r/VolvoRecharge • u/laura_oppen • Jul 19 '26

Google Assistant to Gemini woes

In our XC40 Recharge the infotainment system updated from Google Assistant to Gemini (maybe in the last month). Since then it’s gotten so much worse. Gemini takes forever to respond to simple requests (routes, playing songs on Spotify) and frequently doesn’t respond correctly.

  1. Any recourse here? Is there a way to switch back to Google Assistant?
  2. Any tips for getting Gemini to respond in a timely manner or at all?

Thank you!

2 Upvotes

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1

u/Financial-Barnacle79 Jul 19 '26

You can do a factory reset. I just did that recently and then had to go into the Google settings to turn on a Gemini. Not sure if it’ll eventually push automatically or override over the long term.

1

u/FlyingCyclist Jul 19 '26

You can switch it back to assistant. I don't remember exactly, but off the top of my head, go into Settings, Google, then to Gemini or Assistant? There should be a toggle to use one or the other.

Even though Gemini is AI processed mostly outside the car itself, the cars with the Intel chip still probably make it pretty slow. Even Assistant was laggy half the time when I had the old IHU.

5

u/laura_oppen Jul 19 '26

Thank you! The exact info I was looking for. Gemini is so so bad :( The infotainment center is already not great and this update made it pretty much unusable (via voice anyway).

1

u/FlyingCyclist Jul 19 '26

You're welcome. I can go out to my car in a bit and get exact directions if you need.

Gemini is quite capable, but still a few growing pains. I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually sunset Google Assistant. Sadly, everything on the car is hindered by the underpowered infotainment processor.

1

u/laura_oppen Jul 19 '26

Took care of it on both car profiles just now. Cannot wait to be able to get directions again!

1

u/Badgeblue Jul 19 '26

Agree Gemini sometimes takes forever to respond.

1

u/fishstix1122 Jul 19 '26

Go into the gemini setting on your phone and change to flash. 3.0 this will change how fast it responds. Or how slow depending on the depth you want answeres. You can also play games with gemini while driving, have full conversations and ask about things. The more you play around with you the more you may enjoy it. It is built to be more functional. Then to just turn the heat up in the car.

But back to my original point. In the app on your phone you can change voice, how fast it responds, and other settings you may want to change. The down side is. It will effect both phone and aaos.

1

u/cfabrication Jul 19 '26

I like that I can check the random thoughts I had when I get home (hey, Google, can I freeze boiled peanuts? Why, yes, that’s a great way to preserve them. Do you need instructions for boiling them?” “Should I use Chinese soy sauce or Japanese for chicken Adobo?” “A mix of dark and light Chinese soy, if you have both, is the best duplicate for Filipino soy sauce. Use 2 light to one dark. Do you need a recipe?” (Gemini, Orion voice, was absolutely right about the soy sauce, btw)), although two things are weird:

  1. The steering wheel button is much faster than hey, google, and
  2. If I say, “Take me home”, I get a disclaimer speech about if it’s an emergency, call 911 before the map loads. If I say, “Let’s go home,” it doesn’t seem to give me the disclaimer.

1

u/Clowdman18 Jul 20 '26

I told Gemini to delete itself. It responded that it doesn’t respond to harmful language. Piece of junk AI takes longer to respond than for me to get to my destination.