topic Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only in Cameras and Doorbells

Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

Animal827 — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 11:12:23 GMT

I see this issue come up often but usually with no resolution and conflicting responses. Additionally, those conversations end up being closed so you cannot add to it.

I have several Google/Nest devices. All are set with home/away assist. I'm the beginning, there was no issue, and then there was a period of time that no matter what, my wife and I would get notifications as if we were away even though we are both home. Then it somehow stopped. Several years later we are back in the same hell of receiving hundreds of notifications while we wre home.

I am not sure if there were some updates to the Nest App, Google Home, or Samsung Galaxy S21. I am probably wasting my time again since last time Google was no help and acted like no one experiences this issue.

However, after several years later, maybe there is a fix. Please let me know if you need more information (screenshots, settings, etc.).

Here is a link to almost the same issue (except we are getting notifications when we wre both home). There doesn't seem to really be an answer to fix but rather a explanation of how home/away assist is supposed to work.

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Camera-Notifications-When-Home-Settings-Set-For-Only-Away/m-p/540418#M87943

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

Badstar25 — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 13:24:29 GMT

Hello, I've been having the same problem for a few days.
We had the same problem in 2024.
It's definitely coming from Google's servers.
At home, the cameras no longer turn on when I leave, and they no longer turn off when I come back...
Yet the Nest app clearly sees my back and forth in its history!
Please file a ticket here: https://support.google.com/googlenest/

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

caprifolia — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 17:24:04 GMT

Same problem here. Nest app doesn’t correctly turn on and off outdoor cameras depending on where the home is located. No fix anywhere.

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

caprifolia — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 17:24:45 GMT

Same here.

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

Badstar25 — Sun, 30 Mar 2025 11:32:05 GMT

https://www.reddit.com/r/Nest/comments/1jmxpta/anyone_else_having_homeaway_assist_issues/

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

ByronP — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 19:31:31 GMT

Hi Folks,

Thank you for reaching out to the community. I understand you're experiencing troubles with Home and Away Assist, receiving "Away" notifications despite being at home. This can be frustrating, and I'm here to help.

To troubleshoot this, please do the following steps:

1. Check for additional devices:

Review all devices logged into the Nest app (iPads, tablets, etc.). These can sometimes interfere with Home/Away Assist if left stationary within the home.
If any devices are found, remove them as contributing devices to Home/Away Assist.

2. Verify phone location settings:

Nest app:
- Go to Settings, then Home/Away Assist, then What decides if you’re home, and then Use phone location set to Yes.
- Go to Settings, then Presence Sensing, then Phone Location next to your phone in the list.

Note: If you recently switched phones, reset your phone location within the Nest app; you’ll see a prompt to switch to your current phone.

Please let me know the results of these steps.

Regards,

Byron

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

Animal827 — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 21:13:01 GMT

Hi Byron,

Thanks for replying, but this does not solve the issue.

1. Where can you see a list of all devices logged into the Nest App? The only thing I see is under Home/Away Assist under "What decides if you're home". The only thing listed there for me is my phone and my wife's phone (the same phones for the past 5 years) and our thermostats (the same thermostats for nearly a decade). Additionally, if the device is home, wouldn't this indicate that the user is home and therefore we should not be receiving notifications that are set to away?

2. There is no Presence Sensing under Options in the Nest App. The options all look the same - starting with Account and ending with a list of your devices (e.g., cameras and thermostats).

Lastly, why would this start to happen out of nowhere with no action by user (e.g., no new phone, no new device, etc.)?

I appreciate your help and look forward to a solution.

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

caprifolia — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 21:39:05 GMT

No other devices are logged in to Nest.

Nest app home away/assist - what decides if you’re home - it’s set to my phone as it always has been.
“Presence Sensing” does not exist in my Nest app.

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

ByronP — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 23:54:16 GMT

Hi Folks,

Thank you for your prompt reply. I appreciate the detailed information. Let's explore additional options.

Based on your answers. Please do the following:

Check that your home address and pinned locations are correct in the Nest App; here are the steps:

Go to Settings, then Home info, then Address, then type in the address, then drag the map so that the pin is on your home.

Check your app permissions on your phone; here are the steps:

Android:

Android Settings Apps All Apps Home or Nest
Permissions Location Allow all the time and use precise location.
Mobile data & Wi-Fi background data toggled on.
App Battery usage Unrestricted is preferred, but optimized may also work.

iOS:
1. Privacy & security Location Services Nest or Google Home Precise location on.
2. General Background app refresh turned on for the Nest app.

Let me know how it goes.

Regards,

Byron

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

caprifolia — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 00:32:48 GMT

Those settings are exactly what I have in my phone. Those settings have been the same for several years.

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

Animal827 — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 00:48:03 GMT

Hi Byron,

These settings have remained the same for years. I have confirmed once again. I would like to make clear that this issue happened several years ago for me and then it fixed itself (most likely an update to the app or server). Then it worked fine for years, and now all of a sudden is not working. This is a current common issue across many forums and has been a common issue in the past. There must be something happening on the app or server side that makes this is an issue every so often.

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

ByronP — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 02:00:10 GMT

Hi caprifolia,

Thank you for your response. I appreciate your feedback. Let's check other options:

Please try the following troubleshooting steps:

Verify Wi-Fi signal strength: A weak Wi-Fi signal can prevent accurate home status detection. Please ensure your Wi-Fi signal is strong and stable.
Reset phone location detection: If your phone has remained within the geofence for an extended period (e.g., a week or more), Home/Away Assist may not register location changes. To resolve this, do the following steps:

In the Nest app, toggle your phone location setting "Off."
Wait 60 seconds.
Toggle the phone location setting "On."
Wait another 60 seconds before returning to the app's main screen.

Note: A yellow triangle warning next to your phone's name in the Home/Away Assist settings indicates that your phone's location has not been detected recently.

Let me know how it goes.

Regards,

Byron

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

caprifolia — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 03:09:35 GMT

1: WiFi signal strength is excellent.

2: I come and go from my house every day with my phone so my phone has not remained in one place for an extended period of time. I’ve never seen a yellow triangle in the Home/Away Assist setting.
Turning off and on phone location changed nothing. I’m sitting in my house, the location in the app shows the phone is at home and the app still says I’m away.

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

Animal827 — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 03:45:43 GMT

Hi Byron,

My response is the same as caprifolia. All is good and confirmed... Besides the issues woth Home/Away assist working.

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

ByronP — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 17:46:22 GMT

Hi Folks,

Thank you for your prompt response. I appreciate your efforts to troubleshoot this situation. To continue, let's try a few more steps.

Please restart your mobile phone, then clear the Nest app's cache and storage. Here are the steps:

Navigate to your device's settings.
Select Apps, then Nest.
Choose Storage, then tap 'Clear cache' and 'Clear storage.

Please let me know the results.

Regards,

Byron

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

Animal827 — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 17:53:05 GMT

Hi Byron,

I figured this was going to be your next troubleshooting steps, so I have already completed these steps before posting as well completing them AGAIN earlier this week. Phone has been restarted several times and cache for both the Home and Nest app have been cleared several times.

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

caprifolia — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 17:57:39 GMT

‘Storage’ does not exist under Apps => Nest

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

Animal827 — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 18:01:09 GMT

I am using a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, but it should be the same for Android phones. It should be under Battery and above App Details in Store.

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

caprifolia — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 18:02:43 GMT

I have an iPhone 16 pro max

Re: Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

Animal827 — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 18:03:45 GMT