Smart 6 Ultra - Voice Search randomly activating

[MrVibrating]

Bought this phone last week to use as a head unit for a motorcycle hifi - mainly playing internet radio and MP3's etc.

I'm a motorcycle courier so i just want to set a station or playlist and leave the phone alone doing its thing without any sudden distractions....

Unfortunately Google's Voice Search keeps activating randomly.  The phone's amplified through a hifi and the Voice Search volume is independent of the music stream volume, hence i'll be filtering through a tight spot of traffic when suddenly there's a loud pinging sound followed by a computer voice asking me to talk back to it!  (edited in accordance with House Rules)

To get rid of it and restore the music i have to find somewhere to pull over and start fiddling with the thing.  Invariably if it trips once it'll trip again shortly after, perhaps several times over the course of a few minutes.

This is really, REALLY annoying.  Apparently it's a common Android bug, but the easiest workarounds other people are using (ie. without rooting or physically modifying the headphone socket) involve disabling Google Now, and / or the Google Search bar from the home screen - neither of which are possible on the Smart 6 Ultra.  Likewise there's no option to uninstall Google Now or Search.

I have absolutely no want nor use of Voice Search or Google Now - all i want is uninterrupted music.  That's all i bought the phone for.

Is there any chance of a patch to fix this bug, or else enable a workaround?  I've tried all the obvious things already - disabling the "OK Google" activation option, stopping the Google App service.. i even tried uninstalling it, which also forced me to remove the update to it which i now can't find any way to re-apply, however this just locked me out of the homescreen, causing it to crash each time it re-launched.

All i want is a stable, uninterrupted music stream.  A media player with internet radio as a bonus.  I do not want Voice Search.  I will never use it.  But i always use media players.  The phone's currently not fulfilling its purpose adequately for me...

[MrVibrating]

Found a workaround.

It requires disabling Google Voice Search, and also removing the persistent  Search Bar from the Homescreen, otherwise the Homescreen (actually, the Google Launcher) will crash on startup once Voice Search is disabled.

To remove the Search bar from the Homescreen, install Nova Launcher which has a specific option for this.

Next, disable Voice Search - which has been confusingly renamed by Google to "Google App".  In the App Settings Options, when disabling Google App you'll first be prompted to remove its update - to which you have to select Yes, in order to disable it.  If you should choose to re-enable it later, the update will be re-installed automatically some time afterwards.

If you accidently disable Google App before installing Nova and removing the Search bar, causing the Homescreen to crash, don't panic - the settings options can still be reached from the drop-down bar at the top of the screen.  Re-enable it from there, then install Nova, kill the Search bar, then kill Voice Search.

Sorted.  No more rude interruptions.

There is still another problem with Lollipop 5.0.2 - a memory leak periodically kills background apps (such as music players, especially it seems when streaming audio / internet radio), however i'll start another thread on this...

[Annie_N]

@MrVibrating

Thank you for posting this, which has (I hope) solved a problem for me.

I have the Smart 4 Mini, with Jelly Bean 4.2.2, and have had a problem recently with Voice Search activating randomly, and basically refusing to go away without restarting the phone. I had concluded that it was a screen problem (I bought the phone as a semi-disposable for situations in which it was at risk of crushing), but this thread set me thinking about other possible causes/solutions.

As a result I have uninstalled all the updates to the Google App, have spent a while doing the things that were likely to trigger Voice Search and, touch wood, it hasn't done it despite a fair old workout. So I'm hoping for the best, as the Smart 4 Mini has proved a very good little phone until this problem hit it.

Annie.

[hrym]

I don't know whether this applies to all makes, but I suspect it's an Android thing and probably does.  On two HTC phones, both running Lollipop, I've discovered a toggle in the Google app settings for "Voice search from any screen".  If this is on, you can say "OK Google" even if the app/Google now isn't open or the search box on screen.  I'm just wondering whether that's the issue??

[MrVibrating]

@hyrm

I tried disabling all the Google settings (including the "OK Google" activation), however in my case this had no effect on the problem - Voice Search was definitely being triggered by media audio (music and talk radio), when played at loud volume through amplified speakers.

However there were occassions where it seemed to coincide with loud ambient noises, such as the siren of a passing emergency vehicle, so i suspect the problem might not be exclusive to media audio..

Regardless, disabling the Google App has completely fixed the problem.  Just wish i could uninstall it..

[hrym]

Strange.   I haven't tried speaking to voice search without saying "OK Google", which is what I thought triggered it.  I can only conclude that it's been interpreting the noise as that phrase.

I know you're probably not bothered, but the other thing migth have been to use it and train it to your voice.   That might have persuaded it to ignore other sounds.