Playing music on Google Nest or Google Home device is a simple way to enjoy your favorite audio apps optimized for your speaker. You can even use your mobile device or tablet as a remote and control everything from playback to volume.
Step 1. Cast from Chromecast-enabled apps to speaker or display
- Make sure your mobile device or tablet is connected to the same Wi-Fi network or linked to the same account as your speaker or display.
- Open a Chromecast-enabled app.
- Tap the Cast button
.
- Tap the speaker or display you'd like to cast to.
- When you're connected, the Cast button will turn from light to dark gray, letting you know you're connected.
- You can now cast audio and video to your speaker or display from your device.
- To stop casting, tap the Cast button
at the top of your device. Tap Stop Casting in the box that appears.
Note: Some music providers, like Spotify, require a subscription to play music from its Chromecast-enabled app. Also, YouTube content is only supported from the YouTube Music app (not the YouTube app) and you must have a YouTube Premium account. YouTube Music is only available in the U.S. and Australia.
Step 2. Control Chromecast-enabled apps using voice commands
The following commands should work with almost all Chromecast-enabled apps.
To do this… |
Say "Ok Google" or “Hey Google", then… |
Pause |
"Pause", "Pause the music", “Pause music” |
Resume |
"Resume", "Continue playing" |
Stop |
"Stop", "Stop the music", “Stop music” |
What’s playing |
“What’s playing?”, “What song is playing?”, “What artist is playing?” |
"Set volume to 5", "Set volume to 40%" |
Check out the advanced voice commands for Chromecast-enabled apps like Spotify and more.
Other ways to control your music
You can also control music by touching the top surface of device or by using the Google Home app .
Speakers
To do this: | Touch Google Home like this: | Image |
Play, pause, or stop alarm or timer |
Tap once on the top of the device. | |
Turn up the volume |
Swipe clockwise on the top of the device. Note: This only adjusts the volume of media. You can adjust alarms and timers volume anytime in the Google Home app. |
|
Turn down the volume |
Swipe counterclockwise on the top of the device. Note: This only adjusts the volume of media and your Google Assistant. At volume level 0, all media will be muted but your Google Assistant will still speak at a minimum level. It doesn’t adjust the volume of alarms and timers. |
|
Start your request |
Press and hold down on the top of the device. | |
Mic on or off |
Press the microphone mute button on the back of the device. Note: If you mute the microphone, it prevents Google Home from listening or responding. To interact with Google Home, the microphone must be on. |
|
Factory reset the device | Press and hold the factory reset button located on the back of Google Home. | |
Turn off power | Unplug power cable from Google Home. |
Google Nest Mini (2nd gen)
Note: The Google Nest Mini (2nd gen) has a wall mount screw slot on the back. If your device doesn’t have a wall mount screw slot, it is a Google Home Mini (1st gen).
To do this: | Touch Google Nest Mini like this: | Image |
Play, pause, or stop media or end a current phone call |
Tap the center of the Nest Mini. |
|
Stop a ringing alarm or timer |
Tap the center of the Nest Mini. |
|
Turn up the volume |
Tap the right side of the Nest Mini. 10 total taps will be maximum volume. Note: This only adjusts the volume of media and your Google Assistant. At volume level 0, all media will be muted but your Google Assistant will still speak at a minimum level. It doesn’t adjust the volume of alarms and timers. To reverse controls, open the Home app |
|
Turn down the volume |
Tap on the left side of the Nest Mini. 10 total taps will mute all audio except your Google Assistant. Note: This only adjusts the volume of media and your Google Assistant. At volume level 0, all media will be muted but your Google Assistant will still speak at a minimum level. It doesn’t adjust the volume of alarms and timers. To reverse controls, open the Home app |
|
Turn mic on or off |
Toggle the mic on or off switch found next to the power cord. The switch will display orange when the microphone is turned off. Note: If you turn off the microphone, it prevents Nest Mini from listening or responding. To interact by voice with Nest Mini, the microphone must be on. |
|
Factory reset the device |
Turn the mic off, then press and hold the lights in the center of the Nest Mini. Hold for about 15 seconds. |
|
Turn off power | Unplug the power cable from Nest Mini. | |
Start your request |
Note: You can't press and hold the top of the Nest Mini to start a request with your Assistant. Instead, say "Hey Google" to start your request. |
To do this: | Touch Google Home Mini like this: | Image |
Play, pause, or stop media or end a current phone call |
Press and hold either side of Home Mini. |
|
Stop a ringing alarm or timer |
Press and hold either side of Home Mini. |
|
Turn up the volume |
Tap on right side of Home Mini. To reach maximum volume, tap to volume level 10. Note: This only adjusts the volume of media and your Google Assistant. At volume level 0, all media will be muted but your Google Assistant will still speak at a minimum level. It doesn’t adjust the volume of alarms and timers. |
|
Turn down the volume |
Press and hold left side of Home Mini. 10 total taps will mute all audio except your Google Assistant. Note: This only adjusts the volume of media and your Google Assistant. At volume level 0, all media will be muted but your Google Assistant will still speak at a minimum level. It doesn’t adjust the volume of alarms and timers. |
|
Turn mic on or off |
Toggle the mic on or off switch found next to the power cord. The switch will display orange when the microphone is turned off. Note: If you turn off the microphone, it prevents Home Mini from listening or responding. To interact with Home Mini, the microphone must be on. |
|
Factory reset the device |
Press and hold the factory reset button located below the power cord on the bottom of Home Mini. Find the circle etched into the base. Hold for about 12 seconds. |
|
Turn off power | Unplug the power cable from Home Mini. | |
Start your request |
Note: You can't press and hold the top of Home Mini to start a request with your Assistant. Instead, say "Hey Google" to start your request. |
Google Home Max
To do this: | Touch Google Home Max like this: | Image |
Play, pause, or stop media Stop a ringing alarm or timer End a call |
Horizontal placement: Tap the line located on the top of Max. Vertical placement: Tap the line located on the right side of Max.
|
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Turn up the volume |
Horizontal placement: Swipe from left to right along the line located on the top of Max. Vertical placement: Swipe up along the line located on the right side of Max.
|
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Turn down the volume |
Horizontal placement: Swipe from right to left along the line located on the top of Max. Vertical placement: Swipe down along the line located on the right side of Max.
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|
Turn mic on or off |
Toggle the mic on or off switch located on the back of Max. The switch will display orange when the microphone is turned off. You can’t use your voice or the Google Home app to turn on or off the mic. Note: Turning off the microphone:
|
|
Factory reset the device |
Press and hold the factory reset button located above the power cord on the back of Max. Find the small grey button. Hold for about 12 seconds. |
|
Turn off power | Unplug the power cable from Max. |
Google Nest Wifi point
To do this: |
Touch Nest Wifi point like this: |
Image |
Play, pause, or stop media or end a current phone call |
Tap the center of the Nest Wifi point. |
|
Stop a ringing alarm or timer |
Tap the center of the Nest Wifi point. |
|
Turn up the volume |
Tap on the right side of the Nest Wifi point. 10 total taps will be maximum volume. Note: This only adjusts the volume of media and your Google Assistant. At volume level 0, all media will be muted but your Google Assistant will still speak at a minimum level. It doesn’t adjust the volume of alarms and timers |
|
Turn down the volume |
Tap on the left side of the Nest Wifi point. 10 total taps will mute all audio except your Google Assistant. Note: This only adjusts the volume of media and your Google Assistant. At volume level 0, all media will be muted but your Google Assistant will still speak at a minimum level. It doesn’t adjust the volume of alarms and timers. |
|
Turn mic on or off |
Toggle the mic on or off switch found next to the power cord. The switch will display orange when the microphone is turned off. Note: If you turn off the microphone, it prevents Nest Wifi point from listening or responding. To interact by voice with your Nest Wifi point, the microphone must be on. |
|
Turn off power |
Unplug the power cable from Nest Wifi point. |
|
Start your request |
Note: You can't press and hold the top of a Nest Wifi point to start a request with your Assistant. Instead, say "Hey Google" to start your request. |
Displays
To do this: | Touch Google Nest Hub like this: | Image |
Turn up the volume | Press the upper volume button on the back of Google Nest Hub. | |
Turn down the volume | Press the lower volume button on the back of Google Nest Hub. |
Additional controls for managing the volume of multiple devices are available on your display. Learn more about multi-room controls.
To do this: | Touch Nest Hub Max like this: | Image |
Turn up the volume | Press the upper volume button on the back of Nest Hub Max. | |
Turn down the volume | Press the lower volume button on the back of Nest Hub Max. |
Additional controls to manage the volume of multiple devices are available on your display. Learn more about multi-room controls.
From the Google Home app
- Make sure your mobile device or tablet is connected to the same Wi-Fi network or linked to the same account as your speaker or display.
- On your mobile device, open the Google Home app
.
- Tap the device that’s playing media. On the top of the screen, you will get the following information for the current music session:
- Equalizer settings
- Device settings
- Help & feedback
Turn up the volume
Swipe clockwise on the volume slider. You can swipe all the way to 100%.
Turn down the volume
Swipe counterclockwise on the volume slider. You can swipe all the way to 0%. This will mute all music but will not turn off the mic.
Related Links
Play audio on speakers and TVs from Google Nest or Home devices
Play video on TVs using Google Nest or Home devices
Listen to radio
Listen to podcasts
Control restricted content on Google Nest or Home devices