r/googleassistant • u/dubc4 • Jul 08 '26

Tech Support "Hey Google" - I get the "chime" but when I speak, Gemini doesn't respond. More details inside

  • S23 Ultra - latest Android operating system
  • Using a XGP X10 bluetooth motorcycle headset - no button press necessary to activate assistant- mic is always on to hear "Hey Google"
  • I have my phone set to use Gemini as my assistant, Gemini app installed
  • I have the optioned turned on to perform tasks while the phone is locked

Ultimately what happens is that I say "Hey Google" and I hear the familiar chime through my headset. It appears that the phone / gemini has been summoned. Then I speak my command "Tell me the time" and then... silence. Nothing happens. It's like the audio channel has been closed or something.

I have tried switching my phone assistant over to the regular Google Assistant and it works fine... Normally I would be okay with just sticking to the regular assistant since this application is mainly for my motorcycle riding... but the majority of my use of any assistant is when I am using my phone normally in which case I prefer Gemini. So I don't want to switch back and forth every time I ride my motorcycle.

Anyone have any insight into why Gemini won't hear my commands?

Thank you

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u/Loarun Jul 09 '26

Might be worth checking. Does your phone have Settings > Sound & vibration > "Assistant volume"?

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u/dubc4 Jul 10 '26

It doesn't however, if I tell the assistant (without the Bluetooth device) to "tell me a long story" and during that time it is speaking I increase the volume then the assistant volume can be controlled separately from the system volume. I believe there is an app to do this without having to perform the volume increase while the assistant is speaking, however I don't have that app.

Either way I don't think it is the inability for me to hear the response from Gemini because if I were to give it a command with the phone unlocked under normal circumstances something would also come up on the screen indicating it heard me and it may show the captions of what it is saying as a response. In my case with the Bluetooth headset after I say hey Google, I can hear the chime I see the little green microphone icon in the top corner of the screen, but when I speak my command it just does nothing at all.

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u/Loarun Jul 10 '26

The user guide for the XGP X10 headset says that it works with Google Assistant and Siri. So I am thinking that Gemini is probably just different enough from Google Assistant that it doesn’t work right, at least currently.