Google Home glitch ignoring room commands, triggers all lights in house, amidst other reliability issues

Update 29/07/25 – 11:36 am (IST): Google’s Nest team on Reddit has confirmed that they’re rolling out a fix for the bug that’s causing certain voice commands to fail or result in unexpected actions. Though the team also acknowledged that some users might still face issues and has requested them to reach out by sharing feedback.

Original article published on July 23, 2025, follows:

Google Home users can’t seem to catch a break. Multiple homeowners in the past day or so have found their smart speakers completely ignoring room-specific commands, with requests like “turn off the bedroom lights” instead switching off every bulb in the entire house.

Reports from frustrated users have started flooding in on Reddit and Google’s own Nest community forums. One user on Reddit described how asking to “turn on the barn” suddenly activated fans but skipped the lights, while a follow-up request lit up every room and their office in a separate building.

Over on the Google Nest Community, someone detailed how “turn off the lights” in one room now shuts down everything, despite all devices being properly grouped in the app. Factory resets and app reconnections haven’t fixed it for most, leaving folks fumbling with manual controls or their phones just to avoid chaos.

For context, these aren’t isolated blips. Google Home owners have been grumbling for months about declining performance, with devices getting less responsive over time. A recent Spring update promised fixes but delivered more headaches instead. On top of that, Nest Aware subscriptions just jumped 25% — basic plans now cost $10 a month, up from $8, and the Plus tier hits $20. Users are furious, especially when paying more for tech that’s flaking out. For more details, you can check out our coverage here.

Adding insult to injury, this glitch hits amid a fresh wave of complaints about device disconnects. Smart bulbs from brands like Smart Life and Tapo are dropping offline without warning, and cameras are glitching too — one user noted their Eufy doorbell and CCTV setup went haywire overnight. They even suggested that a “bad update” might be rolling out, which is causing these problems. Interestingly, the app itself often works fine for manual tweaks, pointing fingers at the voice assistant side of things.

Parents with sleeping kids, remote workers juggling automations, or anyone just wanting hassle-free control are left in the lurch. I wasn’t able to find any official acknowledgement regarding the problems users are facing. So it’s unclear if we’ll see a fix anytime soon. In the meantime, users are swapping tips like checking if your phone’s hijacking commands or ensuring speakers aren’t offline. If you’re affected, it might be worth joining the chorus on Reddit and Google’s support forums to push for a quicker fix.