How to Set Up a School-Style Family Bell With Google Assistant

This article explains how to use Family Bell on Google Assistant. Learn more about Family Bell below the instructions.

How to Set Up a Family Bell

A family bell works on Google smart speakers and displays, but make sure you have the current Google Home app before you get started. Then you can set up a Family Bell in the Google Home app.

1. At the top right, tap your profile picture > Assistant Settings > Family Bell.

2. Tap Add a bell.

3. Enter the Bell announcement. This is what Google will say when the Family Bell rings.

4. Enter the time you want the Family Bell to ring.

5. Select the days you want the announcement to play. White means the day is not selected. Blue means it is.

6. Tap the Plays on dropdown box to select the speaker you want to play the bell.

   Family Bells can only play on one Assistant-enabled smart speaker or smart display at a time.

7. When you have entered all the information, tap Create new bell.

How to Manage Your Family Bells

Once a Family Bell is created you can change them, disable them, or delete them in the same area.

1. Tap your profile photo > Assistant settings > Family bell.

2. Here you will see the list of bells you have set up. Tap the down arrow in the bottom right corner of the bell you want to manage.

3. This will open the bell and you can edit the announcement, the time, the days or the speaker it plays on.

4. If you want to disable the bell temporarily, tap the Enabled toggle so it turns white.

5. If you want to delete the bell, tap the trash can icon in the bottom left corner.

What Is a Google Family Bell?

Family Bell is a recurring, highly customizable reminder that your Google Home speaker or smart display can broadcast on a schedule. It can be set up at a specific time on recurring days like an alarm, but there's no snooze function. Plus Google can speak a customized message at the designated time and announce anything you want. When a Family Bell rings, there is a chime, followed by the custom message, followed by another chime.

Family Bells play on all of your connected Google Home speakers so that everyone in your home gets the message. It's meant to keep you on a schedule like during a school day, but it can also be used to signal dinner time, snack time, or when it's time for a break. You can set up a Family Bell for any recurring activity throughout the week.

Family Bells can help bring some structure to your daily home life which can be important for any family. Whether the bells are school-related, or just reminders for the whole family, they can be a handy way to keep you moving throughout the day.