[ebnrob]

I’m thinking about getting a 2nd-hand beosound 1 (ASE model, gen2) and I have seen a youtube video from B&O explaining the preset buttons on the top are linked to google assistant commands/shortcuts. Is this still the case? Can the present buttons be used to activate local sources such as B&O radio instead, like the Beoremote one preset buttons can on other b&o speakers? I’m not interested in the Google assistant features so would turn all of that off – I presume that’s possible? Thanks in advance!

[Stan]

As far as I know, it’s still the case. You cannot use the buttons to activate B&O Radio, but rather it will use TuneIn or Audasey or whatever service Google can use in your country. In the US, I get some stations via TuneIn others via Audasey.

Also, if you have other Beosounds, you can’t join to a Google started audio stream unless you set it up via Google home. The BS can join to other devices – so you can start a B&O Radio source on a different device, and press the middle button and it will join. If you start the B&O Radio source on the BS1 using the B&O App, then the others can join… just not when you use voice or my buttons (which are essentially saved voice commands).

You can turn off Google, but I think that just turns off the voice command capability. I also think I’ve read that it gives you an annoying warning from time to time that the microphone is turned off.

Also, bear in mind that there are certain configurations that can only be done through Google. For example, for some reason, bluetooth and wifi setup are done through Google Home rather than the B&O App.

I thought there was an option to get a non-Google BS1, but I might be confusing that with other Beosounds.

I have a Google enabled BS1. Maybe I will play around with it so I can answer more definitively about what happens when Google is turned off… as I’ve never turned it off because it’s pretty convenient in the kitchen when your hands are wet or messy and you don’t want to touch the machine.

[trackbeo]

Stan wrote:

I thought there was an option to get a non-Google BS1,

Correct, at least for the 2.gen @ebnrob is considering, GVA and non-GVA were both sold. (Only 1 button on the non-GVA.)

[Hiort]

I have the BS1 2nd Gen GVA.

Initially you had to have it activated through Google.

You then have the “buttons” that you can assign to various Google tasks. The “buttons” are just dots, so its hard to remember shat dot that triggered what command. Only related to Google sources and e.g BeoRadio source. I never used those presets.

I recently reset my BS1 to factory settings and reinstalled. I never proceeded with the Google part of the installation, and now I just have the center button/light. And Im not being reminded by Google. I think this is a change actually, because before I think you had that annoying red indication that Google was not active.

[ebnrob]

Thank you all for the replies. That’s disappointing the buttons can’t be assigned to activate local sources.

@Hiort – what does the centre button do now you’ve disabled Google? Play/Pause?

Rob.

[Stan]

The center button action is selectable in the configuration menu. It is either:

Single tap toggles between sound and silence. Double type cycles sources.

Or

Single tap to Play / Pause. Long press to Join in on a multiroom experience.

I turned off the microphone on my BS1 GVA today, and it announced that the microphone was off, and the 4 little dots that blink during a normal GVA voice command turned red. The 4 “my button” dots disappeared leaving just the center dot and the red little dots glowing steadily.

It stayed this way through power cycles and extended off time and operated just like a non-GVA BS1. That is, it remembered the setting – it’s not like you need to do this each time you turn it on. Also, there was no periodic “microphone is off” announcements.

When I turned the microphone back on, the red dots disappeared, and the 4 my buttons reappeared and were programmed as before.

As far as I can tell, you will still need Google if you want to change your wifi network (without going through a new setup) or connect bluetooth devices. I see no settings for those in the configuration menus.

[ebnrob]

Thanks @Stan.

@Hiort – As you didn’t complete the Google Setup, were you able to set the Wifi settings in the B&O config without Google? And are you able to perform Bluetooth pairing in the B&O app/ config webpage like other speakers?

I also wonder whether the four beoremote one preset buttons are married up to the ones on the top of the speaker, when a remote is paired, or whether they can function separately.

Many thanks. Rob.

[Hiort]

@Hiort – As you didn’t complete the Google Setup, were you able to set the Wifi settings in the B&O config without Google? And are you able to perform Bluetooth pairing in the B&O app/ config webpage like other speakers?

I dont think I can do that actually.

@Hiort I also wonder whether the four beoremote one preset buttons are married up to the ones on the top of the speaker, when a remote is paired, or whether they can function separately.

Not really sure if that is possible. I have no Beoremote One BT to test with unfortunately.

[Carolpa]

Hiort wrote:

@Hiort – As you didn’t complete the Google Setup, were you able to set the Wifi settings in the B&O config without Google? And are you able to perform Bluetooth pairing in the B&O app/ config webpage like other speakers?

I dont think I can do that actually.

the configuration pages for the BS1 (<IP_address_BS1>) differ from the other (simular) devices, such as the Essense mkII or BS35 or BP A6?

For these you can skip the Google setup but still setup WiFi.

First, the same was also said of the Balance GVA, but it was actually possible to set it up without Google (about the dots I do not know, because I simply do not use them).

[Stan]

Just to be clear, you can do the initial wifi setup without Google. I was just pointing out an issue that came up here recently with respect to changing the wifi network after this initial configuration. You need to go into Google to do this, but you can always setup from scratch if you need to change the wifi network and don’t want to use Google.

That’s an interesting question about Beoremote operation. My guess is that the remote “my buttons” work the same on a Google vs non-Google Beosound, especially if you never go through the Google setup. That is, you would use the app to select a B&O Radio station or other source, then program the remote mybutton… so you would get your 4 buttons without Google, but they are on the remote rather than the unit.

I do have a BeoRemote so I will test this when I get a chance.

[Stan]

Oops, I guessed wrong about the Beoremote behavior. The “my buttons” on the Beoremote one are automatically linked to the “my buttons” on the BS1. If you program a button on the BS1 to “get the weather”, pressing the corresponding button on the remote will get the weather (regardless of microphone status). If you long press the Beoremote mybutton to “program” the button to the current settings (as you do on non-GVA devices), it behaves the same as long pressing the button on the BS1: it prompts for you to speak another command regardless of whether the microphone is muted or not.

I don’t know what happens if you’ve never registered the device to Google as mine is registered and I’m just turning the microphone on and off. I don’t feel like re-setting up my BS1 just to test this since I don’t mind using Google – like I said, it’s helpful in the kitchen when the hands are wet or dirty (and we’re careful to only discuss our plans for illegal activities in other rooms without listening devices) 😀

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