Smart home users relying on Wemo devices have been facing a frustrating ongoing issue. For several weeks now, many users are reporting that their Wemo smart plugs and switches are showing up as “unavailable” or “offline” within the Google Home app. This widespread problem is leaving many in the dark, quite literally, and scrambling for solutions.
The core of the problem seems to be a communication breakdown between Google Home and Wemo’s services. While the Wemo app itself often shows devices working perfectly fine, the Google Home app just won’t acknowledge them. This means voice commands through Google Assistant or direct control from the Google Home app are mostly useless for these affected devices.
Many users, trying to fix things, have attempted the usual troubleshooting steps. They’ve cleared app caches for both Google Home and Wemo, reinstalled the apps, and even tried to unlink and relink their Wemo accounts. However, this last step has proven particularly problematic. When attempting to relink, a common error message pops up: “Could not reach Wemo. Please try again.” This error appears consistently, regardless of the browser used or other typical fixes.
One affected user, Stephen 5165, took to Google’s support forums to share their frustration, stating,
My WeMo devices have been listed in the Home app as ‘unavailable’ for weeks now. Following recommendations I found online, I tried to unlink then relink WeMo. However, I’m unable to get it to relink. Every time I try, I receive the message that Google Home, ‘Could not reach WeMo. Please try again.’
Their thread has over 60 votes from other users who claim to be facing the same problem. Apart from this, I’m seeing a number of threads on Reddit discussing the issue. Some users, in their desperation, even took the drastic step of factory resetting their Wemo devices, only to find themselves still unable to connect to Google Home.
The good news, if there is any, is that Google appears to be aware of the situation. A Platinum Product Expert on the Google Assistant Help Community recently stated that the “Google Team took this as a bug” and that they are “in search of a fix.” This offers a glimmer of hope for users who have been patiently waiting for a resolution. For now, the advice from Google seems to be to keep sending feedback, providing as many details as possible to help engineers pinpoint the issue.
In the meantime, some users have noticed that while their Wemo devices are “offline” in the Google Home app, they can still control them through voice commands on their Google Nest Hubs. Others have found their Wemo devices working perfectly fine with other smart assistants, like Alexa, suggesting the issue is specific to the Google Home integration. So users might have to turn to these other assistants while Google works on fixing the bug that’s causing the problem.
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Dwayne Cubbins
1073 Posts
For nearly a decade, I've been deciphering the complexities of the tech world, with a particular passion for helping users navigate the ever-changing tech landscape. From crafting in-depth guides that unlock your phone's hidden potential to uncovering and explaining the latest bugs and glitches, I make sure you get the most out of your devices. And yes, you might occasionally find me ranting about some truly frustrating tech mishaps.
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