Picture of the Original Google Home smart speaker, during booting, along with AC power adapter plugged Into wall outlet..

How to Setup WiFi on Google Home

You may sometime move your Google Home speaker to a different house, and thus, want to link it with another WiFi network.  Or, the speaker does not show as linked in the Home app. In either case, the speaker is no longer joied to your WiFi network. So this post shows how to setup a working WiFi on your Google Home again, to adjust for router changes, replacements, or other network upgrades.

With your iOS or Android based tablet and the Home app, setting up your smart speaker to WiFi either for the first time, or again, is simple, and you do this as follows.

We assume that you have setup the Home app on your mobile device, linked it to your Google account, and that your mobile device as well as the speaker are in range of the network you wish to use.

We snapped the screenshots below on an Apple iPad Air. But there’s a Home app for Android also available from the Google Play store.

Now, to the routine.

How to Setup WiFi on Google Home

1. Connect your Google Home to Power

If not already operating, plug your speaker into a power source, as you’ll need to access the network settings in its memory, as described below. You won’t be able to change these values without AC power.

Now the next picture shows the original Google Home connected to AC power via the included power adapter.

Picture of the Google Home speaker powering up, showing multi-colored ring of lights on top, spinning and blinking during boot. How to Setup WiFi on Google Home.
Google Home speaker powering up, showing multi-colored ring of lights on top, spinning and blinking during boot.

Wait until your speaker finishes booting before jumping down to the next step.

2. Position your Mobile Device Close to the Google Home

Avoid being further than fifteen to twenty feet away, for maximum setup speed and minimum errors.





3. Start Up the Home App

Run this app on your tablet or phone. This app grants you access to your current Google devices and settings, and lets you to change them as needed.

Find this app somewhere on the Home screen pages, depending on where you might have moved it. On iPad Air we have here, it’s on home page three, as shown next, as pointed at by the purple arrow.

Picture of the Google Home App entry, as shown on the iOS home screen.
Google Home App entry, as shown on the iOS home screen.

We got the following screen at Google Home App startup.

Screenshot of the app, displaying the startup banner screen.
The app, displaying the startup banner screen.

After a short period, you’re taken to the home screen. Ours displayed as follows

Screenshot of the app Home screen, with the hamburger menu control highlighted.
The app Home screen, with the hamburger menu control highlighted.

4. Tap the Hamburger Menu Control to Continue with How to Setup WiFi on Google Home

We find this item (the three horizontal stacked lines) at top left corner of the Home screen, as displayed in the last picture. The app’s main menu then appears, as shown in the next picture

Screenshot of the app's hamburger menu, with the -Devices- Item highlighted.
The app’s hamburger menu, with the -Devices- Item highlighted.

5. Tap the  Devices  Menu Item 

In the main (hamburger) menu, find the Devices item, as pointed at by the purple arrow in the last screenshot. You may have to swipe up in the menu area to scroll the Devices item into view.

Depending on whether or not your speaker is setup currently to a WiFi network, different screens may come up at this point.

If your speaker is currently working correctly, you’ll then see a screen like the one shown in step 6. Go there for further instructions in this case.

If your speaker is powered up but not set up on any WiFi, then you’ll see a screen like the one pictured at the top of step 7. Go there for instructions that handle that case.





6. Speaker is Online or Connected

Picture of the Google Home App on iOS, displaying the Devices screen, with its hamburger menu link highlighted.
Google Home App on iOS, displaying the Devices screen, with its hamburger menu link highlighted.

This shows that your speaker is online and can accept voice commands and questions. This would be the case if you have multiple WiFi networks in your home, and you wish to disconnect your speaker from one of them that is working, and connect it to another. Maybe you moved the speaker from the first to the second floor, and would like to set it up to the second floor access point if you have one, because perhaps its WiFi signal is stronger up there. In short, you’re moving your speaker from one working WiFi network to another.

6a. Tap the Device’s Hamburger Menu Item to Continue with How to Setup WiFi on Google Home

Find the hamburger control item pointed to by the purple arrow in the last picture.  You then see a pop-up menu appear in place of the hamburger button, as shown in the next picture.

Screenshot of the -Devices- screen, showing an original Google Home speaker control menu, with the Settings option circled.
The -Devices- screen, showing an original Google Home speaker control menu, with the Settings option circled.

6b. Tap the Speaker Device’s Settings Menu Item 

The Settings item is circled in the last picture.

The original Google Home speaker’s Settings screen then appears, as shown next.

Then, scroll down that screen until you see the WiFi setting, as circled in the next picture.

Screenshot of the -Device Settings- screen for the original Google Home smart speaker, with the -Wi-Fi Settings- option circled.
The -Device Settings- screen for the original Google Home smart speaker, with the -Wi-Fi Settings- option circled.

6c. Tap the Wi-Fi Setting on the Device Settings Screen

The WiFi item is  shown in the above picture. This setting shows the WiFi network to which the speaker is currently setup, as circled in the previous screenshot.

Screenshot of the -Wi-Fi Settings- page, with the -Forget This Network- link highlighted.
The -Wi-Fi Settings- screen, with the -Forget This Network- link highlighted.

In this scenario, we wish to disconnect from the 937T681J4059H_2G_Guest network, and connect to the 937T681J4059H_5G network. Both are in range and available to our Google Home speaker.





6d. Tap the  Forget This Network  Bar to Continue with How to Setup WiFi on Google Home

As shown in the last step, our speaker is currently joined to the 937T681J4059H_2G_Guest network. But we want to forget that network, as mentioned. So we break that connection by tapping the red bar.  The -Forget This Network Confirmation- screen then appears, as shown next.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Forget This Network- prompt, with the -Forget Wi-Fi Network- button highlighted.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Forget This Network- prompt, with the -Forget Wi-Fi Network- button highlighted.

6e. Tap the  Forget Wi-Fi Network  Button

The   Forget Wi-Fi Network   option is pointed at by the purple arrow in the previous picture.  The Google Home app then briefly displays the   Forgetting Wi-Fi Network   screen, as shown next.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Forgetting Wi-Fi Network- screen. How to Setup WiFi on Google Home.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Forgetting Wi-Fi Network- screen.

Executing this step disconnects your speaker from its current Wi-Fi network while the above screen is displayed, as well as forces your speaker to forget the settings it retains in its memory for that network (SSID, security type, and password et al).

After a short pause, you are returned to the Home screen in the Google Home app, as shown next.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its home screen, with the hamburger menu control highlighted.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its home screen, with the hamburger menu control highlighted.

6f. Again, Tap the Hamburger Menu to Continue with How to Setup WiFi on Google Home

Again, find the hamburger control on the Google Home App Home screen. The main menu then displays as shown in the next picture.

Screenshot of the Home app, displaying its hamburger menu, with the Devices Item highlighted.
The Home app, displaying its hamburger menu, with the Devices Item highlighted.

6g. Tap the Devices Menu Item

In the main (hamburger) menu, find the Devices item, as pointed at by the purple arrow in the previous screenshot. You’ll now get the same screenshot as covered next.  Now, continue with step 7.





7. Speaker Offline or Disconnected from WiFi

If your speaker is offline (i.e. not able to connect to any in-range Wi-Fi networks), or if you previously disconnected it from Wi-Fi as described in step 6, then you’ll see something like the next screen.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Devices- screen, with the -Add New Device- button highlighted.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Devices- screen, with the -Add New Device- button highlighted.

If your speaker does not appear in the Devices list, then proceed with step 7a.  If it does, and is showing that it requires set up, then skip ahead to step 8.

7a. Press the  Add New Device   Button to Continue with How to Connect Google Home to WiFi

If you and your mobile device that you’re running the Google Home app on are close to the speaker, and it still does not appear in the Devices list, then you may have Bluetooth on your mobile device turned off.  If that’s the case, then the Google Home app asks you to turn Bluetooth on, as shown next.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Turn On Bluetooth- prompt, with the -Bluetooth Settings- button circled.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Turn On Bluetooth- prompt, with the -Bluetooth Settings- button circled. How to change WiFi on Google Home, 2018 edition.

7b. Tap the   Settings   Button

This takes you to the   Settings   app on your mobile device, specifically, to the Bluetooth settings page.  We got the following page on our iPad Air when we did this.

Picture of the iOS 11 -Bluetooth Settings- screen, with Bluetooth turned off, and the -Turn Bluetooth On- control highlighted. How to Setup WiFi on Google Home.
iOS  -Bluetooth Settings- screen, with Bluetooth turned off, and the -Turn Bluetooth On- control highlighted.

7c. Enable Bluetooth 

In our case, we toggled on the switch pointed at by the purple arrow in the previous picture.  Then, our Bluetooth Settings screen filled in as shown next.

Picture of the iOS -Bluetooth Settings- screen, with Bluetooth enabled, and the -Turn Bluetooth Off- toggle control highlighted.
The iOS -Bluetooth Settings- screen, with Bluetooth enabled, and the -Turn Bluetooth Off- toggle control highlighted.

As circled in the previous picture, our Bluetooth is now turned on.





7d.  Return to the Google Home App to Continue with How to Setup WiFi on Google Home

The app then displays the Devices screen again.  But this time, your speaker should now appear in that list, with a needing setup status, as shown next.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Devices- screen, showing an original Google Home speaker needing setup, with the -Set Up- button circled.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Devices- screen, showing an original Google Home speaker needing setup, with the -Set Up- button circled.

8. Press the SET UP link on the Devices Screen 

The app then attempts to find and connect to the original Google Home speaker, and displays the following screen and message while doing so.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Connecting To Google Home Speaker- screen. How to Setup WiFi on Google Home.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Connecting To Google Home Speaker- screen.

Reminder: Be sure your tablet / phone is within several feet of the speaker. Otherwise, Setup may fail.

If all goes well, the app searches for your speaker and finds it.  When it does, it plays a chord sound on the speaker and displays the following screen.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Did You Hear the Sound- prompt, with the -Yes- link highlighted.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Did You Hear the Sound- prompt, with the -Yes- link highlighted.

9. Tap the   Yes   Link 

Tap the Yes link if your speaker did play the chord noise.   The app then displays the   Where is this device?   screen, as shown next.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Where Is This Device- screen, with the -Living Room- choice circled.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Where Is This Device- screen, with the -Living Room- choice circled.

10. Tap a Room Name for your Google Speaker to Continue with How to Setup WiFi on Google Home

Google provides a list of suggested names on the list as seen on the last screen.  We picked  Living Room   for ours.

The screen then changes to the following, showing our room choice (Living Room) checked, as shown next.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Where Is This Device- screen, showing the -Living Room- choice checked and the -Next- link circled.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Where Is This Device- screen, showing the -Living Room- choice checked and the -Next- link circled.




11. Tap the  NEXT >  Link 

The   Choose Your Wi-Fi Network   prompt then appears as follows.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Choose Your Wi-Fi Network- screen, with our choice highlighted. How to Setup WiFi on Google Home.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Choose Your Wi-Fi Network- screen, with our choice highlighted.

12. Tap the Wireless Network Name you Wish your Speaker to Setup On

on this screen.   For ours, we’re selecting the 937T681J4059H_5G network.  So we tap that, and it becomes checked, as shown in the next screenshot.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Choose Your Wi-Fi Network- screen, showing our choice as turned blue after tapping it.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Choose Your Wi-Fi Network- screen, showing our choice as turned blue after tapping it.

13. Tap the  NEXT >   Link to Continue with How to Setup WiFi on Google Home

If you’ve never logged into this network before with its current password, the system will prompt you to enter a password for it, as shown next.

Picture of the Home app, displaying its -Enter Wi-Fi Password- screen, with the -Use this Wi-Fi network to set up future devices- check box circled.
The Home app, displaying its -Enter Wi-Fi Password- screen, with the -Use this Wi-Fi network to set up future devices- check box circled.

If you wish this same wireless network to be used if you add any other Google Home devices at this location in the future, then leave the   Use this Wi-Fi network to set up future devices   checkbox checked.  If not, then uncheck this.  

14. Enter Password of the New WiFi Network 

Tap the Enter your Wi-Fi password field, observe the virtual keyboard appear, and then type in the password. Your screen should look like the next screen shot.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Enter Wi-Fi Password- screen, showing virtual keyboard and the password field filled in. How to Setup WiFi on Google Home.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Enter Wi-Fi Password- screen, showing virtual keyboard and the password field filled in.

After you’ve punched in the correct password, collapse the virtual keyboard.  You should then get the following screen.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Enter Wi-Fi Password- screen, showing the -Password- box filled In, and the -Connect- link highlighted.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Enter Wi-Fi Password- screen, showing the -Password- box filled In, and the -Connect- link highlighted.

15. Tap the   CONNECT >  Link 

Do this step once you’ve typed in the password.

Your speaker then attempts to connect to the Wi-Fi network of choice.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Connecting To Wi-Fi- screen.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its -Connecting To Wi-Fi- screen.

If it encounters no trouble, the Wi-Fi Connection Successful screen appears briefly, as shown next.

Screenshot of the -Connected To Wi-Fi- page.
The -Connected To Wi-Fi- screen.

After several seconds, the app returns you to its home screen, as shown next.

Picture of the Google Home app on iOS, displaying its Home screen.
Google Home app on iOS, displaying its Home screen.

Your speaker is now connected to a different Wi-Fi network. Ask it the time, and you’ll know the connection is good if the speaker responds with the correct answer.

16. Done with How to Setup WiFi on Google Home !

Other Posts About Google Home

    1. Factory Reset Google Home Instructions
    2. How to Adjust Bass and Treble on Original Google Home Smart Speaker
    3. Google Home Bluetooth Speaker Pairing Instructions
    4. How to Turn On Bluetooth Pairing Mode in Google Home Smart Speakers
    5. Google Home Power Supply Specs for the Original Google Home Smart Speaker

Related Posts to How to Setup WiFi on Google Home

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    3. Google Home Mini How to Setup WiFi
    4. How to Setup WiFi on Sharp Aquos Smart TV

References for How to Setup WiFi on Google Home

    1. Google Assistant Official Page
    2. Google Home on Wikipedia

Revision History

    • 2020-08-09: First published.