TELUS Home Assistant on the Google Assistant for Optik TV
Voice control your Optik TV with the Google Assistant
What is TELUS Home Assistant?
TELUS Home Assistant Action on the Google Assistant gives you hands-free voice control of your Optik TV. Don’t have Optik TV? View our packages and sign up today.
The TELUS Home Assistant action on Google Assistant allows our Optik TV customers to control their entertainment experience with their voice.
We invite you to share feedback and get additional support on our community forum, Neighbourhood.
Supported devices
Any Google Assistant enabled device, including:
- Nest Audio (new)
- Google Home
- Google Mini (all generations)
- Nest Home Hub (all generations)
- Google Max
- Third party speakers integrated with the Google Assistant
- The Google Assistant app downloaded on select iOS and Android smartphones and tablets
Don’t have a smart speaker device? Find out if your phone or tablet can be enabled with the Google Assistant by visiting Google Assistant Help, or purchase a Google device by shopping on telus.com.
Getting started
Once your Google device is set up, link to TELUS Home Assistant to start using voice to control your Optik TV.
Which device are you using? Please visit the options below for instructions on how to link your Optik TV to Google Assistant.
- To connect to TELUS Home Assistant, simply scan the barcode below with your smartphone or visit the Google Home app download page on your smartphone to connect to TELUS Home Assistant. Go to your camera app and position your phone so that the QR code appears on your screen. The camera app should automatically recognize the QR code
- You will be directed to the My TELUS login page. Log in using your My TELUS username and password, and select Allow. Don't have a My TELUS account? You can register for one on the My TELUS log in page
- Follow the on screen instructions and select Allow
- Go to your Optik TV and tune to Channel 9097 to identify the device name of your Optik TV digital box
- Use the code on Channel 9097 to identify the Optik TV box on the Google Home app, and give your Optik TV box a nickname (i.e. "Living Room TV", "Bedroom TV", etc.)
Pro-tip: Keep your Optik TV box nickname short and simple. This is how you will tell Google which digital box to command. For example, nickname one box "Living room TV" and another "Bedroom TV" and say, "Google, search for Stranger Things on Living room TV."
Commands for your Optik TV
Try the following voice commands:
Change channel by name or number:
- "Hey Google, tune to CNN on <device nickname>"
- "Hey Google, change to channel 101 on <device nickname>"
Search by title or actor:
- "Hey Google, show me Game of Thrones on <device nickname>"
- "Hey Google, show me Tom Cruise on <device nickname>"
Open apps, guide and recordings:
- "Hey Google, open Netflix on <device nickname>"
- "Hey Google, launch Youtube on <device nickname>"
- "Hey Google, open Guide on <device nickname>"
- "Hey Google, launch PVR storage on <device nickname>"
- "Hey Google, go to recordings on <device nickname>"
Note: Once you launch an App, you must use your remote to navigate.
Play, pause, stop, rewind & fast-forward by duration:
- "Hey Google, pause <device nickname>"
- "Hey Google, rewind by 10 minutes on <device nickname>"
- "Hey Google, fast-forward by 60 seconds on <device nickname>"
Get recommendations:
- "Hey Google, launch recommendations on <device nickname>"
- "Hey Google, go to what to watch on <device nickname>"
- "Hey Google, launch on now on <device nickname>"
Volume control:
- "Hey Google, mute <device nickname>"
- "Hey Google, unmute <device nickname>"
- "Hey Google, increase volume by 3 points on <device nickname>"
- "Hey Google, decrease volume by 5 on <device nickname>"
Did you know?
You can ask Google about your TELUS Mobility and Home Solutions accounts by enabling the TELUS Action. For example, ask Google about your bill. Visit the TELUS Action page to learn more.
Known issues
Below is a list of known issues with TELUS Home Assistant that we are working on resolving. If your issue is not covered, please visit the Neighborhood community to share your feedback for future improvements.
| Known issue | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Slow response to commands | We are continuing to work hard to improve the speed of commands.If you are experiencing extended speed issues, please try the following troubleshooting steps:1. Check your internet connection as the speed relies on the stability of your WiFi network. Rebooting your modem and router2. Reboot Google-enabled device or quit and restart if you are using the Google Assistant app (To reboot the Google-enabled device, remove the power cable for a few seconds and then plug back in.)3. Ensure your device is set up away from obstructions or other devices that would impede the microphone from receiving a command, and that the mute button for the mic is not switched on |
| “Search for” and “Find” commands are not always triggering a response. | These two commands are being developed to make it easier for you to search. In the meantime, please use the phrase “Show me”. |
| Issues with commands while in the Stingray Music, Youtube and Netflix apps on 4K boxes. | TELUS Home Assistant does not currently support searching using voice in the Stingray Music, Netflix or YouTube app on 4K boxes. You can, however, use the search command to find content on Live TV and On Demand. |
| Unable to tune to a Live TV channel while on On Demand content. | Please repeat the command. Our teams are working hard to resolve this defect upon a future release. |
| Fast forward and rewind does 30 second skips. | Please skip ahead or skip back by duration while our teams work on improving this feature. |
| "Launch scheduled recording" does not work even though Google responds positively. | At this moment, you cannot launch scheduled recordings. However, you can “launch recordings” or “go to recordings”. |
| My Google-enabled device is responding to the search command, but no changes occur on the TV. | The channel you are searching for is not in the Channel Map. Try tuning to the channel by channel name. |
Additional known issues for the Google Assistant app
Known issue with linking: Error message while linking TELUS Home Assistant in the Google Assistant application.
We are working with Google to troubleshoot some intermittent linking issues we see on Android devices with Google Assistant. In the meantime, please try the following fixes for the issue:
Check back on settings screen to see if pairing was successful
Retry linking a few more times as subsequent attempt should be successful
Submit a feedback to Google to record the linking or setup the issue for investigation. To do so:
- Open the Google Assistant app
- Select the vertical three dot icon found in the top right-hand corner
- Select feedback from the pop-up list found at the bottom of the screen and follow the on-screen prompts to send the feedback to Google for future improvements
Notes:
- "Turn off the volume" is not working. Please try again using the phrase: “Hey Google, mute on (device nickname)”. Google responds twice to every command. This should not affect the performance of the command appearing on screen and will be resolved in a future release
- "Tune to previous channel" command does not work. We will be correcting this in an upcoming release
While we improve this feature, please use the channel tune function: "Hey Google, tune to channel 101 on (device nickname)" or "Hey Google, tune to CTV on (device nickname)”. Google Assistant says “recording” while the screen may say “this program cannot be recorded” when you attempt to record on an unsubscribed channel or On Demand content. We are working to align the verbal message from Google and the on screen message.
Please note that you cannot record On Demand content
FAQ
If your question is not covered below, please visit the Neighborhood community to share your feedback for future improvements.
| Question | Answer |
| My commands aren’t working | 1. Say the command differently or be more specific. Try using a different verb or say the nickname of the digital box (i.e. instead of saying "Hey Google, show me the news," try saying "Hey Google, tune to CNN on Living Room TV")2. Un-link and re-link the TELUS Home Assistant Action by following the steps below:- Select the ‘+’ sign on the Google Home App main screen- Select 'Setup Device' - Select 'Works with Google'- Under ‘Linked Services,' select 'TELUS Home Assistant'- Select 'Unlink'- To re-link, repeat the above steps3. In the Google Home app, set a new nickname for your TV and tell the Google Assistant at the end of each command which TV you are referring to4. Check the Wi-Fi connection. Ask your device "Hey Google, what’s the weather today?" to easily confirm if it is connected to the internet5. Visit Google Home Help to troubleshoot your device |
| Who is able to use TELUS Home Assistant for Optik? | Available for all BC and AB customers with TELUS Optik TV, Internet and a supported device. |
| How many Optik boxes can I link with my smart speaker? | You can link multiple Optik digital boxes to one device. Make sure to nickname your boxes so that Google knows which digital box should listen to your command. |
| Which languages are supported? | TELUS Home Assistant only supports English commands at this time |
| Do I need to use my remote? | For remote functions not covered by the available voice commands, you will need to use your remote to control your Optik TV. Stay tuned for more commands to become available on TELUS Home Assistant. |
| Can I turn my TV on using my voice? | Not at this time. Your TV and Optik TV must be turned on using your remote. |
| I’m having issues with my volume control. | Google controls the volume on your digital box and not your TV volume. For example, once you mute using your voice, you must also use your voice to unmute. |
| Where can I find a copy of the Terms and Conditions? | By enabling this action, you are agreeing to TELUS Terms of Service & Privacy Policy. |
| Got another question? | We understand that we may not have captured your question. If so, please visit our active Neighbourhood community. |