To connect Google Home to Samsung Smart TV, you'll link the two through the Samsung SmartThings app, which acts as the bridge between your voice assistant and your television. This setup lets you use your voice to turn the TV on or off, adjust the volume, and change channels, provided both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network and you have a Samsung account. Before you start, make sure you have a Google Home speaker, a Samsung Smart TV, a mobile device with both the SmartThings and Google Home apps installed, and a Samsung account ready. If your TV lacks the Google Home app, you may first need to install Google play store on Samsung smart TV to download it.
Set up your TV in the SmartThings app
First, download the SmartThings app on your mobile device and sign in with your Samsung account. If you don't have an account yet, you'll need to create one, this is the same account you'll use to link the services later. Once you're signed in, the app will guide you through adding your TV as a device.
- Open the SmartThings app and tap the "+" icon to add a new device.
- Select "Device" and then choose "TV" from the list of device types.
- Make sure your Samsung Smart TV is powered on and connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your phone.
- Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the pairing, this usually involves confirming a code displayed on your TV screen.
Once added, your TV will appear in the SmartThings app's dashboard. This step is essential because it registers your TV with the SmartThings cloud, which is what Google Home will later access to send voice commands.
Link SmartThings to the Google Home app
With your TV set up in SmartThings, the next step is to connect that service to your Google Home app. This is where the actual voice control gets enabled.
- Open the Google Home app on your mobile device.
- Select "Works with Google" (sometimes labeled as "Set up device" then "Works with Google").
- Search for "Samsung SmartThings" in the list of available services.
- Tap on it and sign in with the same Samsung account you used in the SmartThings app.
- Grant the necessary permissions to allow Google Home to control your TV.
After linking, Google Home will automatically discover your TV and add it to your list of devices. That's it, your TV is now ready for voice control.
Control your Samsung TV with voice commands
Once linked, you can use your Google Home speaker to control the TV with simple voice commands. The most useful ones are for power, volume, and channel changes. Here are verified commands that work:
- "Hey Google, turn on/off the [TV name]", use the name you assigned in the Google Home app.
- "Hey Google, turn the volume up/down on the [TV name]", adjusts volume in increments.
- "Hey Google, change to channel [number] on [TV name]", switches to a specific channel number.
One critical note: your TV must be connected to the internet via Wi-Fi for the power-on command to work. If your TV is connected through a wired Ethernet cable, Google Home will not be able to wake it from a full off state. For volume and channel changes, the TV needs to be on and connected to Wi-Fi as well. Also, keep in mind that these commands work for basic functions, they don't control smart TV apps or input switching. For that, you'd need to explore the full range of Google apps on a smart TV, which is beyond the basic SmartThings integration.
Alternative: use a Chromecast with Google Home
If your Samsung TV doesn't support SmartThings (for example, if it's an older model), you can still get Google Home control by plugging a Google Chromecast into the TV's HDMI port. The Chromecast acts as a bridge, letting you cast content and control playback with your voice. However, this method has limitations, it won't turn the TV on or off, and it only controls what's playing through the Chromecast. For full instructions on setting up a Chromecast with Google Home, including how to get Google TV on Samsung smart TV, check out the dedicated guide on that topic. This workaround is useful if you primarily want to control streaming apps rather than the TV's core functions.
