How to Set Up and Use Your Google Home or Nest Hub as a Bluetooth Speaker

Nowadays, using a smart speaker in your home is not that uncommon. Being the most sought-after smart home device, these speakers provide lots of interesting features. When you connect other smart devices into a smart home ecosystem, you can control them simply by using your voice.
Although it’s possible to play music directly from a smart speaker, sometimes it’s much more convenient to use your smartphone to play the content you like. Be it your own private music library or your favorite TV show, chances are you’ll have many more options to choose from when using your mobile phone or tablet than a smart speaker.

Looking to satisfy the various needs of their users, Google Home smart speakers come with a Bluetooth connection as well. This allows you to transfer your smartphone’s audio output from its internal speakers directly to your smart speaker, making the music sound better this way. If you’re not sure how to do so, this article is here to help.

Using a Google Smart Home Device as a Bluetooth Speaker

Turning your Google Home or Nest Hub smart speaker into a true Bluetooth speaker is a quick and simple task.

The process involves two distinct phases:

1. Enabling Bluetooth on your Google Home smart speaker.
2. Connecting it to your mobile device.

Setting Up Your Google Home Smart Speaker

To connect your smartphone or tablet to the Google Home smart speaker, the first step is to turn on the Bluetooth connection. There are two ways you can do this, either by using your voice or through the Google Home app on your smartphone.

If you want to use a voice command, you can try one of these:

• OK Google, pair with Bluetooth.
• OK Google, Bluetooth pairing.

To activate Bluetooth using the Google Home app, follow the steps below. Before you proceed, however, make sure you’ve updated the app to the latest version. For Android devices, visit Google Play, and for iOS go to Apple’s App Store.

1. Start the Google Home mobile app on your smartphone or tablet.
2. From the device list, tap your Google Home smart speaker.
3. Tap the “Paired Bluetooth Devices” option.
4. Finally, tap “Enable Pairing Mode.”

Setting Up Your Smartphone or Tablet

Now that you’ve prepared your Google Home smart speaker, the next step is to activate the Bluetooth connection on your smartphone and connect the two. Since there are some differences between the Android and iOS devices, in the sections below you’ll find a guide for both.

Enabling Bluetooth on Android Devices

On most Android devices, this process is super simple.

1. Swipe down from the top of your smartphone’s screen to open the quick access menu.​​
2. Tap the Bluetooth icon from the menu to activate it.
3. Now tap and hold on the Bluetooth icon to enter the Bluetooth settings.
4. In the menu below, you’ll see the list of available Bluetooth devices.
5. Among them, you should see your Google Home smart speaker.
6. Tap the speaker’s name and the two will connect.

If you don’t see the Bluetooth icon in the quick access menu, you can also do this from your phone’s Settings menu.

1. Open “Settings” on your Android smartphone or tablet.​​​​
2. Tap the “Connections” option.
3. Tap “Bluetooth.”
4. Turn on Bluetooth by tapping the toggle button next to it.
5. Now all you need is to tap “Scan” and that’s it.
6. Once you do this, your Google Home devices should appear on the list.
7. Tap it to establish the connection.

Please note that depending on the Android version on your smartphone, you can see either “Scan” or “Pair new device.” Both of these options do the same thing, so tap whichever option you see.

Enabling Bluetooth on iOS Devices

1. Go to “Settings” on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap “Bluetooth.”
3. Tap the toggle button to turn on Bluetooth.
4. Tap “Other Devices.”
5. This will start the scan for the nearby Bluetooth devices.
6. When your Google Home smart speaker appears in the list, tap it to connect the two devices.

Now, whichever media you choose to play on your smartphone, the audio will come out of the Google Home smart speaker.

Connecting Google Home to an External Bluetooth Speaker

It comes as no surprise that the sound you get from a Google Home smart speaker is significantly better than what you get from your phone’s integrated speaker. Although that’s true, this still might not be good enough for anyone looking for a decent sound when listening to music or watching some video content.

Luckily, this issue is easy to solve. Simply connect your Google smart home device to an external Bluetooth speaker. Please note that there are some slight differences in this process depending on whether you have a Google Home smart speaker or a Nest Hub device with a display.

Another thing to point out is that you can also use Bluetooth headphones to listen to music (or any other content) that’s playing on your Google Home or Nest Hub device. If you have a Bluetooth available on your Hi-Fi amplifier or audio/video receiver, you can even enjoy listening to music on your home speaker system. Of course, the instructions below will work for any external Bluetooth device, be it a stand-alone speaker, a set of headphones, or a Hi-Fi device.

Using Google Home Smart Speakers

1. Turn on your external Bluetooth speaker.
2. Enable its Bluetooth pairing mode. Usually, there’s a dedicated button on the speaker you need to press. Depending on manufacturer and model, you might need to press and hold this button for the pairing mode to activate. If you’re not sure how to do this, then it’s best to consult your device’s manual.
3. Start the Google Home mobile app on your smartphone.
4. Check if you’re using the right home in the app by looking at the home’s name at the top of the screen. If not, tap the arrow icon next to the home name to switch to the desired location.
5. From the device list in the app, tap your Google Home smart speaker.
6. Tap “Settings.”
7. In the “Device Settings” section of the menu, tap “Default music player.”
8. Tap “Enable pairing mode.”
9. Tap “Pair Bluetooth speaker.”
10. Wait for your Google Home device to scan for nearby devices.
11. When your external Bluetooth speaker appears in the list, tap it.
12. Now the two devices will pair with each other.
13. Tap “Done” and that’s it.

Now that you’ve paired your speaker with your Google Home device, next time simply turn on your Bluetooth speaker to establish the connection. If you don’t want your Google Home to use the Bluetooth speaker, use the Google Home app to disconnect it.

1. Start the Google Home mobile app on your smartphone.​​​​
2. Tap “Default music speaker.”
3. Find your external Bluetooth speaker in the list and tap it.

This will disconnect the speaker from your Google Home device, but the two will remain paired so you can easily connect them next time.

Using Nest Hub With a Display

1. Turn on your external Bluetooth speaker.
2. Activate its Bluetooth pairing mode.
3. Go to the Google Home mobile app on your phone.
4. Make sure that the app is set to the right home. If not, switch to the desired location.
5. Tap your Bluetooth speaker’s name in the device list.
6. Tap “Settings.”
7. Tap “Audio.”
8. Tap “Default music speaker.”
9. Tap “Enable pairing mode.”
10. Tap “Pair Bluetooth speaker.”
11. Now your Nest Hub will scan for available devices.
12. Tap the name of your Bluetooth speaker once it shows up in the list.
13. Wait a moment for the two devices to connect.
14. Once this is complete, tap “Done” and that’s it.

Just like with the Google Home smart speakers, your Nest Hub device is now paired with your Bluetooth speaker, making future connections a breeze.

To temporarily disconnect your speaker from Nest Hub, follow the instructions at the end of the previous section.

Enjoying a Better Sound With Google Home and Nest Hub

Hopefully, this article has shown you how to use your Google smart speakers to listen to the content you play on your smartphone or tablet. As you can see, the process is quite simple. You just need to enable Bluetooth on your devices and pair them.

If you’re looking for a better sound quality, you can always connect your Google smart speaker to any Bluetooth-enabled device, such as stand-alone speakers, home stereo systems, and even headphones.

Have you managed to play something from your phone on a Google Home or Nest Hub device? Do you find it useful that you can connect your Google smart speaker to an external speaker? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below.