Phone Calls with Google Home/Mini

Starting from mid-August 2017, your Google Home and or Mini gives you a virtual assistant with hands free voice calling and scheduling.

Upgrade your smart office/home office/huddle rooms with voice controls.

The Google Home & Mini use your Google Contacts for Hands Free Voice Calling. https://contacts.google.com/

How to make phone calls with Google Home & Google Mini

Say "Hey Google," then...
Call by business name	“Call Office Depot”
Ask for nearest business, then call	“What is the nearest pharmacy?” > “Call them”
Call by a number	“Call 123-456-7890”
Call by contact name in contact list	"Call David", "Call Bob"
Add an event to your calendar	"Set up an event tomorrow" > What's the title of the event" > "At what time"
	"Schedule <event> for me on Saturday at 8pm"
	"What’s my agenda for today?", "What's on my agenda this week?", "What's on my agenda for next month?"
Redial last number attempted	"Redial"
Control volume	"Set volume to 5", "Set volume to 40%"

How to make phone calls with Google Home - August 2017 - The Verge

"Google’s smart speaker can now pull double duty as a phone for voice calls. The company just confirmed that it’s rolling out Google Home’s calling feature in the US and Canada beginning today. Users can dial anyone in their contacts and local businesses for free — so long as the call recipient is in one of those two countries. The calling feature was first announced back in May.

In turning its speaker into a phone, Google is taking another step to challenge Amazon and its Echo devices, which introduced calling and messaging features earlier this year. But the two companies take a significantly different approach in how the feature actually works and who you’re able to communicate with."

How to make hands-free calls with Google Home Google just rolled out hands-free calling for its Google Home speaker. Here's how it works. - August 2017 - CNET

"Hands-free calling on Google Home is quite a bit different. Effectively, your Google Home becomes a VoIP (voice over internet protocol) speakerphone that can call your Google Contacts and businesses. It also doesn't require the people you are calling to have a Google Home speaker or even a Google account. You can call effectively anyone with a phone number, except emergency numbers.

Calling is also integrated with Google Home's multi-user support. This means if you tell Google Home to "Call Mom," it will dial your mother. However, if another registered user tells Google the same thing, it will dial their mom, not yours."

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Setup Instructions for the Google Home Device

"What you need to get started. A Google Home device. Latest version of the Google Home app . Latest version of Google app (Android only. Download it here). A Google account. A mobile device or tablet. The compatible mobile device or tablet must support a 5GHz connection to set up Google Home on a 5GHz connection. Note: A WPA2-Enterprise network is not supported. Meet the minimum Operating System (OS) requirements to run the Google Home app . An internet connection. Access to a secure wireless network. Make sure you have the wireless network password handy. Availability and performance of certain features, services and applications are device- and network-dependent and may not be available in all areas; subscription(s) may be required, and additional terms, conditions and/or charges may apply."

Setup Instructions for Google Hand-Free Calling - https://support.google.com/googlehome/answer/7363847

"With Hands-Free Calling on Google Home,  you can call friends, family, and businesses using just your voice. This functionality will only be available in the U.S. and Canadian English. Canadian French is coming soon. 

Who can I call? 

Call your own personal contacts or millions of businesses thanks to Google’s extensive business listings. You can also call a number by reading it aloud.

Calls to 911 services aren’t currently supported with your Assistant on Google Home.

International and premium rate (1-900) numbers are supported only if Google Home has been linked to your Project Fi or Google Voice number with credits (instructions below). You'll be charged for such calls at the published rates. Note: Project Fi and Google Voice are only available in the  U.S.

Step 1. Setup

Call businesses

You can start making calls to businesses right after you set up Google Home.

i.e. Call your contacts 

The links below give you the latest steps for for the iPhone & iPad

If you stay on these Google pages, a Google chat window will open with Google tech support help available to answer any of your questions.

Step 1: Turn on Personal Results  

To call your contacts, make sure Personal results is turned on. 

1. Open the Google Home app  .
2. Make sure your phone or tablet is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as Google Home/Mini.
3. Tap Menu  at the top left, and confirm the Google Account listed is the one linked to Google Home. To switch accounts, click the triangle to the right of the account name.
4. In the top left corner of the app Home screen, tap Menu   More settings. 
5. Under  “Devices,” choose  the desired Google Home/Mini speaker device.
6. Find the section labeled "Adjust settings for this device."
7. Under "Personal results," slide the slider to the right  - to allow access to your contacts, calendar etc.
8. Repeat these steps for each Google Home device where you want to turn on calling contacts.

Step 2: Sync Device Contacts 

If you’ve turned on Personal Results, your Google Contacts are available from Google Home/Mini. In addition, you can call the contacts from your device if they’re synced.

Here is one way to ensure your device contacts are synced:

1. Open the Google app.
2. Tap Menu  More SettingsAccount . . . top right Activity ControlDevice information.
3.  Turn this on . 

i.e. Here's a recent update - Open the Google app. Tap Menu and then More Settings and then in Google Assistant screen with Account info showing, tap the ... in the top right, and then Activity Control in the sub- screen and then see Device information. Turn this on .

Note: If you have numerous contacts or new contacts, it may take a few minutes for them to be available for calling on your Google Home device.

The Google Home & Mini use your Google Contacts for Hands Free Voice Calling. https://contacts.google.com/

Step 3: (Optional) Use your Project Fi or Google Voice number on outbound calls (U.S. only)

If desired, outbound calls can display your existing Project Fi or Google Voice number. This number is tied to your Google Voice or Project Fi account and billing.  Note: Project Fi and Google Voice are only available in the  U.S.

1. Open the Google Home app .
2. Make sure your phone or tablet is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as Google Home.
3. Tap Menu  and make sure the Google Account listed is the one linked to your device (check the email listed)
4. In the top left corner of the app Home screen, tap Menu   More settings. 
5. Under "Services," tap Calls. (If it's not showing the Calls option something is wrong)
6. Select from among the services that are available to you.

Step 2. Make a call

Unless you’re displaying a Project Fi or Google Voice number, all outbound calls use an unlisted number. Recipients will see something like "Private" or "Anonymous" as the Caller ID. 

	Say "Hey Google," then...
Call by business name	"Call Bonnie's Flowers," “Call Office Depot”
Ask for nearest business, then call	“What is the nearest pharmacy?” > “Call them”
Call by a number	“Call 123-456-7890”
Call by contact name in contact list Note: You must turn on Personal results.	"Call David," "Call Bob"
Redial last number attempted	"Redial"
Control volume	"Set volume to 5", "Set volume to 40%"

Step 3. End a call

To end a call,

• Tap on the top of Google Home or
• Say "Hey Google, stop/disconnect/end call/hang up."

If the recipient ends the call, you'll hear the end call tone. 

Talk to your Assistant while on a call

During a call, you can place a call on hold and talk to your Assistant by using a voice command, or by press and holding the top of Google Home.

While talking to your Assistant, 

• The person you called can't listen to what you or your Assistant says.
• You can't listen to what the person you called is saying.

After your Assistant answers your question or completes your requested action, your call will automatically resume.

Note: While on a call, you can't do certain actions, including:

• Listen to music, news, or podcasts
• Listen to My Day
• Use Apps for the Assistant 
• Make another phone call
• Play games 

Multiple users & calling contacts

Multiple people can connect to one Google Home and call their personal contacts. With your permission, your Assistant can distinguish your voice from others in your home, so when you say “Call mom,” we’ll call your mom. Here's how to set up multiple users on Google Home.

Voice commands for multiple users when making calls

Voice commands have different actions if the requester is a linked user or a guest. Here's an overview: 

	Users who linked their Google Account and voice	Guests and unlinked housemates
Voice commands:	Will use personal contacts of each user.  No one else can access these personal contacts using voice commands.	Won’t access any personal contacts.

If no user has linked their voice, everyone can access the personal contacts of the first user who linked its Google Account if Personal Results is turned on. 

View activity

Within My Activity, you can hear a voice recording of the query used to start the call, or queries used to interact with the Assistant such as “Ok Google, hang up.” Nothing else is recorded. 

Frequently asked questions

What does Google Home record?

Google Home records: Voice commands after “Ok Google” or “Hey Google”. For example, this would be recorded: “Hey Google, call Bob” or “Ok Google, hang up.” The recording stops after that phrase. 

Google Home doesn't record: The phone conversation. 

How much will calls cost?

Calls to most U.S. and Canada numbers are free.
If you linked your Project Fi or Google Voice account, you'll be charged at the listed rates of those services.

If I have multiple numbers associated with a contact, which one will it call?

Your Google Assistant will read out the different associated numbers and you can choose which number to call using a voice command. Eventually your Assistant will learn which number you use for certain contacts so you can skip this step in the future. 

Can someone call me on my Google Home (versus me calling them)?

We’re starting with outgoing calls, and we don’t have additional details to share regarding inbound calls.

Can you block people on Google Home?

Incoming calls aren't currently possible on Google Home so there's no ability to block a number. 

What happens when you reach a number that has a menu and says “press 2”?

Many telephony systems today support voice input to navigate a menu, so this shouldn’t be an issue. In addition, we're working on supporting touch-tone via voice but this is not currently supported.

Can I call anyone all over the world?

If you are using your Project Fi or Google Voice account to make calls from Google Home, you can make calls to all the same countries your plan allows for including countries beyond Canada and U.S. You will be charged for such calls at the published rates of those respective services. 

If you aren’t using a Google Voice or Project Fi account, we offer free calling to most numbers in the U.S. and Canada"

Notes and Suggestions for talking to & using your Virtual Assistant for calls & schedules:

Voice Calling using your Contact List:

The Google Home & Mini use your Google Contacts for Hands Free Voice Calling. https://contacts.google.com/

Voice Scheduling using your Calendar:

Here's a good resource for voice event scheduling: https://support.google.com/googlehome/answer/7029002?hl=en

Add an event to your calendar	"Set up an event tomorrow" > What's the title of the event" > "At what time"
	"Schedule <event> for me on Saturday at 8pm"
Check on your schedules	"What’s my agenda for today?"
	“List all events for August 1st” "What’s my agenda for today?", "What's on my Agenda this week?", "What's on my agenda for next month?" “What’s my calendar for Friday?”

        Google Home uses the Google Calendar - which can be synched to other calendars, Outlook, etc,
            e.g. via https://www.sync2.com/

 

How We Built a Google Home Office Assistant – Connected Lab ...

https://medium.com/.../how-we-built-a-google-home-office-assistant-a-connected-butl...

Feb 6, 2017 - How We Built a Google Home Office Assistant. A Connected Butler Story. Written by: Leo Kaliazine.

Get things done with Google Home/Mini

• Create a shopping list
• Shop on Google Home
• Make calls on Google Home
• Create and manage shortcuts commands
• Set and manage reminders on Google Home
• Send information from Google Home to your phone
• Find your phone with your Google Assistant
• Ask your Assistant to remember things

Still need help?

Contact a Google Home specialist at Google 1-855-971-9121 or chat with their very helpful team. Open any Google Home web page to begin a chat.

or see the Welcome to the Google Home Help Center - https://support.google.com/googlehome/#topic=7029677

To get the most out of Google Home, choose your Help Center: U.S. Help Center, U.K Help Center, Canada Help Center, Australia Help Center.  Need help? Speak to a Google Home support specialist: U.S.: 1-855-971-9121,  U.K.: 0800 026 1217, Canada: 844-701-7229.

08/13/2019

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