In this guide, we will show you the steps to fix the issue of Fox News being automatically added to the Google Home routine. This smart speaker lineup from the Search Engine giants beholds a slew of nifty devices in its arsenal. These include the likes of Home, Home Hub, Home Mini, and others. It comes with the built-in Google Assistant which makes it easier to manage these speakers. Along the same lines, you could also create routines and attach a subsequent task to them.
For example, you could instruct the smart speaker to read news from a particular source as soon as you turn off the alarm. However, as of late, a weird issue is bugging this functionality. Many users have voiced their concern that Fox News has been automatically added to the Google Home routine, even though they haven’t manually added that channel in the first place. Whether this is some type of forceful promotion or just a bug is yet to be seen, but some fingers do point towards the former.
This is because how could only one particular news channel gets added to every user’s routines and that too all of a sudden. If it has been a bug, then users might have reported about random channels belonging being added, but that isn’t the case, and only the offering from Fox has been added to every user’s routines. Well, let’s remove this detective hat for a moment and focus on something more important, and that is how to rectify this issue. Follow along for the fix.
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How to Fix: Fox News added to Google Home Routine
As of now, there’s only one workaround that has spelled out success for many users. And that involves resetting your Google Home/Nest speakers. But before you try it out, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that this fix will only give you respite from this issue for a day.
Within 20-24 hours, Fox News will be re-added to your routines and you will have to then re-perform the reset process. While this is no easy task in itself, but as of now, that is the only approach that seems to have worked out. So on that note, let’s get started.
Reset Google Home Mini (1st gen)
- Press and hold the factory reset button situated below the power cord for about 5 seconds.
- The device will now undergo a reset but don’t leave the factory reset button yet.
- Rather, keep it pressed for around 10 more seconds until you hear a beep sound.
Google Nest Mini (2nd gen)
- Switch the mic off from the side of the mic. The lights will turn orange.
- Now press and hold the center of the Nest Mini for about 5 seconds.
- The device will now undergo a reset but don’t leave the factory reset button yet.
- Rather, keep it pressed for around 10 more seconds until you hear a beep sound.
That’s it. These were the steps to fix the issue of Fox News being automatically added to the Google Home routine. As far as the official stance on this matter is concerned, the developers are aware of this issue, but they haven’t given out any ETA for the rollout of a fix. As and when that happens, we will update this guide accordingly. In the meantime, the aforementioned workarounds are your best bet.
