Google Wear OS isn’t the best of Google platforms. The OS has been neglected in the past, and the latest story reiterates the fact that Wear OS has a long way to go. The “Hey Google” hotword on Wear OS has been broken for the past few months, and Google didn’t care to release a fix until the news hit mainstream media.

There have been reports on Reddit and the Google Issue Tracker, which show that “OK Google” and “Hey Google” hotwords for triggering the Assistant aren’t working. And, they haven’t worked for months. The issue was reportedly spotted first in November 2020. Since then, it has mostly gone unnoticed aside from the occasional Reddit thread. There are also reports that date as far back as June 2020. These were founded by Droid-Life.

OK Google hotword detection is now broken on WearOS since at least November with no reaction from Google support whatsoever

The issue doesn’t affect the overall ability to use your Wear OS smartwatch. However, triggering the Google Assistant is one of the key features of the OS. Without the hotrod, you’ll be needed to long-press the power button on your watch to immediately trigger Assistant. You can also use the touchscreen to trigger it from the left-most feed. However, it’s a big “yikes” that Google didn’t notice the issue up until now.

That said, according to The Verge, Google is “aware of the issues some users have been encountering.” The company said that it will help its partners “address these and improve the overall experience.” However, there is no fix in sight for now, and the Google statement doesn’t make it clear how long it’ll be until the issue is fixed. Although, we hope it will be fixed soon since Google’s Fitbit buy was based on boosting its OS.