Shortly after the Google Home Mini was announced on October 4, it was discovered that there was an issue with the smart speaker's touch controls. Essentially, the top part of the Home Mini that acted as the area for these controls was far too sensitive and resulted in the speaker recording and sending audio back to Google 24/7.
This was obviously a pretty big problem, but rather than recalling thousands of Home Minis that had already shipped to retailers, Google chose to disable the top touch controls altogether via a software update.
However, after a couple months of being on the market, this functionality is making a return.
According to Android Police, the v1.30 update for the Google Home app re-enables touch controls on the Home Mini, but rather than touching the top of the speaker, you'll long-press either the left or right side of it.
A quick tap will continue to adjust volume like usual, but a long press will end calls, pause/play music that's playing, and (most importantly) silence alarms without having to shout at your Home Mini at 6:00 in the morning.
The v1.30 update is rolling out now, so be sure to keep an eye out for it over the coming days.
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