Google has removed its longstanding “Call Home” feature from the Google Home app in recent updates, breaking support for starting calls directly to devices such as the Nest Hub Max.
In 2019, Google Home added support for “Call Home.” The feature, as we first reported and demonstrated, leveraged Google Duo to send a video/voice call directly to smart displays such as the Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max. Voice calls were also later supported on smart speakers. While those devices can accept calls (now from Google Meet), “Call Home” was the only way to directly “call” those devices, including making a call from your own account to the devices.
Through the latest updates to Google Home, “Call Home” has vanished.
Users on Reddit first spotted the removal in recent weeks following the rollout of the latest Home redesign. We can also confirm that, digging through the Home app, “Call Home” has completely disappeared. The dedicated button for “Broadcast,” which reads aloud a message through speakers and smart displays, is also missing, but that functionality can be accessed through Assistant and Gemini, whereas “Call Home” cannot.
If Google is truly doing away with this functionality, it’s a shame.
As comments highlighted by PinukaWeb show, one use case for “Call Home” was the ability for parents to call their children at home without the need of a normal phone. One parent notes that this was the main way they called their children when not at home as their house does not have a landline. Smart displays still allow for the ability to make calls, but there’s no way to call the displays now without using a separate Google account.
This was certainly an underappreciated and not very well-known feature, but its removal is a bit of a surprise nonetheless.
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