I have avoided Google now for the previous two iterations of phone... but I'm giving it a shot on the S4!
There are two outstanding Google Now questions that I can't seem to find a clear answer to by Googling (there's a joke in there somewhere).
1) How do I actually trigger Google now? I've tried saying Google, that doesn't work. The best I've been able to do is map the double home button to launch voice input, but that's s poor solution. If I have to use button presses to trigger it, then I may as well just do whatever I was trying to do in the first place with my fingers. IE, it's no time time savings to double press the home button and then say a command, vs just clicking on the app icon I'm trying to launch (probably a time penalty in fact).
What am I missing? Why isn't my Google Now listening to me in the background? Am I just using the wrong trigger word?
2) The beep that follows voice recognition is incredibly loud, substantially louder than the speech response that Google feeds back. How do I disable the beep entirely? It's redundant and disruptive. The best solution online seems to be to mute notifications in general. That's a non starter.
You trigger it by starting the Google app and following the instructions. It's the google app, not the google+ app or the google settings app.
After that it just kind of runs. starts out slow at first but more cards appear over time, but you can pull it up anytime by running the google app.
acruxksa said:
You trigger it by starting the Google app and following the instructions. It's the google app, not the google+ app or the google settings app.
After that it just kind of runs. starts out slow at first but more cards appear over time, but you can pull it up anytime by running the google app.
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Yes.... I realize how to run the app.... and how to follow its instructions
How do I trigger it, that's my question/query/frustration. As mentioned, it works fine if I double-tap the home button to launch the Google Now app manually. It also works fine if I go into my apps and find the Google Now icon, and then launch it that way, or if I use a shortcut, widget, etc to open up the app.
What I can't figure out, is how to actually trigger it during regular use. Short of going in and manually launching Google Now, I can't get it to trigger - I can't get it to listen to me. I've tried saying "Google", "Android, "Ok Android", "Ok Google", etc, and almost every other ridiculous phrase I can think of. Nothing triggers it short of manually launching the app by hand.
Once I set it up, it comes up every time I tap on the google search bar. However, normally I don't mess with it, it just automatically sends me notification cards when it thinks I need them.
For instance right now it's showing me a notification card for the last Sharks Kings game, my upcoming flight and several cards for things I've researched a lot lately like the S4, Voodoo Sound, Vsonic GR02 headphones, Fiio E07K etc. Also has my stocks and the local weather. I didn't "do" anything to get the cards, they just appear in my notification bar or whenever I tap the search bar.
acruxksa said:
Once I set it up, it comes up every time I tap on the google search bar. However, normally I don't mess with it, it just automatically sends me notification cards when it thinks I need them.
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That's fine - once setup, it comes up every time I tap the Google search bar too. That's not my issue.
My problem is that I cannot get it to trigger by my voice. Unless I manually launch the app first each and every time I want it to do something, it does not respond to my voice. It responds to my voice just fine if I manually I launch the app first, but that's the only time I can get it to work. At all other times, I may as well be speaking to my shoe
Hold menu button for couple seconds.
Easy answer. You can't you have to launch it first.
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ripper4209 said:
Easy answer. You can't you have to launch it first.
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That can't be...? What use would a hands-free system be if you have to use your hands and navigate into an app before it will take hands-free voice commands?
Isn't the whole deal with this voice stuff that you can just talk to it?
In my experience, the hotword detection only works after you've manually triggered the app. It only relieves you from physically tapping the microphone icon.
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get a bt headset and activate it that way..It can't be 100% hands free; it would have to be on all the time, and then you would complain about how much battery it was eating...
On my Google Now, saying "Google" does work. As long as the actual App has already been activated and is standing by that is.
On my "S Voice", saying, "Hi Galaxy" works, but it is customizable for other triggering phrases.
You are correct about Google Now only responding the first time though. If you want it to voice activate again you have to use the back key to get back to the original screen or completely re-launch it. It just seems that is the way it is.
Wow - this is significantly less impressive than I had envisioned. I was under the mistaken impression that Google Now (and Siri on the iPhone) just responded to their trigger words whenever uttered.
This strikes me as somewhat limited in usefulness until they get these apps to listen constantly. If I need to know the weather, why use my hands to launch Google Now, then ask for the weather, and then wait for it, if I could instead just use my hands to launch my weather app directly?
I must be missing all the excitement - or maybe Siri / Google Now are meant for people who can't figure out their phones?
On the issue of that annoying confirmation sound, I'm halfway there. The APK is in data/apps, and it's called "com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox-1.apk". Inside that apk there is a folder called "res", and inside that there's another folder called "raw". In that folder you'll find the WAV files for each sound.
Unfortunately, that's where my efforts die. I can't seem to open the wav files on a PC (even in audio editing software). I can't just delete them either, or Google Now crashes. I similarly can't just replace them with less annoying wav files from my PC - that crashes Google Now also. I'll see what I can do about finding a way to just upon them for the purpose of lowering their volume (or blanking them) and report back with my results (if any).
rhd-android said:
Wow - this is significantly less impressive than I had envisioned. I was under the mistaken impression that Google Now (and Siri on the iPhone) just responded to their trigger words whenever uttered.
This strikes me as somewhat limited in usefulness until they get these apps to listen constantly. If I need to know the weather, why use my hands to launch Google Now, then ask for the weather, and then wait for it, if I could instead just use my hands to launch my weather app directly?
I must be missing all the excitement - or maybe Siri / Google Now are meant for people who can't figure out their phones?
On the issue of that annoying confirmation sound, I'm halfway there. The APK is in data/apps, and it's called "com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox-1.apk". Inside that apk there is a folder called "res", and inside that there's another folder called "raw". In that folder you'll find the WAV files for each sound.
Unfortunately, that's where my efforts die. I can't seem to open the wav files on a PC (even in audio editing software). I can't just delete them either, or Google Now crashes. I similarly can't just replace them with less annoying wav files from my PC - that crashes Google Now also. I'll see what I can do about finding a way to just upon them for the purpose of lowering their volume (or blanking them) and report back with my results (if any).
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Don't you think some people DON'T want it on all the time? It could mistakenly trigger it and possibly do an unwanted action. It is fine in it's current implementation. I would think in the future as voice recognition and battery technology improves we might see an always on Google now or siri but right now it would/could cause more problems than create convenience.
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A new version of Chrome (for desktop) is coming out that supposedly will do this, but it's just not feasible on a mobile device. At least not yet. Do you really want your phone's mic on 24/7 feeding audio to the processor, constantly running voice recognition on every sound it hears? Imagine how horrible the battery life would be. Not to mention the privacy concerns of that (and legal issues, I can see something like this breaking wiretap laws in several states).
Even Google Glass requires you to either touch it or activate it through a head motion so it starts listening. The same with Siri on iOS. The point is you only have to do one thing to start issuing a variety of commands. You can do it without looking at the phone.
rhd-android said:
Wow - this is significantly less impressive than I had envisioned. I was under the mistaken impression that Google Now (and Siri on the iPhone) just responded to their trigger words whenever uttered.
This strikes me as somewhat limited in usefulness until they get these apps to listen constantly. If I need to know the weather, why use my hands to launch Google Now, then ask for the weather, and then wait for it, if I could instead just use my hands to launch my weather app directly?
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As mentioned, think logically about what you are asking for. If your phone's microphone was always on, listening to and parsing every single noise it hears 24/7 to detect the word Google, think about what the battery implications. Every sound it hears it must analyze, all day long. Then, consider any time it thinks it hears Google, it will immediately turn on and listen for more input and then try to respond to that. It's just not feasible to expect this without killing your battery and also dealing with the many false positives that might constantly be making your phone do stuff you didn't intend.
Having said that, you are missing the key part of Google Now which sort of addresses your issues with it. Google Now doesn't listen 24/7 for you to speak to it, it analyzes data such as your search history, location, Google now settings, gmail, calendar, and so on, to proactively give you information before you even ask for it. That's the appeal and the main idea of Now. You still get the searching, the voice commands, etc, but you also get an "assistant" that doesn't need you to constantly tell it what you want. (In theory of course)
jsmith8858 said:
As mentioned, think logically about what you are asking for. If your phone's microphone was always on, listening to and parsing every single noise it hears 24/7 to detect the word Google, think about what the battery implications. Every sound it hears it must analyze, all day long. Then, consider any time it thinks it hears Google, it will immediately turn on and listen for more input and then try to respond to that. It's just not feasible to expect this without killing your battery and also dealing with the many false positives that might constantly be making your phone do stuff you didn't intend.
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Yep - and that's where I thought the tech was at. I thought we had overcome these problems. I thought we were able to accomplish the above.
I played with it a bunch yesterday, and there was nothing that I could do faster with voice (given that I had to use hands to trigger the app first) than I could do with just hands alone. I tested a lot of common tasks, and launching the app + giving a voice command and waiting for the response action was always slower (not even factoring in voice errors - that's assuming 100% accuracy).
The ability to constantly listen is fundamental to voice commands being useful on a smartphone (in my mind). I just jumped the gun and thought we were there already (adverts certainly make it seem like we are). Until we hit that point, until we have a system that is responsive like KIT, or HAL, or LCARS, I think voice commands are impractical. It needs constant listening. Interestingly, it looks like the industry agrees:
http://www.technologyreview.com/new...d-respond-to-your-voice-even-when-its-asleep/
http://www.techradar.com/news/compu...mm-processor-will-always-be-listening-1132647
^ that tech largely addresses jsmith8858's concerns.
rhd-android said:
Yep - and that's where I thought the tech was at. I thought we had overcome these problems. I thought we were able to accomplish the above.
I played with it a bunch yesterday, and there was nothing that I could do faster with voice (given that I had to use hands to trigger the app first) than I could do with just hands alone. I tested a lot of common tasks, and launching the app + giving a voice command and waiting for the response action was always slower (not even factoring in voice errors - that's assuming 100% accuracy).
The ability to constantly listen is fundamental to voice commands being useful on a smartphone (in my mind). I just jumped the gun and thought we were there already (adverts certainly make it seem like we are). Until we hit that point, until we have a system that is responsive like KIT, or HAL, or LCARS, I think voice commands are impractical. It needs constant listening. Interestingly, it looks like the industry agrees:
http://www.technologyreview.com/new...d-respond-to-your-voice-even-when-its-asleep/
http://www.techradar.com/news/compu...mm-processor-will-always-be-listening-1132647
^ that tech largely addresses jsmith8858's concerns.
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It's not there yet. It is still very handy when you're multitasking and the best example is driving. Sure I would love to not have to tap my phone a couple if times, but it is still worlds better than losing focus taking my phone out if dock, making those couple taps and typing out my message or commands. Not to mention keeping a CPU and microphone running at all times keeping your phone awake at the same time and it is just not viable. I don't think apple could pull it off either as it would just keep iOS running and running when the phone is not in use. Then there's the privacy factor. I don't think this will be viable for at least another couple of years.
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Siri also doesn't respond by keyword launch. S-voice seems like the only one that does and it's definitely less than stellar. As jsmith8858 said above, it's a proactive assistant. Google Now is there for you to give you information it believes you might need before you ask for it. I.e. If i google a place on google maps on my desktop, When i look at google now on my phone a moment later, it has the pop up of directions and estimated time (that i can bring up in maps or navigation by tapping) of where it was when I just searched.
There are third party apps you can use with custom roms that you can bind double-tap home button to initiate voice search, or you can add voice search as a shortcut on your lock screen as well.
I was watching TV and someone on TV said Google, and it triggered the app so I'm pretty sure that there is a way to do it without using your hands, especially because of how many times they said there was a way during one of those recent Key notes regarding it
KILLplay said:
I was watching TV and someone on TV said Google, and it triggered the app so I'm pretty sure that there is a way to do it without using your hands, especially because of how many times they said there was a way during one of those recent Key notes regarding it
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As far as I know, the only phone that triggers Google now by saying "Ok Google now" is the new moto X, but it has a processor dedicated to ear what you are saying.
I don't know if this ability cam be ported to our s4 and what will be the price to pay about battery consumption.
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just got a zenwatch this week and I can't figure how to control my nest with it. I've got the google now integration turned on, and when I tell my phone to "set the temperature to 70 degrees" it changes it, but when I tell my watch it just brings up web results. am I missing something?
nobody has an answer?
could be that the android wear commands aren't being fed to google now on the phone.
if you are on kitkat, try using xposed, google now api and autovoice to send android wear commands to google now on the phone.
latest google now api can be found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/modules/mod-google-search-api-t2554173/page42
when setting up my home automation system, i could not get voice commands via android wear to trigger events; commands via the phone worked fine. the above is what worked and is why i'm not upgrading to lollipop just yet (no xposed support for ART).
only option right now that i know of to feed android wear commands to google now on the phone on lollipop is via autowear and autovoice. works, but requires a few extra steps (as oppose to just "ok google, close garage door").
thanks, I've got 5.0.1. it just seems odd that there's no integration
https://9to5google.com/2017/02/02/google-smart-lock-trusted-voice-pixel-fix/
Smart Lock is one of Android’s most underrated features and makes security less of a hassle. However, a recent bug keeps automatically disabling the ‘Trusted voice’ option, thus making “Ok Google” slightly less convenient. Fortunately, a fix has now been identified and is rolling out soon.
Trusted voice allows the “Ok Google” hotword to act as a password to unlock your device. It works by seeing if the uttered phrase at the start of a command matches your previously trained voice model. This is particularly useful when asking Google to perform a voice command that has a visual element, like surfacing images or getting directions.
In the past few months, several users on multiple devices have reported that the Trusted voice toggle located in settings of the Google app keeps turning off automatically. Even after re-enabling, the toggle would later be disabled. As such, getting the result of a voice command would require that users first enter a password.
Fortunately, a Google employee in the Pixel User Community notes that “the team has identified a fix, and it will be implemented soon.”Anecdotally, I have found that with the latest Google app beta (version 6.12), the Trusted voice toggle always stays enabled.
In the mean time, the following workaround should work until the patch is rolled out:
Go to Google app -> setting -> Accounts & privacy -> Google activity controls -> Voice & Audio Activity -> make sure it’s set to “on”
Ensure this setting is “on” for all accounts on the device
biggiestuff said:
https://9to5google.com/2017/02/02/google-smart-lock-trusted-voice-pixel-fix/
Smart Lock is one of Android’s most underrated features and makes security less of a hassle. However, a recent bug keeps automatically disabling the ‘Trusted voice’ option, thus making “Ok Google” slightly less convenient. Fortunately, a fix has now been identified and is rolling out soon.
Trusted voice allows the “Ok Google” hotword to act as a password to unlock your device. It works by seeing if the uttered phrase at the start of a command matches your previously trained voice model. This is particularly useful when asking Google to perform a voice command that has a visual element, like surfacing images or getting directions.
In the past few months, several users on multiple devices have reported that the Trusted voice toggle located in settings of the Google app keeps turning off automatically. Even after re-enabling, the toggle would later be disabled. As such, getting the result of a voice command would require that users first enter a password.
Fortunately, a Google employee in the Pixel User Community notes that “the team has identified a fix, and it will be implemented soon.”Anecdotally, I have found that with the latest Google app beta (version 6.12), the Trusted voice toggle always stays enabled.
In the mean time, the following workaround should work until the patch is rolled out:
Go to Google app -> setting -> Accounts & privacy -> Google activity controls -> Voice & Audio Activity -> make sure it’s set to “on”
Ensure this setting is “on” for all accounts on the device
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This is the most shameless self promotion of a crappy blog I've seen in awhile.
The whole article is about a miniscule bug about a feature that should NOT be used if you are interested in any sort of security. So claiming it makes security less of a hassle is idiotic when you can record the owner saying OK Google and unlock their phone.
:Facepalm: These forums are full of morons anymore
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