How to create a new room in the Google Home app

Just like your actual home, your smart home needs to be split up into rooms to get the most out of it. This means assigning each smart home device – every light bulb, smart plug, thermostat, speaker, TV streaming box, and sensor – to a room, like the lounge, kitchen, and master bedroom.

That way, you can control several items at once by asking the Google Assistant to "switch off the kitchen," for example, or control a specific item that your home contains multiple versions of. For example, "Hey Google, turn on the bedroom lights."

Assigning devices to rooms (or areas like the roof terrace and garden) is a common function of most smart home ecosystems. Smart lighting platforms include this, as do smaller systems like TP-Link Kasa and, of course, the market leaders Amazon Alexa and Google Home.

How to create a new room in Google Home

Adding a new room in the Google Home app isn't as easy as it should be. Tapping the + icon to add a new device doesn't let you create a new room, nor does the app section for creating a new home.

Instead – at least as of the newest version of Google Home in August 2020 – follow these instructions:

1. Open the Google Home smartphone app
2. Tap on a device shown by the app (in our example, a smart plug called Bedroom Fan)
3. Tap on the cog icon to open the settings page for that device
4. Tap on Room

Here, you can either assign the item to a new room from those you have already created, pick a new room from the extensive list of defaults Google offers, or scroll right to the bottom of the page and tap 'Add custom room'.

You can then name this room (we called it New Room) and tap Save to add it to your home. The new room will contain one device you tapped on earlier (the Bedroom Fan smart plug, in our case).

Alternatively, you can create new rooms by adding a new device to the Google Home app. Once added to the Google Home app (following our instructions here), locate the device on the welcome screen of the Home app and follow these instructions:

1. Tap on the device (in our example, a smart plug called Bedroom Heater)
2. Tap on the cog icon in the top-right corner
3. Tap on Home

Here, you can create a new home or pick your existing home, then:

1. Tap Next
2. Tap Move device
3. Pick the room you want to assign it to, or scroll down and tap Add Custom Room to create a new one
4. Tap Next, enter the room name, and tap Next again

To move a device from one room to another in the Google Home app:

1. Open the app
2. Tap on the device you want to move
3. Tap on the cog icon in the top-right corner
4. Tap on Room
5. Pick a different room (or create a new one) and tap Save

If this was the only device in the room you moved it from; Google Home would ask if you wanted to delete the empty room. You can choose to delete the room by clicking yes, or you can choose no, which leaves the room in place but empty of devices.

As we said earlier, this process is not as simple as expected. We don't understand why the + icon on the home page can't be used to create a new room, as it can be used to create a new device, home member, speaker group, or home. But at least with the above instructions, it is possible to create a new room in your Google smart home in just a few seconds.

Read More:

• How to add new smart home devices to Google Home and Google Assistant
• How to watch Netflix on your Google Home Hub or Nest display
• How to create Google Assistant routines to automate your smart home

Like GearBrain's content? Be sure to follow us.