Gemini: Home, Repairs & Tech Help

Troubleshoot a sudden power outage from a fuse box photo with Gemini

At Anyron Copeman's parents' home, which they had moved into only four months earlier, only some lights were working, and then all the power went off. There was no local power cut or sign of a blown fuse, and an emergency Sunday call-out could cost hundreds of pounds. Copeman sent Gemini a photo of the consumer unit (fuse box), and within seconds it gave a simple step-by-step way to find and fix the problem. In the end a bulb replacement and adjusting some switches did the trick. Gemini didn't provide that exact fix; the family found it by chance while trying another of its suggestions. Without Gemini, Copeman says, they probably wouldn't have tried to fix it themselves.

Fix a Pixel's battery drain, notification overload, full storage and dropping connection with Gemini

Ali Salman Zia asked Gemini about four Pixel annoyances instead of searching for each. For battery drain, it walked through battery usage, flagged a power-hungry background app and suggested changing that app's settings; the improvement was modest but noticeable. For too many notifications, it pointed to Notification History and each app's notification categories, so Zia switched off only the ones not needed. For full storage, it explained which apps and files took the most space and which were safe to remove, and Zia freed a lot of space without deleting anything important. For a connection that kept switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data, it helped narrow down the cause first; turning off Adaptive connectivity and automatic switching to mobile data fixed it.

Rescue drooping houseplants and build a watering schedule with a Gemini Notebook

Android Police's Khumail Thakur uploaded daytime photos of houseplants to a Gemini Notebook, had Gemini identify each species and run deep research saved as sources, and added local climate details. When a Caladium drooped and the soil was soggy, it said to drain the excess water and add drainage holes; for a Monstera adansonii with black margins and yellow halos it pointed to low humidity from the air conditioner. It also wrote weekly and monthly care task lists, which had to be copied into a reminders app by hand.

Make a DIY patio project checklist in Google Keep with Gemini

An Android Police writer describes using Gemini in Google Keep for planning: asking it for a checklist for a DIY paver patio project, including prep materials and safety gear, gave them a 15-point list within three seconds that they say would have taken 20 minutes of searching. They edit the lists rather than using them as-is.

Fix a washing machine that won't fill using Gemini, after ChatGPT picked the wrong part

A poster described their broken washing machine to Gemini, which helped them run diagnostics, found it wasn't taking in water and pointed to the inlet valve. They used ChatGPT's shopping help to find and order the part, but the first part didn't fit even though ChatGPT said it would. They installed the right one with Gemini's guidance in about 1.5 hours total, saving about $120 on labour.

Diagnose a broken garage door opener and replace the carriage for $22.48 with Gemini

A homeowner described their garage door opener's behaviour to Gemini, which identified a failed carriage, pointed them to where to buy a new one and found a DIY installation video. They say they spent ten minutes with Gemini and $22.48, versus a service call and repair they estimate would have cost several hundred dollars.

Winterize old plumbing from photos with Gemini, and know when to call a plumber

At their late mother's 100+ year old house, a poster uploaded photos of three plumbing issues to Gemini Pro. For two (valves for outside hose bibs and a shower) it identified the plumbing type and explained how to winterize, which they did without a hitch; for a leaky hot-water boiler it diagnosed the problem and told them to call a plumber, which they did.

Find out a broken AC is just a bad thermostat with Grok and Gemini

When their AC stopped working and none of half a dozen companies could come before Friday, a poster asked Grok and Gemini. The poster says they correctly diagnosed a broken thermostat, probably saving hundreds of dollars and 2 days without AC.

Get a furnace running until the repair visit with Gemini and a video

With no repair appointment available for 2 days over the 2025 holidays, a Hacker News commenter filmed the furnace trying to start and gave the videos to Gemini. The commenter says it diagnosed the issue immediately and had them spin a small exhaust fan while the furnace tried to fire; it came on, and repeating that kept it working until the HVAC service arrived.

Fix a gas dryer that won't heat with Gemini and a photo

A Hacker News commenter's gas dryer ran but wouldn't heat. Gemini suggested a thermal fuse, pointed it out in a photo of the opened back panel, walked them through testing it, linked the part once they gave the model number, and advised cleaning the vent since poor venting likely blew the fuse. They say after cleaning the exhaust and a $5 fuse the dryer works fine.

Poster says:$5 fuse