pick a voice that uses the same accent they do. Wouldn’t it be a bit jarring if your assistant suddenly started talking in your language but with a different accent?

According to reports on Reddit, this is happening to Nest Doorbell users overseas. One user in France explains that they have French set up on all of their Google Home devices, and Gemini responds in French with a French accent for all of those interactions. However, when someone uses their Nest Doorbell, the announcement is spoken in French, but with a US accent.

Users in the UK are experiencing the same issue. Several Nest Doorbell owners report that their doorbell announcements have inexplicably switched to a US English accent. In every other Google Home device interaction, the assistant is still using a British voice.

Another user claims they managed to fix the problem for Google Assistant with the help of Google’s support team. They claim the issue can be fixed by setting US English as your secondary language. After a few seconds, delete it, and everything should be working again. It’s unclear if this solution has worked for others experiencing this problem.

... continue reading