topic Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app in Nest Thermostats

Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

rgaila — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 22:04:40 GMT

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Original Poster: User 7007047860859713927

Cannot change safety temperatures from default settings in nest app

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

rgaila — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 22:05:11 GMT

Hi User 7007047860859713927,

Sorry to hear about your thermostat troubles! Thankfully, those defaults aren't fixed temperatures, and it's easy to change. Let's get work on this together.

If this is the Nest Thermostat (base model), the Safety Temperatures have to be managed in the Google Home app.

1. Open the Home app and tap on your thermostat.
2. Tap Settings > Temperature preferences > Safety Temperature.
3. Tap the plus or minus symbols to raise or lower the Safety Temperature. If you have both heating and cooling, you can change their temperature independently.

If your device is an E or Learning Thermostat, you can adjust this feature in the Nest App.

1. Select your thermostat.
2. Tap Settings > Nest settings icon.
3. Tap Safety Temperature.
4. Drag the sliders to your desired Safety Temperature.

Let us know if you have any other questions for us.

-From Garrett DS, Community Specialist.

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

HK — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 20:36:38 GMT

Can you lower cooling temperature below 95?

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

Spooley6 — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 02:29:33 GMT

Can't slide safety temperature levels on Nest 3rd generation. Both Nest app and Google Home app show fixed temps, can go lower than default 7 and higher than 35 but nothing in between.

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

Tyler1 — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 02:48:53 GMT

I live in an area that in winter months can reach -30c/-22f and in the summer can reach 50c/122f. That said I would like to set a minimum of 18c/64f and a maximum of 25c/77f so that pets and anything temperature sensitive will be alright if the thermostat is ever shut off for any reason. How do I unlock this setting?

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

kwstoudt — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 01:29:47 GMT

My housing authority wants thermostats to go no lower than 60 in the winter, but my safety temp won't go above 45. Any way to change this?

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

Rk2 — Sat, 18 Dec 2021 09:48:41 GMT

In my case, I have some reptiles at home and I want my safety temperature to reflect that the safest minimal ambient temp for them is 67.

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

dhx227 — Tue, 04 Jan 2022 19:07:37 GMT

Dumbest thing ever: why is the heating safety temperature fixed at 45 degrees? Where the hell do the engineers live that they don't realize the purpose of a safety temperature and that it should be calculated based on a home's insulation/heat retention factor versus the typical length of a power outage and outside temperatures. My nest is located in the mountains where night time temps are often < 0F and power outages are fairly common. Over 40 years, we have determined that with outdoor daily temps between 0-20F, a safety temperature between 50F and 55F will allow for a power outage time of approx 2 days before the indoor temp drops to freezing (32F). Why does Nest think their 45F is sufficient?!?! Stupid thing. Probably need to just return this and switch to a Honeywell as broken pipes will cost me a LOT more than this fancy, but useless thermostat!!!

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

new_nest_user — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 02:07:00 GMT

Waiting to hear the response. I am trying to set it to 50 or 55 but doesn't allow me to go above 45. Default was 40 and only allowed me to move to 45!!

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

Darwinjunkie — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 15:52:25 GMT

Agree! I'd like to know my furnace isn't working before it's that cold! If it reaches 45 degrees it means my furnace is malfunctioning and even if I can fix it, it would take a very long time to heat back up!

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

Seri — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 22:42:48 GMT

Unfortunately, the sliders to modify the safety temperature on our model/app don't work. You can't change them from the defaults.

We set up our Nest with the needs of our parrots and reptiles in mind, and we shocked to find that it had shifted to the safety temps while we were on a trip. We came home to a 46ºF house with pets that should not be kept at temps below 65ºC (outside temps were 6-25ºF while we were gone). We had to reset the Nest to get the heat to come back on, and now we get to pay for all of the extra heating it took to get the home back to temperature. Who was the idiot who decided upon the safety temps and to disallow changing them?!? We'll be going back to Honeywell, which follows our settings. We can't risk our pets if this happens again.

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

Cheaman — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 22:02:00 GMT

This has to be the dumbest thing I've ever seen! 45F? It's currently -30C (daytime temp) where I live. I'm going on vacation and need to know well before it gets down to 45F to have someone go and fix it in my absence.

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

kopoboi — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 22:33:49 GMT

This has to be fixed Google. I get it, your in Mtin View I lived there for 30 years before you took over the bay and all those AOL buildings finally found tenants. . Great weather rarely gets cold. But now that I live in Upstate NY where it snows 45 is bad. I go a notification that the temp was below 45 at 6am, so it kick on. My contractors went in the morning (8am) and it was frezzing. Took a long time to heat up. You talk about energy efficient. It cost more to heat up from ############ than to keep to heat consistent. My Lennox thermostat which we had to replace because the smart screen went out (not going to pay 1300 for a thermoset prev owners were dumb) safety temp was 65. Here where it snows if the temp gets to 55 is when you start calling HVAC. You have so long before you pipes frezzed. This is a very expensive fix. We are already fix a house that was runied by water pipe. We dont need to get another claim because google doesnt think about regions whose safety temp is not going to be the same in very area.

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

finmark — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 14:32:11 GMT

I, too, just discovered you can't set the safety above 45 degrees. After researching why I couldn't move the slider above 45 I found this thread. I find it interesting that not one of Google's 135, 000 employees has stepped up to respond to these comments after the August comment. Not good Google......

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

DMA5 — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 20:10:28 GMT

My Learning Nest won’t let me adjust the safety temperature above 45 on the app or manually on the wall. It stays right at 45 on the app even if I try to slide it; and the wall offers no higher temperature for the low heat above 45.

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

Seri — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 20:23:21 GMT

Not for the safety temperature setting. It seems to want us to freeze in winter and bake in summer if we go away for a few days.

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

Seri — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 20:25:49 GMT

We got rid of our Nest and went with an Ecobee. Not risking my pets again.

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

ccnhollywd — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 22:29:32 GMT

My Nest thermostat won't allow me to lower the safety temperature default below 76. I would like the AC to start automatically at 74 degrees not 76 degrees. How do I change it?

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

pmat1218 — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 21:24:06 GMT

To help out those users in this thread, the ECO temperature sets the minimum temp while your away not the saftey temp. So I have mine set to 65 degrees and the house never falls below that while I'm away. The safety temp is the absolute lowest your temp is allowed to fall even when off. Not sure how that is different than ECO temp. The ECO temp is listed better on the home app then the nest app of what it actually is and is described as "Your thermostat uses ECO temperatures when your not home" With that said, it was very dumb on Google's part to call it ECO temp as that is what 99% of people are going to think that is what safety temp is for.

Re: Can’t change safety temperature from default settings in nest app

dhx227 — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 23:08:43 GMT

I agree that a lot of the confusion (perhaps even on the part of the Google engineers), is a lack of definition between what the ECO temp and the Safety temp are really for. Also, there is not very good documentation on how these behave for the Cooling side of things. Also, at play is what the best practice is for when the thermostat is turned off versus just always being on (ie, in ECO mode). What are the advantages/disadvantages to the thermostat being in OFF mode?

To me: I've always thought of ECO temp as a more temporary Away mode. Eg, during the day when everyone is out of the house. Typically, this would be just a few degrees cooler than Sleep and the point of it is to try to save some energy while temporarily away, but not so cool/hot that it takes a long time to get back to Sleep/Comfort temps. This is opposite than when you are not home for an extended period and the main point of a Safety temp is to maintain the temperate such that things are not destroyed by the lack of heating/cooling.

However, whatever the Safety temp is set to, it must consider environmental conditions, which the Google engineers have apparently decided will not ever exceed 45F - even though locations like a mountain cabins in the winter may need a higher Safety temperature.

I also literally have no idea how Safety temp works in the cooling scenario. Eg: is there even a upper Safety temp? Which would seem totally reasonable.

Really, Google needs to consider and better define the requirement for how the thermostat is supposed to behave when OFF (but still honoring the Safety temperature) versus in ECO/Sleep/Comfort modes.