Familiar face detection is broken on Walmart Onn cameras — but there’s a fix on the way

TL;DR Walmart’s Onn smart cameras advertise support for Google Home with Gemini built in. Users have discovered that Onn cameras aren’t working with Google Home Premium familiar face detection. Engineers have tracked down the cause of this unwanted behavior, and are working to deploy a fix.

For shoppers looking to get the most out of their smart home dollar, Walmart’s Onn brand offers a nice amount to like. Besides just being available at much lower prices than Google’s own gear, it also enjoys solid compatibility with Google’s ecosystem. Last year, we got our first Onn cameras , and this summer the lineup just expanded with a couple new models — all advertising full support for Google Home with Gemini built in.

But as it turns out, some of these cameras have not been playing nice with Gemini. Getting the most out of your smart cameras with Gemini and Google Home sadly requires an ongoing paid subscription. Google Home Premium offers two tiers at the moment: There’s Advanced for $20 a month with 24/7 video history and all the bells and whistles, as well as a $10 Standard plan.

But even the Standard plan includes a few video perks, like support for familiar face detection , helping you spot people you know, and get warnings about those you don’t. Over on Reddit’s Google Home sub, though, one Onn camera owner points out that even with a Standard plan, familiar face detection isn’t working.