If you’re using a Google Smart Speaker or Display, you may want to consider disabling the microphone. Doing so will help reduce the amount of noise your speaker or display makes, and it can also help you conserve battery life. To disable the microphone on a Google Smart Speaker or Display:
- Open the Google Home app .
- Tap on the three lines in the top left corner of the main screen .
- On the right hand side of this screen, tap on Settings .
- Scroll down to Mic and then toggle it off .
Before we get started, it’s important to understand what it means when we talk about devices like the Google Nest Mini and Nest Hub “listening.” These devices are technically “listening” all the time, but they aren’t recording you all the time.
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A smart speaker or display is like a dog. It may hear you whenever you talk, but it only recognizes certain commands. Google Assistant doesn’t truly start “listening” (recording) until it hears “OK Google” or “Hey Google.”
That being said, it is possible to completely stop the device from hearing you at all. Google has included physical mute switches on all Google Assistant-enabled devices. When you slide this switch, the microphones are turned off, and the device won’t listen or respond.
These mute switches can be found on the back or bottom of the devices. We’ll help you locate the switches on a few of the common Google Assistant-enabled devices.
On the Google Nest Mini/Home Mini, the switch is located on the bottom.
On the Google Nest Audio, the switch is situated on the back.
On the Google Nest Hub, the switch is found on the back of the display.
To turn the microphones back on, you’ll need to manually toggle the switch on again. It may feel cumbersome to need a physical switch for this, but it’s the best way to really ensure that the microphones are off.
