How Does Google Home Hub’s Home View Work?

Having a display on a smart assistant allows devices to be controlled by touch, in addition to voice. You can access Home View at any time by swiping down from the top of the display. The universal placement of Home View is intentional. This placement makes the Home Hub a smart home controller for all people in a house. Plus, it’s more convenient than controlling smart home devices from one person’s phone.

What Can You Do From the Home View Dashboard?

Once you access Home View, you’ll see all the devices that were set up through the Google Home app. Home View categorizes the items by device and function, such as lights, music, cameras, and thermostats. Tap View rooms in the upper-right corner of Home View to sort devices by rooms. When you tap a device like a Nest Thermostat, you’ll see full-screen controls to control the device. Or, if lights offer color options, those are displayed on the left side of the screen. If a room like the kitchen groups multiple lights, you can access individual lights under the color selection.

How to Control Home View

Swiping down anywhere on Home Hub brings you to Home View, which expands to full screen when you tap an item. To go back to a previous screen in Home View, swipe right from the left side of the screen.

How Do I Set Up Home View on Home Hub?

Out of the box, Home Hub relies on the Google Home app, available on either iOS or Android, to be set up, much like Google Home devices without a screen. All your smart home devices are set up through the Home app and display in the Home View. However, you can’t configure the Home View display or any new devices on Home Hub. If a device isn’t displayed in Home View or doesn’t respond to a Google Assistant command, you’ll need to address this in the Home app. As Google Home devices evolve and adopt new form factors, Home View will provide a household of people with easier access to their smart devices, forgoing the need to rely on the phone of the person who set up the devices.