Help Why does my tablet respond to me and my phone doesn't?

[JohnJSal]

When I use voice activation on my Nexus 7, I always get vocal feedback, such as the answer to my question or prompts for what I'm doing or want to do. However, when I do the same thing on my Galaxy S4, I don't get any kind of vocal feedback.

Is this because my phone has an older version of Android? Or is the vocal feedback only something that happens on a Nexus device with stock Android? Or some other reason?

Thanks,
John

 

[mikedt]

How are you addressing Samsung S-voice, if you're saying "Okay, Google..", like you can to your Nexus, S-voice probably won't respond.

 

[chanchan05]

S Voice is 'Hi Galaxy'

 

[mikedt]

My phone, I have to say "Ni hao Oppo..." and talk to it in Mandarin.

 

[JohnJSal]

Ah sorry. I am using "Ok Google" for both. It's not the Samsung voice app. It's Google on both.

 

[girolez]

If you mean vocal response from any screen without pressing the mic symbol, that firstly needs to be specifically enabled in the Google app settings and from memory was not available at all in some older versions of android. What version is your s4 running?

 

[JohnJSal]

I'm running Kit Kat on my phone.

 

[girolez]

Hi again

I don't have anything running KitKit to check with, but

open the google app (from the icon)
Menu > settings
voice
"OK google" detection

set the options there as you want them

 

[AZgl1500]

I'm running Kit Kat on my phone.

My S5 had 4.4.2 and 4.4.4 on it for a while...

It responded to "Hello Google" if that was enabled in the menu....
My wife's S5 responds to "Answer" when the phone rings and her S5 is still on 4.4.4 KitKat.

I never liked 'S Note', so that app never was used.

 

[JohnJSal]

Hi again

I don't have anything running KitKit to check with, but

open the google app (from the icon)
Menu > settings
voice
"OK google" detection

set the options there as you want them

I have all of those settings turned on. I don't see anything that has to do with having the Google app respond to me anyway. All the options are about how/when the app will hear my voice.

 

[JohnJSal]

My S5 had 4.4.2 and 4.4.4 on it for a while...

It responded to "Hello Google" if that was enabled in the menu....
My wife's S5 responds to "Answer" when the phone rings and her S5 is still on 4.4.4 KitKat.

I never liked 'S Note', so that app never was used.

When I say my phone doesn't "respond," I don't mean that it doesn't work. Using "Ok Google" does work, but what I mean is that I don't get a voice response, such as reading me the definition of a word if I say "Ok Google, define XXXX."

Oddly, since you mention it, I have noticed that my phone no longer answers a call when I say "answer," despite having the option set and this working in the past. But I'm sure this is a separate issue than the Google app not speaking back to me.

 

[AZgl1500]

Hmmm, I never asked Google to talk back to me..

So, I just tapped the Microphone and said "Define Sharp" and yep, it came right back and gave me an audible explanation.

guess it has done that all along, just never paid much attention to it until you brought this up.

I had asked it to "find something", like a hotel along the route I am driving on.

 

[JohnJSal]

So, I just tapped the Microphone and said "Define Sharp" and yep, it came right back and gave me an audible explanation.

Yeah, my tablet does that, but my phone doesn't. I'm guessing it has to do with the version of Android. I doubt it's because my phone isn't a Nexus.