Google Home Speakers May Have Downloaded Hundreds of Gigabytes of Data Because of a Software Bug

Check your smart home devices. A Google Home speaker reportedly used hundreds of gigabytes of data in just a few days, while another user discovered that a device may have consumed as much as 3 terabytes over several weeks.

According to a post on Reddit, one Google Home speaker user noticed the unusually high usage while checking their home Wi-Fi activity, 9to5Google reports. Google Gemini-powered smart speakers appear to have downloaded unusually large amounts of data over the past two weeks, potentially affecting home Wi-Fi networks and internet data limits.

The issue does not appear to affect every device, but a check of my own home internet usage revealed similar activity. My Google Home speaker used 487 GB of data in 10 days—roughly the same amount used by the rest of the household between August and September.

Google confirmed that the problem affected only some devices and said it was rolling out a fix. A Google spokesperson told WIRED: “A server misconfiguration caused some Google Home speakers to repeatedly download software updates. This issue has now been resolved.”

Investigating the Google Home issue also revealed unusual data usage from other smart home devices. When my husband and I reviewed the individual devices identified by our router, we found several surprising figures.

Amazon reported that a Ring smoke detector installed in the house the previous week had used 22 GB of data—about as much as one of the household smartphones. Another unidentified device labeled “WATCH” had consumed approximately 21 GB in one week, even though no smart watch in the home had been turned on for a year. The source of that usage remains unknown.

If your home’s Wi-Fi bandwidth or internet usage has changed unexpectedly, a smart home device could be responsible. A malfunctioning device—or another unidentified connection—may be using far more data than expected. Your router’s device-usage tools can help you investigate.

How to Check Smart Home Device Data Usage

Provided by Amazon

There are several ways to review data usage from smart home devices. Some routers provide detailed information about where data is being sent and which devices are using the most bandwidth.

The Eero mesh system in my home lists all connected devices in its app, but its free version does not show how much data each device uses. More detailed usage information requires a subscription fee.