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In November 2013, Google Now answered the voice command “Beam me up, Scotty” with a Star Trek-themed refusal: “I cannot do it, Captain. I don’t have the power.” The exchange was a hidden joke, not a real transport feature—and the historical reports do not establish that it still works on today’s phones.
Watch the 2013 Google Now demonstration, or read on for what the video showed and how it differs from a separate Star Trek Easter egg on YouTube.
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What happened in the Google Now video?
Droid Life reported the Easter egg on November 12, 2013, after receiving tips from readers. In the demonstration, the user first says “OK Google” to activate Google Now, then gives the command “Beam me up, Scotty.” Google Now replies, “I cannot do it, Captain. I don’t have the power.” The response was delivered in a Scottish-sounding voice, completing the joke about the Star Trek engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott. Droid Life’s original report includes the video, titled “Google Now Star Trek Easter Egg – Beam Me Up, Scotty!”.
The wording is not perfectly consistent across the contemporary coverage: a later PhoneArena roundup gives a near-identical version, “I cannot do that, captain. I do not have the power.” Treat the quote as the reported joke, not a promise that every device spoke the same words with identical punctuation or delivery.
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Why it is a Star Trek reference
“Beam me up, Scotty” evokes the transporter, the fictional technology used to move people between a ship and a planet. The reply addresses the user as “Captain” and says the assistant lacks the power to do it, while the Scottish-style voice points toward Scotty. It is a compact refusal built around the familiar Star Trek phrase.
The phrase itself is widely regarded as a famous misquotation: it captures the idea of Kirk asking Scotty for transport, but is not generally treated as an exact line spoken in that precise form. PhoneArena noted this distinction in its 2013 report.
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There is another bit of Trek-related context, though it should be treated as secondary reporting rather than a confirmed Google explanation. PhoneArena said Google Now had been codenamed “Majel,” referring to Majel Barrett, the performer associated with Star Trek who voiced the computer on the original series. The Easter egg’s command and response make the franchise connection clear; the codename claim adds context but does not establish Google’s internal motivation for the joke.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteHow to try the command—as it was demonstrated
- Use a device and setup with Google Now voice search enabled, as was available at the time.
- Say “OK Google” to activate voice search.
- Say “Beam me up, Scotty.”
- Listen for the themed refusal rather than assuming a search result or generic answer is the Easter egg.
This is a record of the historical procedure, not a current compatibility guide. Google Now was the product named in the 2013 reports; it should not be casually substituted with Google Assistant or Gemini. The available coverage documents the Easter egg in 2013 and repeats it in a 2014 roundup, but does not verify whether it remains active in 2026. On a modern device, the phrase might trigger ordinary search, a different assistant response, or nothing recognizable. That would not contradict what was demonstrated in 2013.
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Voice recognition can also vary with device, language, region, software and account settings. If you test it today, record those details and distinguish the original reply from a result that merely discusses the phrase. A search result about an Easter egg is not evidence that the hidden response still runs.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Not the same as YouTube’s Star Trek Easter egg
YouTube had a separate Star Trek-themed feature during Geek Week in August 2013. Typing “beam me up scotty” into YouTube caused videos to load with a transporter-style visual effect, according to TechCrunch’s coverage. That was a visual effect on YouTube; the Google Now Easter egg was a spoken command followed by a voice response. They were related by the same pop-culture phrase, but were different features on different services.
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