topic Re: Turn off warning for cold temperatures in Cameras and Doorbells

Turn off warning for cold temperatures

akeb — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 12:10:15 GMT

I have two outdoor Nest Cams that keep sending me warnings that the temperature is low. I really do not need these warnings - of course I know it is cold outside. Is there any way I can turn them off?

More problematic, the cameras also turn off at low temperatures. Today we have -29°C / -20.2°F, which is not unusual for Northern Scandinavia, and the cameras have shut down due to "extreme temperatures". I guess there is no quick fix for this, but it would be great if future versions of the cameras could work also during winter.

Re: Turn off warning for cold temperatures

MplsCustomer — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 15:26:20 GMT

@akeb

We have had several of the wired 1st gen Google Nest Outdoor Cameras for years. They never send out cold temperature warnings, and here in Minnesota, USA, we've had temperatures as cold as -20 degrees Fahrenheit (-28.8 Celsius) in recent years, and they've never shut down due to extreme temperature. All are mounted under an overhang or a camera shield.

We also have one of the newer 2nd gen battery cameras for 2 years, plugged in with the optional power cable. We occasionally get a cold temperature warning from this camera, but it is random and not consistent. (The cold temperature warning started with a software or firmware update about a year ago.) This camera has also never shut down, and is also mounted under a camera shield (like this one: https://www.amazon.com/DS-1250ZJ-Universal-Camera-Hikvision-Outdoor/dp/B08D34JZ4F/).

Having the cameras mounted under an overhang or camera shield seems to provide some shelter from cold weather (as well as sun, rain, and snow).

Both cameras have a stated operating temperature range of -4 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 to 40 degrees Celsius). I think this is pretty common. Ring cameras have a stated operating temperature range of -5 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 to 50 degrees Celsius). Arlo cameras have a stated operating temperature range of -4 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 to 45 degrees Celsius).

Re: Turn off warning for cold temperatures

akeb — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 16:41:33 GMT

I have two recently purchased 2nd generation outdoor Nest Cams with battery. One is plugged in, while the other runs on battery. This does not seem to make any difference for the cold-weather warnings or automatic shutdown. I do not have camera shields, but both cameras are mounted under a roof.

I am glad that you are not encountering the same problems as me despite similar climate, but I am also discouraged to learn that the Nest Cam's suitability for cold weather seems to have decreased over time.

I hope there is, or will be, a way to turn of the cold-weather warnings. This should be a simple software fix, just adding the option to turn off these notifications in the app.

The automatic shutdown at low temperatures is probably more difficult to address, but maybe I can eventually engineer a solution using heating elements and thermostat-controlled power plugs.

Re: Turn off warning for cold temperatures

bull3964 — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 17:10:56 GMT

It's been over a year since they implemented these useless notifications and we still can't turn them off. They aren't actionable, they shouldn't be notifications. Put a warning banner on the camera itself in the app or something. These notifications trigger every time the outdoor temp dips below freezing. That's exceedingly annoying when the temp rises above freezing for the day and dips below it at night.

I'm not going to unmount my cameras and bring them in every night to keep them warm. I'm aware that cold temps negatively affect battery life. I don't need to be notified 30 times a week about the fact.

At least put them in their own notification channel so we can disable them. That should be a simple of enough fix.

Re: Turn off warning for cold temperatures

EdmondB — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 21:12:23 GMT

Hello everyone,

We hear you. Our support team is working hard to make things better for all our users. We appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with us—we're going to use them to make some really great improvements! Here is a link to share feedback about Google Nest.

Thanks for the help, @MplsCustomer.

Best,
Edmond

Re: Turn off warning for cold temperatures

MplsCustomer — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 16:54:59 GMT

We just received our first "hey, it's cold outside" message (aka "Low device temperature") of this winter season, at 15 degrees Fahrenheit this morning.

Google Nest first implemented this useless message in a firmware or software update in January 2023 (https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/New-quot-Low-device-temperature-quot-message-on-plugged-in-battery-camera/m-p/346372).

Why did Google Nest waste scarce development resources to implement a message that the customer can do nothing about? And why is Google Nest refusing to remove the useless message?

Re: Turn off warning for cold temperatures

rossikwan — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 01:28:52 GMT

The alert for cold weather shutoff is really annoying & couldn't disabled it.

It's really need to assign different type of notifications for Nest devices that trigger different type of situations.

Re: Turn off warning for cold temperatures

Butchh71 — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 18:18:59 GMT

You are not alone in your disappointment, regarding the lack of performance, for these battery operated devices. The real fix, is to make these devices act as if they don't have a battery, when they are permanently powered. I have some legacy, NEST, hardwired cameras, and they are bulletproof. Google did not improve on this product. They just turned it into a tropical paradise product.

Re: Turn off warning for cold temperatures

Butchh71 — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 18:21:36 GMT

Edmond,

With all do respect and I mean that, Google has done nothing to address this issue, over the last 2 years. All Google has done, is provide an annoying cold weather message.

Re: Turn off warning for cold temperatures

JDHB — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 13:21:56 GMT

Yeah, these make no sense. It's like they're almost legal CYA messages to ensure people don't complain about battery life. We can't do anything about them in the cold and be in use. Just at most make a silent log of it somewhere in the app but do not notify us. Only let us know when the battery is low. Unfortunately, Google does not do a good job of listening to the customers. And with the recent news and pairing back, I'm worried I'm going to have to throw out all my Nest hardware in a couple of years when Google loses interest. It's too bad because generally thought it was a great product line.

Re: Turn off warning for cold temperatures

Theraven51 — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 02:09:20 GMT

This has been an issue for over a year. Google and making things better is joke at this point. My feedback is don't buy anything made by google anymore!