topic Re: Constant false alarm in Nest Protect

Constant false alarm

dartiss — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 13:08:24 GMT

Like another user this week, I'm having an issue with one of my Protects constantly alerting to smoke.

A couple of hours ago one of my mains Nest Protects announced smoke. There wasn't any and after a few minutes it silenced itself.

I decided to take it down to see if needed a clean and, yes, it was full of grit from the hole in the ceiling through which the mains cable comes through. I cleaned it, put the batteries back in and... now it won't stop saying there's smoke. Wherever it is in the house (so, I know it's 100% a false alarm). I've since moved on of the other Protects to its location and that's fine.

I removed the Protect from Nest so it won't set the app off but I can't reset the Protect itself - before it can complete the rest countdown it alerts me to smoke again, which cancels the reset process.

Is there anything I can do with this or is it a paper weight now?

I bought the protect back in 2017, so it's not new!

Re: Constant false alarm

MplsCustomer — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 15:23:08 GMT

@dartiss

We don't have Nest Protect smoke detectors, but from your description, perhaps the sensors in your Nest Protect are still clogged with grit. I don't know whether this will work, but perhaps you need to try and vacuum or blow out the grit and dust.

Re: Constant false alarm

dartiss — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 16:40:42 GMT

Yes, I've done both. I suspect it went from ad-hoc to constant as a result of that - I obviously dislodged something during the cleaning. However, there's little you can access to clean - just the mesh around the smoke sensor.

Re: Constant false alarm

zoeuvre — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 14:52:23 GMT

Hi folks,

@dartiss, oh no! i'm sorry to hear that your Nest Protect is giving you false alarm. Let's sort this out.

Have you tried to perform a safety checkup on your Nest Protect? If so, how does it go? If not yet, press the Nest button on a Protect. The blue light should turn on, and it speaks to you. When it says, Press to test, press the button a second time. To perform the safety checkup on the Nest app, sign into your account in the app, select Nest Protect on the home screen, then tap Checkup at the bottom of the screen.

Let us know how it goes.

I appreciate your help, @MplsCustomer.

Best,

Zoe

Re: Constant false alarm

dartiss — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 07:21:52 GMT

Hi Zoe,

Thanks for the reply.

I tried what you suggested but, after testing the button after "Press to test", it's interrupted by the light going orange and a message to say it's detected smoke. This is the issue I now have - I can't even reset it because the false smoke alarm interrupts anything else the Protect is trying to do.

Re: Constant false alarm

zoeuvre — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 16:56:02 GMT

Hi dartiss,

Ah, gotcha. Don't give up on us yet. We'd like to further check on this. Could you fill out this form and let me know once you're done?

Thanks,

Zoe

Re: Constant false alarm

dartiss — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 17:04:21 GMT

I've submitted that now.

Re: Constant false alarm

zoeuvre — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 18:46:09 GMT

Hi there,

Thanks for the update. We got the form you've submitted — thanks for filling that out. Please keep an eye on your email, as someone from our team will reach out to you to assist you more. If you have questions or concerns in the future, feel free to start a new thread, and we'll be happy to help.

Regards,

Zoe

Re: Constant false alarm

dartiss — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 06:36:57 GMT

Hi Zoe,

I've not heard anything yet - how long am I likely going to need to wait? As you can appreciate, I'm lacking adequate smoke protection in my house until I can this resolved.

Re: Constant false alarm

Markjosephp — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 03:46:20 GMT

Hello everyone,

Thanks for looking into this, Zoe.

@dartiss, we know that this has taken some time. Rest assured, we're not leaving you hanging. I’ve made a follow-up with our team. I'll get back to you as soon as I hear a word from them.

Best regards,
Mark

Re: Constant false alarm

Markjosephp — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 07:27:36 GMT

Hello again,

Let me know if you need anything from me, as I see that our team sent you an email update. Please check your email and continue the conversation there. Also, for any future questions or concerns, feel free to start a new thread—we're here to help!

Regards,
Mark

Re: Constant false alarm

dartiss — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 09:00:32 GMT

Thanks for getting back in touch, Mark.

After waiting a month, I didn't feel I could go without an essential smoke and carbon monoxide detector in my home any longer, so bought a replacement. However, after I did, someone from Google was in touch, to tell me what I'd already set in the top of this thread, which is that the detector is way out of warranty. For that reason, all your person could do was recommend I buy a new one. Not sure why I had to wait a month to find that out. Needless so say, I'm unimpressed.

Re: Constant false alarm

Markjosephp — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 18:44:29 GMT

Hi dartiss,

We truly apologize if it takes longer than expected to get a response. I want to thank you for your patience and for updating us on purchasing a replacement, as we're unable to replace devices that are out of warranty. For future reference, you can check out our Warranty Checker to help you check your device warranty coverage.

Let us know if you have more questions, but you can always start a new thread for any future questions or concerns.

Best,
Mark