Google Nest Hub’s fun-themed timers are broken for some users

Ben Schoon | Apr 10 2023 - 9:15 am PT

Back in 2020, Google introduced a neat new feature on its Nest Hub smart displays which would add a theme to the timer to match certain types of food you were cooking, among other things. For a limited number of users, though, that feature has been broken for a few weeks.

Themed (or animated) timers on Google Assistant on Nest Hub smart displays react to the name of the timer you set. For example, setting a timer for “turkey” will add a turkey sound effect as well as a turkey animation to the end of the timer. This also applies to chicken, pizza, bread, and dozens of other food items, and Google expanded the feature later on in 2020 too.

This doesn’t really add anything functionally, but it’s a fun addition nonetheless.

Unfortunately, these themed timers are broken for some Nest Hub owners.

A thread on Google’s support forums shows a number of Nest Hub owners over the past two or so weeks who have had themed timers broken on their devices. The cause for this is unclear, but it removes themes from all timers, regardless of the name added to that timer. The timer (and name) still work but goes back to a generic alarm state.

This doesn’t appear to be an issue with wide impact – reports are limited and themed timers are still working on our Nest Hub devices too – but it’s certainly a bit disappointing for those affected. As our Abner Li put it, these themes added some “useful whimsy,” as they allowed for some differentiation in timers, and were just plain fun.

Hopefully, Google will have a fix in place for those affected soon, but the company hasn’t offered any updates on the situation.

Thanks, Steve!