Voice assistant interrupting playback

[pjamme]

Why do we keep getting:

"Sorry I didn't hear that, try speaking closer to the mike."

Then we have to restart.  Happens every time we load Pandora, sometimes more than once.

Very annoying.

[TannerPandora]

Hi @pjamme!

Welcome to community.

Sorry to hear you're having trouble. Can you tell me more about the device you're using, specifically the make and model. When you get the above message, does the device no longer respond and you're forced to restart?

Thanks for the help.

[pjamme]

Thanks Tanner,

We play cards and put Pandora on through our Samsung A13 phones connected to my receiver. (No mikes involved).

I connect using:

USB Type C to 3.5mm Female Headphone Jack Adapter, JSAUX USB C to Aux Audio Dongle Cable Cord Compat...

JSAUX and,

JSAUX RCA Cable, [6.6ft/2M, Dual Shielded Gold-Plated] 3.5mm Male to 2RCA Male Stereo Audio Adapter ...JSAUX.

Works good except interruptions mentioned in post.  I don't have to restart the device only open the Pandora App again.

Peter

[pjamme]

Sorry,

RCA is plugged into Tape socket on the back of the receiver.

[TannerPandora]

Hi @pjamme!

Thanks for the follow up.

To better understand, are you using voice commands to play Pandora? For example Google Assistant from your Android or Hey, Pandora from our app? I'm trying to determine where the voice message is coming from and then I can better relay this information to the appropriate teams for further review.

Thanks again!

[pjamme]

No we are in the other room playing cards.

However today I noticed it happened when the music was a vocal, so perhaps 
Google Search is picking it up even though it's not open.

Does Google listen in to everything?

I thought you had to open search and click on the microphone.

[TannerPandora]

Hi @pjamme

It depends on the settings for your Android. If Google Assistant is enabled, then it may be listening, though it should only respond when prompted with a command like "Hey, Google."

You can find more info about Google Assistant from the Google Assistant Help page.

Similarly, Pandora does offer voice assistant, however this feature is not on by default. You can check to see if Pandora voice is enabled on your Android with the following steps.

From the Pandora app:

• Select Profile
• Select Settings (The gear icon in the top right)
• Scroll down to Voice Assistant
• From here you can adjust your Voice Assistant settings

If you're not seeing a Voice Assistant tab, then this feature is not enabled on your device.

Hope this was helpful.

[pjamme]

Tanner,

I checked that out, it was enabled.  Must be default as I didn't enable.

It said Listen for "Hey Pandora" and Keep Screen on.  We will see what happens.

My theory didn't pan out as it happened again last night listening to a completely instrumental station.

[pjamme]

sorry, I turned off blue button on both as have no need to use at this point.

[TannerPandora · Accepted solution]

Hi @pjamme 

It's possible Hey Pandora may have been enabled if you've used voice commands in the past. When tapping the microphone in search this will prompt you to allow Pandora to have access to your mobile device's microphone and enable Hey Pandora.

If you've disabled listen for Hey Pandora and Keep Screen On, I would also try disabling access to the microphone. This will at least help narrow where the voice assistant may be coming from and we can rule out Pandora.

These steps can be different depending on the android device you're using. It may be easiest, to visit the same Voice Assistant tab within the Pandora app. You should see a section that says  Microphone. Below that you'll see Device Settings and it should say Enabled. Tapping on that should automatically take you to your Android settings which will give you the option to disable this permission. I've included an example below of what this would look like in the Pandora app.

If you continue to have trouble I would also check settings for Google Assistant to see if that will help. If you continue to have trouble after that it may be helpful to record a video of your experience. Unfortunately, you won't be able to upload a video directly on community. You would need to upload your recording through a third party like Google Photos and share the link here.

Sorry for the continued trouble with this!