PSA: Google Assistant bug lets multiple devices respond to you at once (Update: Fixed)

Thanks for the rapid response, Google!

Original article, November 6 at 1:05 p.m. Eastern: I started today like I do every day. I got out of bed, put on my slippers, and asked my Google Home about the weather. What followed that simple query was a creepy, echoey chant throughout my entire house. Apparently, all my Google Home devices and Pixel 3 decided to respond to my weather question all at once.

Normally, this doesn’t happen. When you wake your Assistant-powered device with a “Hey Google” or “Ok Google” hotword, they all listen to the question that’s being asked, but only one device is supposed to respond — provided they’re all associated with the same Google account.

But the bug that’s floating around today enables all Google Assistant devices that hear the question to respond, no matter if you have other devices associated with your account.

To be clear, I own a Google Home, Home Mini, Home Hub, and a Pixel 3. I’ve rebooted all four devices, and I’ve made sure all are associated with the same Google account. Still, all devices within earshot — which is all of them (I have a small house) — respond to my question.

We’ve reached out to Google support. The company did not immediately give us a solution, but it is aware of the problem and is working on a fix. We’ll be sure to update this article if we hear of a solution from Google.

Have you experienced this issue? If so, let us know in the comments.