How To Integrate Google Home

Requirements:

To use Alarm.com with Google Home, users must have:

  • An Alarm.com customer account.
  • Lights, thermostats, locks, garage doors, or a security panel powered by Alarm.com.
  • An iOS device with the Google Home app and Google Assistant app downloaded, or an Android device with the downloaded Google Home app and the native Google Assistant.

Note : Google Nest smart speakers (e.g., Google Nest Hub, Nest Mini, etc.) are compatible with Alarm.com commands, but Google Nest smart devices are not.

Important : Google Home’s primary language must be set to English to function properly.

Set up Alarm.com on Google Home using voice commands

This option is only available on devices that are able to download the Google Assistant app or have Google Assistant native to their device.

To set up Alarm.com on Google Home using your voice and Google Home:

  1. Say “Ok Google” or “Hey Google” to Google Home, and then either “Talk to Alarm.com” or “Speak to Alarm.com”.
  2. Google Home will say, “It looks like your Alarm.com account is not yet linked”.
  3. At this point, open the Google Home app on the mobile phone.
  4. Tap Discover Google Home Icon.PNG to navigate to the Discover page.
  5. In the Related to your activity card, it displays Link to Alarm.com. Tap Link in the card to link the Google Home to Alarm.com.
  6. Enter the user’s Alarm.com account credentials.
  7. Tap Allow.

Note: If the Google Home returns a Google search for Alarm.com instead of the Link card, the device is not compatible with the voice process.

To set up Alarm.com on Google Home using your voice and Google Assistant:

Note: The device must have the microphone and Siri enabled for the Google Assistant app in the device’s settings to give Google Assistant voice commands.

  1. Open Google Assistant and say, “Ok Google” or “Hey Google” or tap the microphone at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Once the microphone has turned into colorful dots say either: “Talk to Alarm.com” or “Speak to Alarm.com”.
  3. If an account is not yet linked, Google Assistant says: “Before you can use Alarm.com, I need to link your Alarm.com account to Google. Is that ok?”

  1. Tap Yes.
  2. Enter the user’s Alarm.com account credentials.
  3. Tap Allow.

Note : If the Google Assistant returns a Google search for Alarm.com instead of the Link card, the device is not compatible with the voice process.

Set up Alarm.com on Google Home using Google Assistant

  1. Users’ Google Assistant must be trained to recognize their voice.
  2. Users have the Google Home app downloaded.
  3. Users’ Google Home has been connected to their Wi-Fi and set up on their Google Home app.
To set up Alarm.com on Google Home using Google Assistant on Android:

Caution : Google Home may not be able to sync with Alarm.com during the setup process when using a Verizon Samsung device. It may be required to perform the setup with a different device.

  1. Open Google Assistant on the mobile device. Most commonly, it can be opened by pressing and holding the home button on the mobile device.
  2. Swipe up to access the Google Assistant Snapshot.
  3. Tap the profile icon.
  4. Verify the customer is logged into their Google account in the Google Assistant app.
  5. In All Settings, tap Explore.
  6. Enter Alarm.com in the search field, then tap Alarm.com in the search results.
  7. Tap Link.
  8. Using the Alarm.com username and password, log into Alarm.com and link the account to the user’s Google Home.
  9. Tap Next.
  10. The Alarm.com account is now synced with Google Home.
  11. Tap to expand Send to device.

send_to_devices

  1. Tap to select which devices to enable voice control for.
  2. Open the Google Home app.
  3. Verify the customer is logged into the same Google account that is being used for the Google Assistant app.
  4. Verify the desired Google Home device is set up.
  5. Test an Alarm.com command using the Google Home device (i.e., arm system).

To set up Alarm.com on Google Home using Google Assistant on iOS:

  1. Open the Google Assistant app on the mobile device.

  2. Verify the customer is logged into their Google account for the Google Assistant app.

  3. Tap Compass Icon

  4. Enter Alarm.com in the search field, and then tap Alarm.com in the search results.

  5. Tap Link

  6. Using the Alarm.com username and password, log into Alarm.com and link the account to the user’s Google Home.

  7. Tap Allow.

  8. The Alarm.com account is now synced with the Google Home account. Tap Try It to test commands using the Google Assistant app.

  9. Open the Google Home app.

  10. Verify the customer is logged into the same Google account that is being used for the Google Assistant app.

  11. Verify the desired Google Home device is set up.

  12. Test an Alarm.com command using the Google Home device (i.e., arm system).

Google Home does not understand the names of the devices

Verify device names:

  • Do not use special characters (e.g., *(/&%’#_).
  • Do not have typos or grammatical errors.
  • Do not use conjunctions (e.g., and, or, etc.).
  • Avoid having multiple device names that are spelled differently but sound the same (e.g., “their lights” or “there lights”).
  • Avoid using plurals of the reserved words to prevent accidental grouping (e.g., lights, switches, dimmers, shades, bulbs, doors, locks, deadbolts, knobs, garage doors, or gates). Doing so will automatically recognize the device as a group.
  • For possessives (e.g., mom’s or Nick’s) make them plural (e.g., moms or Nicks). Google Home has a difficult time picking up apostrophes and could result in inaccurate responses.

Important : Google Home’s primary language must be set to English to function properly.

To see what Google Home heard:

  1. Tap to open the Google Home app.
  2. Tap the Account icon as shown in the following image.

  1. Tap My activity .

  2. Flick to scroll and find the recent commands said to Google Assistant.

  1. Confirm the device name Google Assistant heard and the device name on the Alarm.com system match. If the names do not match, change the name on the Alarm.com account to match what the Google Home heard.

Best practices

  • Device names should flow with naturally spoken language. For example, the action would pick up “living room lamp” but not “lamp living room”.
  • Device names can also have up to ten numbers at the end of the device. The number must be spelled out. For example, “lamp one” would be a compatible name, and “lamp 1” would not be a compatible name.

To disable the Alarm.com account on Google Home, unlink the Alarm.com skill.

To unlink Alarm.com from Google Home:

  1. Open Google Assistant on the mobile device.

  2. Tap Explore Icon (Compass). This icon may look different depending on the device used.

  3. Flick to the bottom of the Explore page, then tap Your Actions.

  4. In Linked , perform either of the following

    • For iOS devices - Tap Menu for the Alarm.com action.
      talk_alarm.com

    • For Android devices - Tap the logo for the Alarm.com action.
      4-Android_Actions

  5. Perform either of the following to disable Alarm.com from Google Home:

    • For iOS devices - Flick to find Account status or Account linking , then tap Unlink .

    • For Android devices - Tap Unlink next to the Alarm.com logo.
      5-Android_unlink
      account on Google Home, unlink the Alarm.com skill.**