How to use 'Ok Google' voice commands and fix common problems

The power of Google Now and Google's 'Ok, Google' voice search is pretty staggering, and even though it commonly results in humorous misinterpretations, you know it's only a matter of time before voice commands are the way to search on and use your smartphone. We've already seen it done extremely well with the Moto X and the Nexus 5 is getting there, but other devices running Android 4.1 or higher can also take advantage of Google's voice commands via the automatic update to Google Search a while back.

Google Now can help you search, take commands and even talk back to you. / © AndroidPIT/Google

When Android 4.4. KitKat was released on the Nexus 5 there were many questions and issues surrounding Google's voice command function. First thing's first: 'Ok Google' only works with US English right now, so if you have an accent from a different country you may have to put on a fake American accent to be understood. This will surely change in due course as the service becomes more popular globally. If it doesn't right off the bat, just change your voice search language settings to a different language and then back to US English again. We've shared a big list of Google Now voice commands below this post for you to learn and use.

Google Now, combined with Google Search, turns your smartphone into a digital assistant. / © AndroidPIT

Another common issue was Google Search not registering your voice at all. The most obvious cause of this complaint was simply that voice search was not enabled properly. You can tell if Google Now is listening for your voice by looking at the microphone icon on the right of the search box. If it is a solid icon it is listening. If it is an outline only then you will still need to tap the microphone to turn it on. To enable active voice search, go to your Google Settings (in the app drawer) > Search > Voice and make sure that the Hotword Detection checkbox is marked off. It is not necessary to have Google Now on to use 'Ok Google' search commands, but you do need it for the Google Now commands we shared below.

You can see the outlined microphone (left), solid mic (middle), and active voice search (right). / © AndroidPIT/Google

If you have any other problems with voice recognition and everything else seems to be in order, check the offline search language pack that you have installed, in case it needs to be updated. For this, just go to Google Settings > Search > Voice > Offline Speech Recognition and make sure the US English pack is installed and doesn't require an update. It will say ''Update Available'' if you don't have the most current version and ''Pre-installed'' if you're up to date. You might also want to set your language update settings on the Auto-Update tab so you don't miss out on any future updates to your language packs.

Your language must be US English (left), you need Hotword Detection 'on' (left) and make sure your offline speech recognition language pack is up to date (middle) and on Auto-Update (right). / © AndroidPIT/Google

Some custom ROMs still don't support voice commands and unless you have a Moto X, you can only use active voice search and commands from a home screen or Google Now screen. The Moto X, of course, a has a dedicated language core to maintain that ''always on'' listening, even when the screen is off. Other Android devices are still not capable of this. Let's hope that's one of the Motorola patents that Google holds onto in the sale of Motorola to Lenovo.