Google’s Smart Home service has been beset with issues over its lifetime, with some faults lasting for literal years. However, a recent patch might have solved one of the more prolific issues when it comes to Nest Cameras.
One of the best uses for Google Home, at least in concept, is to use the smart speaker as a central hub for managing other smart devices. However, there has been a continuous issue when working with Google Nest Cams. The problem, which often arises when users try to check their Nest Camera’s history, has users see a message that states: “This video isn’t available yet. Check back later.”
Fans have eagerly been awaiting a solution, and it appears Google has delivered, as the released patch notes (via 9to5 Google) for version 3.36 include two relevant bug fixes. The first states: “Reduced 'no video available' errors: Camera users will see fewer cases where a recent video is not yet available for streaming.” The second reads: “Camera stream reliability: Fixed an issue where turning a camera off and on during a live stream would result in a 'Camera Unavailable' error, ensuring the stream recovers properly.”
While it is nice to see Google is, finally, looking into the error, it is concerning that the notes only mention seeing “fewer” cases of the problem occurring. However, we'll have to wait and see if reports of the fault start to lessen after the patch.
Google Home has more issues than just Nest Cams
While it is nice to see Google solving one of the longest-surviving issues it has, there’s no doubt that Google Home is in a lot of trouble. Over the last few months, we have seen multiple complaints about some of the best Google Home speakers.
The problems appeared to stem from Google Assistant, which is slowly being replaced by Google Gemini. The problems ended up getting so bad that Anish Kattukaran, the Chief Product Officer for Google Home and Nest, took to X to apologize and said that the company is working on a long-term solution.
However, after only a week, new reports were appearing that the issues were getting worse. This included a Reddit thread that reported that the voice controls for smart lights had stopped working completely. There were even reports of a possible lawsuit in the world.
All in all, it looks like Google manages to solve one problem only to find another. Hopefully, there is a solution for the Google Home issue that will allow people to use their hardware as intended.
If you're a Google Home user, then let us know how your experience is going at the moment. Are you still seeing issues with your service, or have things started to improve?
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