Does Google Home Hub Work with Facetime?

By Benny Kounlavouth,

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My cousin has a Google Home Hub and wanted to know if it works with Facetime. I do not live in the same state as my family, so I love being able to video chat with them to keep in touch. I did some research online to find out if my cousin could video call me on her Google Home Hub using Facetime.

Does Google Home Hub Work with Facetime? Google Home Hub does not work with Facetime. Google has its own video calling program called Google Duo which is supported on Google Home devices for voice calls and video calls if the device has a built-in camera. Facetime only works on Apple products such as iPhones and Macbooks.

I did some additional research to find out how my cousin can video call me on her Google Home Hub using Google Duo. It’s also beneficial to know what other devices are compatible with Google Duo and with Facetime.

Google Home Does Not Work with Facetime

The only video and voice calling program that works with Google Home devices is Google Duo. Google Duo can be used with a Google Home assistant, Android device, or iOS device making it a more versatile video calling program than Facetime.

Google Home Devices

The original Google Home Hub does not have a camera, so Google Duo can only be used on that Hub for voice calls. Other Google Home assistants that support voice calling only are:

Google Home
Google Home Mini
Google Home Max
Google Nest Mini

The new version of the Google Home Hub is called the Google Nest Hub. The Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max both have built-in cameras and therefore support both voice and video calling via Google Duo.

Setting Up Google Duo

To use Google Duo on your Google Home device:

Open the Google Home app on your phone.
Select your Google Home device.
Select the settings icon.
Under “More”, select Duo calling.
Follow the prompts to set-up Duo calling on your device.

Using Google Duo

To make a Duo call from your Google Home device, simply say “OK google, call [contact name] on Duo.” If your device has a camera and you want to make a video call, say “OK google, video call [contact name].”

To answer an incoming call using voice control, say “OK Google, answer the call.”

You can mute and unmute Duo calls using voice commands or pressing the microphone button on the screen.

To end a call, say “Ok Google, end the call” or “OK Google, hang up.”

If your Google assistant has a camera, you can leave someone a 30-second video message using voice commands.

Say “OK Google, send a video message to [contact name].
Wait for the 3-second countdown.
Record your message.
Use the voice command “OK Google, stop recording” or press the stop button when you are done.
Preview the message by pressing the play button.
You can re-record and send the message with voice command or by pressing the corresponding buttons.

Facetime

Facetime only works on Apple devices that run iOS and MacOS. These devices are:

iPhone
iPad
Mac
Apple Watch
iPod Touch

Who Can I Call Using Google Duo?

In order to call someone on your Google assistant using Duo, the other person must have Duo downloaded and set-up on their device. To set-up Google Duo on an Android or Apple phone or tablet:

Download the Duo app on your device.
Follow the prompts in the app to connect Duo to your phone number and/or Google Account.

The benefits of connecting with your phone number are that people who have your phone number can see that you use Duo and call you that way. If you call someone via Duo and they do not already have your number, your number will appear on their device.

The benefits of connecting with your Google Account are that you will automatically be connected to Duo when you download the app to other devices that use your Google Account. People can see that you use Duo and call you using your Gmail or other Google Account information.

Knock Knock!

Knock Knock is a feature of Google Duo that allows call recipients to view a live stream from the caller’s device before they answer the call. If the call recipient does not answer, the live stream will end automatically after 30 seconds.

This feature works on all devices that support Google Duo. However, Knock Knock only works if the caller is on the call recipient’s contact list. Also, if the call recipient is using Duo on an iPhone, the Duo app must be open for the recipient to see the live stream preview.

If the Knock Knock feature seems too invasive to you, you can easily turn it off.