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Google is replacing Home devices bricked by firmware update

Google says there's also a flash memory issue that's corrupting the file system on some devices.

Corinne Reichert Senior Editor
Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.
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Devices will be replaced even if they're no longer under warranty, according to a report.

 Chris Monroe/CNET

Google has said it'll replace any of its Home smart speakers that have stopped working after a firmware update, as reported earlier Thursday by 9to5Google. It comes after customers complained online about their Google Home devices being bricked following a recent automatic update, the report said. 

"We are aware that a small number of Google Home and Google Home Mini devices are affected by an issue that causes the device to stop working," Google told CNET in an emailed statement. "We have a fix that will prevent the issue from happening and will be rolling it out soon. We are replacing affected devices."

Devices will be replaced even if they're no longer under warranty, the report added.

Google Home users were complaining on Google forums and Reddit, Android Police reported. Multiple users have been saying since last month that their devices were stuck with lights on.

"The team is aware of these specific issues with both Google Home Minis and Google Home devices becoming unresponsive and we're actively working on a fix," Google responded on one thread Wednesday.

Google is also seeing a small portion of devices that are having a flash memory issue that's corrupting the file system, a spokesperson told CNET in an email Thursday afternoon. This issue is not related to the firmware update, they said.

First published at 12:15 p.m. PT on Oct. 24.
Updated at 3:14 p.m.: Adds statement and extra info from Google spokesperson.

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