Set up Family Bell announcements for your speaker, Smart Display, or mobile device

Keep your family's day on track with announcements that ring on your home and mobile devices.

For example, you can add a bell announcement “It’s time for dinner” every weekday at 6 PM from your living room speaker. 

Important: This feature is only available in some languages and countries/regions. You must use a mobile device to set up and manage bell announcements.

What you need

• A speaker, Smart Display, or Android phone
• A mobile device with Google Assistant or the Google Home app
• Device notifications turned on

Add a bell announcement

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Google Home app .
2. At the top right, tap your Profile picture or initial Assistant settings Family Bell.
   • Note: If you don't find "Family Bell," first tap View more.
3. Tap Add a bell and enter the announcement details.
4. Tap Create new bell.
   • When a bell is announced, you get a notification on your mobile device.

To create a Family Bell on a Speaker or Smart Display:

1. Say “Hey Google, create a Family Bell.”
2. Follow the conversation with Assistant to provide more details.

For example, try saying, “Hey Google, create a Family Bell called Breakfast at 10 AM on Monday through Friday.”

Tip: When you create a Family Bell, you can customize the announcement with specific information your family appreciates.

• “It’s time for breakfast.”
• “It’s recess. Time to have some fun.”
• “Time for bed. Remember, sleeping is a time machine to breakfast."

Edit & manage your bell announcements

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Google Home app .
2. At the top right, tap your Profile picture or initial Assistant settings Family Bell.
   • Note: If you don't find "Family Bell," first tap View more.
3. At the bottom right of a bell announcement, tap the Down arrow .
4. Update the details for the bell announcement.

Turn a bell announcement on or off

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Google Home app .
2. At the top right, tap your Profile picture or initial Assistant settings Family Bell.
   • Note: If you don't find "Family Bell," first tap View more.
3. At the top right of a bell announcement, turn it on or off.

Pause bells while you’re away from home

If you and your family will be away from home, like on a vacation or break, you can pause announcements for a set time.

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Google Home app .
2. At the top right, tap your Profile picture or initial Assistant settings.
3. Under "All settings," tap Family Bell.
4. At the top, next to “Pause bells while you’re on break,” tap Get Started.
5. Set the dates and bells for the pause.
   • You can only pause bells that are turned on.
6. Tap Save.

Add a step-by-step bell to help your family get ready

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Google Home app .
2. At the top right, tap your Profile picture or initial Assistant settings Family Bell.
   • Tip: If you don't find "Family Bell," first tap View more.
3. Scroll to the section “Get ready with Family Bell step-by-step.”
4. Tap on the suggested tiles to add the checklist bells.
5. You can modify the checklist and customize the time, text, and sequence. You can also add or remove the checklist steps.
   • When a bell is announced, you get a notification on your mobile device.
   • On Smart Display, you can interact with the step-by-step bell by voice commands and tapping.
   • On Speakers, you can use voice commands.

Edit or cancel your paused bells

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Google Home app .
2. At the top right, tap your Profile picture or initial Assistant settings.
3. Under "All settings," tap Family Bell.
4. At the top, next to “Pause bells while you’re on break,” tap Edit.
   • To edit your paused bells: Update the dates and bells to pause, then tap Save.
   • To cancel your paused bells: Tap Clear dates Save.

Fix a problem

Fix bell notifications on an iPhone or iPad

If you don’t get bell notifications on your mobile device, make sure Assistant notifications are turned on in your device settings.

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Settings app.
2. Tap Notifications Assistant .
3. Turn on Allow Notifications.

Related resources

• Get help with your daily routines
• Set & manage alarms
• Set, manage & assign reminders