Fix: Speech Services by Google Waiting for Network Connection

Speech Services by Google is a background process that runs on an Android device for speech-to-text conversion and vice-versa. However, it may sometimes run into a problem and throw a “Waiting for Network Connection” message. It can happen despite the phone being connected to the Internet.

While the message frequently pops up due to an issue in the Google server, there may also be issues on your side. You often encounter problems due to a poor Internet connection, restricted background data usage, and outdated applications.

Fortunately, this is a solvable problem, and you can get rid of this error with a few fixes. So, keep reading!

How to Fix Speech Services by Google Waiting for Network Connection?

You can try restarting your phone and reconnecting to the Wi-Fi network as a preliminary fix. It will help flush any network glitch on your device and solve the error.

If that did not help, there are 7 proven ways below to help you solve the error. Let’s get straight into them.

Fix Internet Issues

The error generally happens when your phone is connected to a slower and unstable Wi-Fi. It would help if you first solve the Internet issues on your phone. You can restart the Wi-Fi router to see if it restores the Internet connection. Likewise, consider moving closer to the router to download the updates properly.

You can switch to another Wi-Fi network and see if the problem persists. If not, you can also use your mobile data to download the updates.

1. Open Settings on your device.
2. Scroll down and tap Google.
   
3. Go all the way down and tap Settings for Google apps.
   
4. Tap Search, Assistant and Voice.
   
5. Choose Voice.
   
6. Then select Offline speech recognition.
   
7. Jump to the AUTO-UPDATE tab and check the Auto-update languages at any time. Data charges may apply.
   
8. Moreover, if you don’t want updates from speech services, you can select Do not auto-update languages option. This way, it won’t download the updates, nor will it show the waiting notification.
   

Likewise, you can also manually download the update and install it. While you manually install the update, it won’t prompt for an automatic install, and you will not meet with the error message. To manually download and install the language updates:

1. Follow the steps up to step 6 from above.
2. Then under the INSTALLED tab, choose the language that shows Update available and tap over it.
   
3. Tap DOWNLOAD and let it do the rest.
   

Allow Background Data Usage

The download process can stop if you restrict your phone’s background data usage. For Google services to function correctly, you should allow the Google Play services to use data in the background. Once you remove the restriction, the error will disappear.

1. Open your phone’s Settings.
2. Tap Connections.
   
3. Open Data usage.
   
4. Then select Wi-Fi data usage.
   
5. Find Google Play services and tap it.
6. Toggle on Allow background data usage.
   
7. If you are a mobile data user, tap Mobile data usage in step 3.
   
8. Toggle on Allow background data usage for Google Play services.

Clear Cache and App Data

Next, you can clear the cache and app data of Speech Services by Google. Over time, the cache and app data can create clutter preventing the new updates from downloading and installing. Therefore, clearing the cache and performing a fresh install would help.

1. Tap Settings.
2. Move down and select Apps.
   
3. Search for Speech Services by Google on the apps list and tap it.
   
4. Choose Storage.
   
5. Tap Clear data > OK.
   

Uninstall and Update Speech Services

If clearing the cache data did not work, you can further update the speech services application. If you have an older version of speech services installed on your phone, it may create issues installing the new language updates. So, uninstalling the older version and updating the application can help.

1. Open the Play Store on your phone.
2. Search Speech Services by Google.
3. Tap Uninstall.
   
4. Confirm uninstall in the popup.
   
5. Once the uninstall is complete, tap Update and let the update begin.
   

Perform Android System Update

If your phone has an older version of Android installed, it may not support the latest version of the speech services resulting in the waiting for network connection error. So, please check if your phone has any updates available and update it to the latest version.

1. Open Settings.
2. Please scroll all the way down to Software update and open it.
   
3. Click Download and install. It will show if there are any updates available or if your software is up to date. Please act accordingly.
   

Now that you have gone through the above fixes, you will easily sort out the problem. Meanwhile, there are a few things you can do to get rid of these notifications without digging deep.

Hide Notifications From Speech Services

If you are annoyed by the pop-up from speech services and don’t want any updates from them, you can simply disable the notification and relax. Disabling the notification from speech services will prevent the waiting for network error from popping up on your notification panel.

1. Launch Settings on your mobile phone.
2. Choose Notifications.
   
3. Tap More under Recently sent.
   
4. From the drop-down, select All.
5. Then search for Speech Services by Google and toggle it off.
   

Disable Speech Services

If you are not an active user of Speech Services, you can simply disable the entire application. This way, neither will it show the notification, nor you need to update it.

1. Open Settings on your Android smartphone.
2. Select Apps.
   
3. Search Speech Services by Google and open it.
   
4. Tap Disable > Disable app.