Should you upgrade to Gemini for Home? Tread carefully – some users are still reporting major bugs and problems

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Should you upgrade to Gemini for Home? Tread carefully – some users are still reporting major bugs and problems News By David Nield published 9 January 2026

One or two early issues

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• Some users are still having Gemini for Home issues
• Other users are reporting no problems with their devices
• The upgrade continues to roll out in certain countries

The big Gemini for Home rollout continues – where Google's new and supposedly improved Gemini AI takes the place of Google Assistant on its smart home devices – but users who've made the switch are reporting multiple issues and bugs.

Gemini for Home access is limited to a certain number of countries and a certain number of devices right now, and you need to specifically opt in if you want Gemini on your Nest gadgets. This enables a bunch of extra features: you get AI-powered descriptions of what your smart cameras are seeing, for example.

However, you don't have to look far on Reddit to find plenty of reports that the basics get broken along the way. One user says their Home Hub can no longer set alarms or control smart lights, something that Google Assistant could do with ease – though there are replies in the thread from people who have got this working with Gemini.

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• You should think twice about upgrading to Gemini for Home – here's why
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Another Reddit thread outlines how the arrival of Gemini has messed up smart home automations – bunches of actions triggered by a single voice command. The affected user says "when asked to do a very specific thing [Gemini] seems to just do whatever it wants instead" – though again, this doesn't seem to be affecting everyone.

Garage door woes

Gemini can’t possibly be this stup!d. from r/googlehome

One Reddit user says that Gemini is struggling to report whether or not their garage door is closed, which Google Assistant could previously do with no trouble at all. Apparently Gemini replies saying there's no camera available to check the garage door status – even though there is.

In the interests of balance, it seems everything is working fine for some users. If you decide to make the switch to Gemini for Home right now, you might find it's a smooth and hassle-free operation, or you might find that some of the controls and automations that you rely on suddenly stop working. So it's worth researching your particular use cases before making the switch.

With an upgrade of this size and significance, it's fair to say that a few bumps along the road are to be expected: Google is trying to update millions of smart home devices with Gemini, each with their own specific setups and configurations. It's also understandable that users are annoyed and frustrated when basic functionality gets broken.

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At the very least, we hope that these issues can be fixed and cleared up as quickly as possible – there's no doubt Gemini is the future for all of Google's smart home devices. If you are having problems, you can report them to Google online.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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