Harmony experience with the Google Assistant

It's compatible with Harmony hub‑based products

Google Assistant

"Ok Google, ask Harmony to turn on sports", "turn up the volume", or "turn off the TV"

Not available

The Harmony Action on the Google Assistant is currently only available for the English language in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

When Logitech Harmony and the Google Assistant work together, you bring the power of voice to your home entertainment center. "Ok Google, ask Harmony to turn on sports" can power on your TV, set your stereo to surround sound, lower your window shades and even set your table lamps to your team colors.

Connect any Logitech Harmony hub-based product* with the Google Assistant and you can start or stop Harmony Activities such as Watch TV, Play a Game or Listen to Music. And if you have a Roku, you can say "Ok Google, ask Harmony to launch Hulu on my TV" (or HBO GO) and Harmony will automatically switch over to that content.

Setup


First, connect Harmony and the Google Assistant
Already connected?

Our original Harmony Action (red icon), which requires you to say "ask Harmony" when issuing voice commands, has been retired. We recommend unlinking the original Action and linking to the current Action (blue icon) using the steps on this page.

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  1. Launch the Google Home and tap the microphone icon at the bottom.
  2. Next, tap the compass icon in the upper-right corner of the Google Assistant pop-up.
  3. Search for Harmony and select it from the results.
  4. Scroll to the bottom and tap UNLINK.
    • Any Routines you may have set up will need to be updated to exclude the words "ask Harmony to".
  1. Launch the Google Home app and select Add > Set up device.
  2. Select Works with Google and search for Harmony.
  3. Tap the Harmony card and follow the on-screen instructions to link your account.


Next, set up friendly names for your Activities
  1. You'll be instructed to sign in using your Logitech Harmony account username and password.
  2. You're able to set friendly names for each of your Activities. For example, if your Harmony Activity name is "Play a Game", you might set your friendly names to "Xbox" or "PS4" so you can say, "Ok Google, ask Harmony to turn on the Xbox."
    • Select the "Add Friendly Name" button beside your Activity to set up one or more names.
    • Uncheck the box if you don't want the Google Assistant to control a particular Activity.
    • For your security, Activities containing door locks cannot be controlled by voice.
Setting friendly names for Harmony Action



Once your devices are added, set up your favorite channels
  1. Set up your Favorite TV channels so the Google Assistant can directly tune to your content. And if you have a Roku then you can also configure Favorite Roku channels.
    • For example, "ask Harmony to turn on sports" would turn on your TV, set your AV receiver to the correct input and tune to ESPN.
    • Or, "ask Harmony to turn on the movie channel" could switch over to your Roku and automatically launch HBO GO.
  2. Tap LINK ACCOUNT at the bottom of your final screen to complete the setup.
Setting friendly names for Harmony Action

Voice Examples

Account linking

Need help linking your Harmony hub-based remote with the Google Assistant? View our setup instructions.

Controlling Activities

  • Ok Google, turn on the TV
    Harmony can begin your Watch TV Activity, powering on your TV, AV receiver and cable box and setting everything to the correct input.
  • Ok Google, turn on the Xbox
    A simple voice command allows you jump right into gaming. Let Harmony take care of setting up your entertainment center.
  • Ok Google, turn on the Apple TV
    Switch between any of your Harmony Activities. Easy.

Favorite TV Stations

  • Ok Google, go to the Discovery Channel
    Directly jump to your Favorite TV shows with one request, regardless of if your TV is on, off, or if you're in a different Activity.
  • Ok Google, go to ESPN on my TV
    Select up to 50 Favorite Channels when setting up your Harmony remote and tune to any of them with your voice.

TV Channel Numbers

  • Ok Google, ask Harmony to go to channel one hundred and twenty-nine on my TV
    After launching your Watch TV Activity you'll directly tune to a channel.
  • Ok Google, ask Harmony to channel up on my TV
    Navigate up or down in your channel listings, or say "go to last channel".

Roku Channels

  • Ok Google, ask Harmony to launch Netflix on my TV
    Have a Roku? Harmony can tune to channels directly on your device. Say either, "... on my Roku" or "... on my TV".
  • Ok Google, ask Harmony to launch HuluBBC iPlayer on my TV
    Jump between Activities, TV stations or Roku Channels. Harmony takes care of the input switching and set up.

Volume Controls

  • Ok Google, increase volume on the TV
    You can always ask the Google Assistant to do something, "... on the TV." The Google Assistant will sometimes remember this, allowing follow up commands such as, "Hey Google, pause" or, "... turn up the volume.
  • Ok Google, increase volume by fifteen on the TV
    Harmony will send seven volume up commands by default, or you can specify a value between 1 and 20.
  • Ok Google, mute the TV
    Either "... mute the TV", or simply, "... mute" if you previously asked the Google Assistant to do something.

Playback controls

  • Ok Google, pause the TV
    Similar to volume controls, if your Activity was turned on using voice then Google will remember to send play/pause commands to your Activity for a period of time. You can always say, "Ok Google, pause my TV" to direct commands over to your entertainment center. Play, pause and stop your media playback with a easy voice commands.
  • Ok Google, fast forward the TV
    Jump around as you like.

Power off

  • Ok Google, turn off the TV
    "Turn off the TV", "turn off the Xbox", or "turn off the Discovery Channel", Harmony will power everything down with one request.

Customize

Updating your voice friendly names

You can edit, add or delete any of your Harmony Activity, Favorite TV station or Roku channel friendly names using the Google Home app .

  1. Launch the Google Home app and select Add > Set up device.
  2. Select Works with Google, your linked Actions will be located at the top.
  3. Tap the Harmony card and follow the on-screen instructions to unlink your account.
  4. Once unlinked, tap the Harmony card once more and sign into your Logitech account.
  5. You may now add, delete or rename any of your friendly names.
    • Friendly names have a concept of a primary and secondary names. The primary name is always the first entered name. When using voice you may say "Ok Google, launch               ", using the primary or any of the secondary names. However, Google will always respond back using the primary.

Creating a new Harmony Activity

After creating a new Activity using the Logitech Harmony app be sure to sync your remote so they appear on your remote screen and/or Harmony app. You'll then be able to immediately use the new Activity using the Google Assistant. To create a voice friendly name for your new Activity, follow the steps above.

FAQs

I want to use the Google Assistant and Harmony through my iOS device

You're able to use the Google Assistant to control Harmony on your iOS device provided you have iOS v9.1+.

  1. If you haven't done so already, install the Google Home app.
  2. Launch the Google Home app and select Add > Set up device.
  3. Select Works with Google and search for Harmony.
  4. Tap the Harmony card and follow the on-screen instructions to link your account.

I want to use Google Assistant and Harmony through my Android device

You're able to use the Google Assistant to control Harmony on your Android device provided you have Android v6.0+ and the Google app v6.13+.

  1. If you haven't done so already, install the Google Home app.
  2. Launch the Google Home app and select Add > Set up device.
  3. Select Works with Google and search for Harmony.
  4. Tap the Harmony card and follow the on-screen instructions to link your account.

You can also enable Trusted Voice on your device, allowing you to unlock your phone using your voice. This makes it possible to have a voice-only experience with Harmony and the Google Assistant, even when your phone is locked.

I want to increase or decrease the volume by a different amounts

When you say, "Ok Google, ask Harmony to increase the volume", Harmony defaults to 7 volume up commands (similar to pressing the volume up button on your remote 7 times). If this amount is too much or too little you can also say, "Ok Google, ask Harmony to increase the volume by 15" which will send 15 volume up commands. You may select any amount between 1 and 20.

I want to add Activities to the Google Assistant after setup

In order to update your Activities, you'll need to unlink and re-link the Harmony Action.

  1. Launch the Google Home app and select Add > Set up device.
  2. Select Works with Google, your linked Actions will be located at the top.
  3. Tap the Harmony card and follow the on-screen instructions to unlink your account.
  4. Once unlinked, tap the Harmony card once more and follow the on-screen steps to re-link your account.

I'm having trouble changing the TV channel

In order to tune to a specific channel, you'll need a Watch TV Activity configured in your Harmony account. You'll then be able to say, "Ok Google, ask Harmony to go to channel one hundred and twenty-nine". Configuring Favorite TV channels in Harmony allows you to launch those stations using voice, such as "Ok Google, ask Harmony to go to NBC on my TV". Learn more about creating Favorite channels.

Integration details

Hub‑based remotes

The Google Assistant communicates with Harmony through both Google and Logitech servers before reaching your Harmony Hub over Wi-Fi.

Cloud Access

Depending on your devices and integrations, Harmony remote may need Cloud Access in order to function properly. Please see the Harmony Cloud Access article for more information and instructions on how to turn it on.

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