How to pair a Google Nest Mini with Bluetooth speakers for multi-room audio

One of the chief complaints about the Nest Mini is its poor audio. The Nest Audio and the Nest Hub Max certainly offer superior sound, but the Mini was designed to be a cheap entryway into the smart home world rather than an audiophile’s dream. Thankfully, you can skip upgrading from the Nest Mini if you have a decent Bluetooth speaker sitting around and even play music from multiple rooms simultaneously.

See also: A guide to Google Assistant

How do you pair a Google Nest Mini with a Bluetooth speaker?

Let’s say you have a Nest Mini in the kitchen. You can pair a Bluetooth speaker located in the living room with the Mini and have audio play from both at the same time. Depending on the size of your home and the number of smart and Bluetooth speakers you already own, you could have the same song play throughout every area.

To get started, follow these steps to pair a Nest Mini with a Bluetooth speaker:

• Turn on your Bluetooth speaker, and put it in pairing mode. Methods differ but often this involves holding down a dedicated pairing button.
• Open the Google Home app for Android, iPhone, or iPad.
• Select your Nest Mini from the app’s homescreen.
• Tap the gear icon, then Audio.
• Select Paired Bluetooth devices, followed by Enable pairing mode.
• Go back to the Audio menu, and tap Default music speaker.
• Once you hit Pair Bluetooth speaker, the Mini should run a quick scan. Select your Bluetooth speaker to complete the pairing.

Now when you ask Google Assistant to play music, it will automatically kick over to Bluetooth. Be sure, of course, that the Bluetooth speaker is always on and in range.

See also: How to reset a Google Nest Mini if it isn’t working

How do you use multi-room audio with a Google Nest Mini?

To get a multi-room configuration going:

• Repeat the steps above for any other Google-compatible speakers you want to link to Bluetooth. Note that you can only have one active Bluetooth output per Google speaker, so you may want more Minis.
• Open the Google Home app, and tap the plus icon in the upper-left.
• Choose Create speaker group.
• Select every Google speaker that you want to use. Once you’re done, tap Next.
• Enter a name for the group, and hit Save. Make the name easy and memorable, because you’ll have to use it in voice commands — for instance, “Hey Google, play The Crow by DJ Food on Downstairs Speakers.”

Note that you’ll have to talk to your Nest devices to issue commands — the mics on your Bluetooth speakers won’t help. Some music apps, like Spotify, may let you select a group visually. Either way, this is a great way to experience multi-room audio without having to buy expensive smart speakers for every room.

Read more: The best Bluetooth speakers