Like many of you, my family relied heavily on Google’s Family Bell feature to keep our daily routine structured—from “School Starts” reminders to “Lunch Time” alerts. When Google removed this feature from Google Home, it left a noticeable gap in our smart home.
Rather than waiting for a cloud alternative, I decided to build a robust, local replacement directly for Home Assistant.
Introducing the Family Bell Integration
Family Bell allows you to schedule recurring announcements on your smart speakers without relying on cloud schedules or specific hardware ecosystems. It is designed to be user-friendly with a dedicated UI panel (no YAML required!).
Key Features:
Custom Schedules: Easily create recurring bells on specific days of the week.
Multi-Speaker Support: Target specific media players (Sonos, Google Cast, Alexa, etc.).
Pre-announcement Sounds: Play a chime or sound file before the TTS message ensures you get everyone’s attention.
Vacation Mode: Easily pause all bells during holidays or breaks with a single toggle.
Advanced TTS: Works with any Home Assistant TTS engine.
distinct advantages over the old Google version:
- 100% Local Control: Your schedule doesn’t disappear if an internet service changes its mind.
- Any Speaker: Mix and match brands; you aren’t locked into Google Nest devices.
Installation
You can find the project on GitHub to see the code, or install it directly via HACS below.
View Source Code on GitHub
Open directly in HACS