Bluetooth earphones and Google Assistant
tl;dr
Triple-press the multifunction button on the Boult GX Charge to open Google Assistant.
The longer version
I bought my aunt a pair of bluetooth earphones (with a neckband so it doesn't always have to be in her ear, plus it's less prone to being misplaced), henceforth referred to as the headset. They're the Boult GX Charge.
I picked this because I wanted
- Good battery backup
- Good audio and call quality
- Google Assistant support and ChatGPT suggested this device.
Having paired it to her phone, I tried the 2-second long-press of the multifunction button on the headset to bring up Google Assistant.
It didn't work.
Longer than 2 seconds, it would switch the headset off.
I checked the manual, it said the long press should work.
I thought it might be some setting that only a Boult app can fix. I looked up Boult in the PlayStore and there were more than one app (eye-roll). Google Gemini said I should use the (rated 2-star) Boult Amp app.
Faine, I installed it and it asked to create a profile with email and phone number and a whole host of permissions which I didn't initially agree to but had to give-in because it couldn't find the already connected bluetooth headset (groan plus eye-roll).
I uninstalled that piece of garbage and hexed the product manager to stub his toe everytime he gets a coffee.
ChatGPT said it might be permissions/settings with the Google Assistant app. I tried everything it confidently got wrong.
I even checked Google's own Help (oh yes, they need help alright) without success.
Running out of options I tried triple-pressing the multifunction button and lo, Google Assistant shows up.
So,
- The Boult manual is wrong
- Google's help didn't quite
- ChatGPT lies confidently through its teeth
First-world-problem, sure, but still!