Summary

Smart speakers are a great addition to your smart home setup, but what happens when the Wi-Fi goes down? I tested my HomePod Mini, Amazon Echo, and Google Nest Hub without Wi-Fi to see if they still worked. Hint: it’s not good.

You Might as Well Write Off Your Smart Speaker Without Wi-Fi

When it comes down to it, smart speakers without Wi-Fi aren’t very smart. In fact, They’re just regular dumb speakers (and sometimes worse). I was really blown away by how little all three speakers were able to do without a network connection. At the very least, I expected very simple mathematical equations, like 10+20, to be doable. And setting timers… why is Wi-Fi required for that?

Throughout the test, each speaker was asked a series of questions that I’ll list below. In each section, I’ll go into more detail as to how the individual speakers responded to the various requests.

A Google Nest Hub 2nd Gen with a photo of a dog on the display.

I also tried a few smart home commands on the HomePod mini as it’s aThread border router, but I didn’t ask either the Nest Hub or Echo those questions as I have no smart devices to pair directly to the systems. But, given the lack of capability with some of the questions asked (like turn the volume up), I don’t think it makes much of a difference.

Here’s How Google’s Nest Speakers Work Without Wi-Fi

For testing, I used myGoogle Nest Hubto see what all functions would work without Wi-Fi. I expected functionality to be limited, but I didn’t expect as few things to work as it did.

Once disconnected from Wi-Fi, the only thing I was able to get the Nest Hub to do was play music over Bluetooth and change the volume with my voice. Nothing else worked for me. I couldn’t set a timer, I couldn’t skip to the next track over Bluetooth, I couldn’t even do calculator functions.

Someone’s hand touching an Apple HomePod mini against a black background.

If your phone isn’t already paired, you can simply say, “Hey Google, pairing mode” and it’ll become discoverable by your smartphone or computer to pair with over Bluetooth. At that point, the Nest Hub (or any other Google Assistant speaker, really) will become a glorified Bluetooth speaker., albeit one you’ll need to control using the source device (in this case, a smartphone).

However, that’s where it ends. I was not able to use volume or playback controls without Wi-Fi. Typically, you can use a Bluetooth speaker to pause or seek the playing music; the Nest Hub could do none of those functions over voice without Wi-Fi.

Photo of Echo speaker showing yellow light.

Here’s How Apple’s HomePod Mini Works Without Wi-Fi

The HomePod mini (which will work the same as thefull-size HomePod) I had semi-high hopes for, but they were sadly dashed during testing. I disconnected the HomePod mini from Wi-Fi, and it wouldn’t do anything. Given the S5 processor that’s in the HomePod mini, which is the same processor that’s in the2022 Apple Watch SE, I was expecting at least the basic functions to work.

However, without Wi-Fi, the HomePod mini simply does essentially nothing. No calculator function, no timer function, no anything function. The only thing that works is AirPlay, and even then, only as an AirPlay target. I couldn’t get volume controls or playback controls to work through voice commands without Wi-Fi.

I did ask my HomePod mini to turn the lights on, which are paired over Thread, and it wasn’t able to work. This gives me little hope of any other smart home functions working when Wi-Fi is down.

And, if you have an Android smartphone, there’s no chance of utilizing any function of the HomePod mini without Wi-Fi. The HomePod doesn’t even support a direct Bluetooth connection to other devices, you have to use AirPlay, which means you have to use Apple sources.

Here’s How Amazon’s Echo Speakers Work Without Wi-Fi

Out of all the speakers tested, my Echo (which is on the older side, but still works just the same asthe newer models) was the most useful without Wi-Fi. It is similarly limited in function to the HomePod Mini and Nest Hub, as it can’t do simple calculator commands, set a timer, or do any other functions.

However, like the Nest Hub, you can use it as a Bluetooth speaker by saying “Alexa, pairing mode.” Then, once you’re playing music to it, you can use voice commands to change the volume of the Echo speaker. While this seems rudimentary, neither the HomePod mini nor the Nest Hub offered this functionality, making the Echo the most versatile speaker to use without Wi-Fi.

Despite this, the core functionality just isn’t there. I didn’t expect to order items on Amazon or get the latest headlines, but simple sums and timers would have been nice.

Don’t Rely on Your Smart Speaker During an Internet Blackout

Smart speakers are a great way to control your smart home devices. They’re oftenone of the first smart home gadgets we recommend, and they go well inalmost any room in your house. But this experiment highlights a suspicion we probably all have: these devices simply aren’t very useful without an internet connection.

Smart speakersuse the internet to process most voice commands(and some of them evenkeep these recordings forever). For all the promises of on-device processing, we’re not quite there yet.

At the end of the day, a smart speaker without Wi-Fi is a glorified (though paired down) Bluetooth speaker. So, if you plan to use a speaker without a network often, then check outthis roundup post with the best Bluetooth speakers of 2024.