The Google Home Mini is an excellent device to have in your home. It’s ideal for listening to music, finding out answers to questions, and even controlling electronics in your home. However, Google is also known for its various problems such as being unable to connect.

As the Google Home Mini doesn’t have a digital face with error messages on, understanding your Google Home via the lights it shows is the only way to resolve the issue on your device.

Although there are a lot of different Google Home Mini Lights, it’s about understanding what the colored light is for and if it is part of a sequence. If you are trying to understand what the lights on your Home Mini mean, we have the answers.

If you are currently stuck trying to fix your Google Home Mini, we have a breakdown of the lights on your device, what they mean and how to fix them with ease.

What do the lights on my Google Home mean?

Google Home Mini Lights

Photo by Dan Farrell on Unsplash

The lights on your Google Home Mini can mean various things, these are some of the common reasons you may see different lights on your Mini:

  • The device is starting up
  • Google is thinking
  • Your microphone is off
  • You are not connected to the internet
  • The Home Mini needs setting up again

Understanding Google Home Mini lights

In order to fix your Google Home, you need to understand what the lights mean. Once you have an understanding of what each color is, you will find troubleshooting this device a lot easier. Whether you’ve noticed a flashing light, different colors, or no lights at all, here’s a list of what each of the Google Home lights means.

What do the Google Home Mini Lights mean?

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Here is a breakdown of what each of the colored lights means and how to fix them.

White lights

The most common color light on a Google Mini is white, as this light is used for a lot of different things. However, depending on how many lights and the pattern of the sequence will vary on what they mean.

4 white lights:

This appears you’ve said ‘Hey Google’ and the device is waiting for a question

4 white lights then fade:

When you speak to Google but the command isn’t understood, if you still need an answer, ask again

White lights run from left to right:

Your Google assistant is thinking

White lights continuously pulse:

Google is providing a response to your question/request

White lights flash twice and then fade:

Google understands your request, but it doesn’t require a response such as changing the song.

All the colors – Red, Blue, Orange and Green

Google Home Mini Lights

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All of the colors (red, blue, orange, and green) at one time on your Google Mini just advises that your speaker is booting up. Allow it time to do this, once these lights are gone you should be able to use your speaker.

These lights will move from left to right and are nothing to worry about.

Orange lights

When your Google Home presents 4 orange lights, this means the microphone is turned off. Therefore Google can’t detect any requests or respond. If you turned this off in error, not to worry it’s easy enough to turn back on.

  • Next to the power cable, there should be a raised button
  • Slide this across and you should be greeted with ‘your microphone is on’, vice versa if you are turning the mic off.

If your Google Home Mini starts having orange lights that are going up one by one, it means you need to factory reset the device. We have broken this down into easy steps in order to make resetting your Google Home easier.

Here’s how to factory reset your device:

  1. Switch the mic off on your Google Home via using the slider, the lights will turn orange
  2. Press and hold the center of the Mini where the lights are
  3. After 5 seconds the device will begin to factory reset
  4. Keep holding for a further 10 seconds or until a sound confirms the device reset.
  5. Once this is done you will be greeted with a device that acts like it is new, so you will need to go through the setup process again.

Red lights

As with most devices, red lights on a Google Home Mini are due to an error. On the Google Home Mini, you will see 2 solid red lights when there is an issue. This error usually occurs when something happens during an update.

If your device is experiencing the two solid red lights, here’s how to fix this issue:

  1. Use the cable which came is in the box as opposed to alternative cable
  2. Plug your Google Home Mini into the wall socket
  3. Then unplug the device
  4. Wait 10 minutes, then plug it back in.
  5. Allow the device time to start up
  6. If the error happens again repeat the above steps

Blue lights

If you notice 4 blue lights on your Google Home Mini, this means your Google Mini is verifying the device. If you notice the blue lights haven’t gone away after 10 minutes, then you will need to factory reset your Google Home Mini.

Useful Google Home Mini Commands

Google also has a range of touch commands, although the majority of them can be done via voice. Here are some commands that can be done via touch:

Stop and start

Without speaking to Google you can stop and start media, via tapping the middle of your Google Home Mini, these commands include:

  • Play, pause and stop your music
  • End a call
  • Stop a ringing alarm or timer

Volume commands

The volume on your Google Home Mini can also be changed via touching the device.

  • To turn the volume up tap the right side of the speaker, you can do this up to 10 times for max volume
  • To turn the Google Home Mini down press the left side of the speaker, this can be pressed 10 times to mute. When muting your sound, this won’t mute the Google Assistant. This can only be done via the button on the back of the device.

Power

In order to turn off the power of your device, you need to unplug your device. You will be unable to turn it off completely without doing this.

Conclusion

Although the Google Home Mini lights can be confusing to understand. Especially when you are having issues with the device not working. We hope this guide has resolved any questions you may have with regards to the lights on your Google Mini. But if you find yourself unable to fix the error, it may be worth returning the device to Google as it could be faulty.

If your Google Home Mini isn’t functioning correctly and you are unsure what the error is, here are some troubleshooting guides to help resolve this issue: