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Google to Replace Bricked Homes

Credit: Chris Monroe/CNET

Disabled devices will be replaced for free.

Over the past year, the Google Support forums have seen a gradual uptick in reports of Google Home and Google Home Mini devices suddenly ceasing all functions. Nobody knew what to do, with clean boots and factory resets only working for a lucky few, and people were getting understandably upset. Last month, Google publicly acknowledged the issue for the first time and promised a solution. Whelp, it’s solution time.

In a statement to 9to5Google, Google announced that they had found the problem: a recurring error in the device’s automatic firmware updates. Google will begin rolling out a fix for the error in an upcoming update, which will hopefully prevent any further device brickings.

For users who have had a Home succumb to the error, Google has promised to replace all bricked Home and Home Mini devices free of charge, even if they’re not covered by warranty. “We are aware that a small number of Google Home and Google Home Mini devices are affected by an issue that causes the device to stop working. We have a fix that will prevent the issue from happening and will be rolling it out soon. We are replacing affected devices,” Google’s statement reads.

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