Why my wired headset / speaker mic button doesn't work with Zello on Android in background anymore?

Symptoms

Wired headset button configured as push-to-talk in Zello or wired push-to-talk speaker mics no longer work, while Zello app is in the background or screen is locked.

Cause

Google Assistant update released around November 2020 introduced more aggressive behavior, which overrides handling of the headset button and effectively prevents Zello from processing these events while in the background. Google Assistant is a feature included in Google app (package name com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox).

Solution

To restore wired push-to-talk button background functionality, disable Google Assistant for Wired headphones device. 

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