topic Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it in Nest Thermostats

Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

NevadaDad — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 04:06:03 GMT

I can connect my locked NEST thermostat to my Win 10 computer via USB cable. It shows up as an F: drive and I can navigate to the technical info.plist file. Now what? How do I do a hard factory reset to remove the PIN or put it back to the factory default (if one exists - like 0000)?

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

Ashepherdson — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 04:36:27 GMT

Is your thermostat still connected to wifi? If so out it back on the base.. go into the nest app

1. Tap the Nest thermostat you’d like to unlock.

2. Tap the Settings Nest settings icon icon in the top right corner.

3. Scroll to the bottom of the menu and tap Unlock.

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

NevadaDad — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 12:27:30 GMT

no WiFi connection

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

NevadaDad — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 12:26:24 GMT

No - it is not connected to WiFi and I do not have connectivity through an app. Even if I had the app, the NEST is locked and I cannot unlock it to get into settings to connect to my own WiFi network. All of its settings, including the unknown PIN, date back to the home’s original owner who is long gone. Chain of custody is as follows:

1) NEST purchased, installed, and configured by “A” (home’s original owner) sometime prior to 2021

2) home purchased by “B” in 2021; NEST comes with house but device is locked and “A” does not provide PIN to “B”

3) “B” gives NEST to me and purchases a simple manual thermostat for herself instead; I become owner of the NEST but it is locked and the PIN is unknown by both “B” and myself.

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

Ashepherdson — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 12:46:02 GMT

You will need to contact Nest support here. The reason for this step is that they have to provide you with a special file that is downloaded from them and placed into a special directory on the Nest thermostat which resets the Nest back to factory defaults, and, eliminating the 4-digit pin code.

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

Andy3 — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 16:53:53 GMT

I'm in the same position as this - Although mine is due to Virgin Media messing up my WiFi which the Nest was connected to, now it won't recognize my PIN because it won't recognize my original WiFi (can't change the Wifi connection until the PIN is unlocked - catch 22). Nest helpdesk didn't seem to know what to do, although this seems a bad design with the system (couldn't the PIN change be made using the app and the serial number??), loads of people must get locked out like this. I was told someone will call me back - although I'm not counting on that happening, seems that it another fobbing off. Will never get another Nest product again!!

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

NevadaDad — Sun, 24 Oct 2021 05:54:55 GMT

Thank you. Mission accomplished. For others that are facing the same problem, here is an overview of the steps to resolve your issue:

1. Contact NEST support here. I used chat but there are also phone numbers. Please note that this step is non-optional. The remaining steps were not recorded by me in sufficient depth to make this completely DIY.

2. The chat agent escalated me to a Sr. Specialist after a few minutes of gathering information, including the device serial number (which was actually not on my device anywhere — but they were able to proceed without it).

3. You will be emailed a special file by the agent. You must be able to connect to your NEST device with a USB cable to place this file on your device. I was using a Windows 10 PC and my NEST showed up as drive F: There is a file on that directory ( i.e., already in the NEST device) called “Technical info.plist” Make sure you can connect to your NEST device and see this file before contacting support. It will save time later.

4. The agent will email you a file called “ResetToDefaults.dropbox”. You then copy it to your device. At this point, you will have two files in the device: “Technical info.plist” and “ResetToDefaults.dropbox”

5. You will then open up the Command Prompt in Windows (windows key + r to open the “run” box and then type “cmd”.)

6. On the command line you will switch to the drive letter of your NEST device (for me it was F:). You will then rename the file to simply “.dropbox”. I don’t know why this has to be done from the command prompt instead of just through Windows Explorer.

7. You then close the command prompt by typing “exit” on the command line and then disconnecting the device from the USB cable. The device reboots at this point and when it does, it apparently finds the .dropbox file which boots it in a special way that resets it to a factory default, unlocked state. At that point, it behaves like a new device, fresh out of the box. You then proceed to set it up as though it was a new device.

The key here is that there is no way to do this without connecting to NEST support and having them email you this file. They will also email you the command line instructions to use (or provide the instructions as part of your chat). The whole process took me about 30 minutes.

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

joeywilko — Sat, 23 Oct 2021 16:33:51 GMT

please can you explain when once i have opened the command box, i have typed the drive of the nest 😧 for me, but then unsure what to do next? please help

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

Oltean — Sat, 23 Oct 2021 17:02:29 GMT

I forgot pin and can’t access thermostat

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

NevadaDad — Sat, 23 Oct 2021 19:47:27 GMT

I did not make detailed notes on the exact steps. I was in a chat with a Google Nest support technician who walked me through each step. Suggest you contact them. My note above was not intended to be a detailed self-help walkthrough. It was simply to show the basic idea of how this issue is addressed by Google.

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

Ashepherdson — Sat, 23 Oct 2021 19:50:04 GMT

I'm escalating this to the customer team, as you will all need to speak with them to get the required files to unlock your devices.

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

dneeley — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 07:34:45 GMT

Thanks you so much for this post! Worked like a charm.

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

klove457 — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 14:22:28 GMT

Good morning. i keep clicking on your link and it just takes me in circles back to these options. Is there away to speak to someone online?

Thanks.

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

Ashepherdson — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 14:37:49 GMT

There are two buttons at the bottom, one says get help from the community which brings you here. Don't click that. One says contact us, click that.

https://support.google.com/googlenest?hl=en#topic=7029097

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

klove457 — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 15:11:41 GMT

Thanks. I've completed that one as well, but i wasn't sure if that meant someone would reach out to me separately or not.

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

klove457 — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 02:43:12 GMT

I still need help. I have the thermostat plugged into the como and see the file.

thanks.

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

Ashepherdson — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 02:45:46 GMT

So nest support gave you the file, and didn't provide instructions? I'm going to quote Nevadadads post

1. Contact NEST support here. I used chat but there are also phone numbers. Please note that this step is non-optional. The remaining steps were not recorded by me in sufficient depth to make this completely DIY.

2. The chat agent escalated me to a Sr. Specialist after a few minutes of gathering information, including the device serial number (which was actually not on my device anywhere — but they were able to proceed without it).

4. The agent will email you a file called “ResetToDefaults.dropbox”. You then copy it to your device. At this point, you will have two files in the device: “Technical info.plist” and “ResetToDefaults.dropbox”

5. You will then open up the Command Prompt in Windows (windows key + r to open the “run” box and then type “cmd”.)

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

makarios91 — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 13:08:18 GMT

Hi, i am trying to follow the same steps. However, the nest cannt be recognised from my laptop. I have tried mac and windows as well a number of different usb cables. Shall anyone suggest idea to resolve this?

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

NevadaDad — Thu, 30 Dec 2021 19:35:23 GMT

I am not sure why it is not recognized under either connection. A couple of simple things to try. Apologies in advance if you have done these:

1) plug directly into the USB port on your computer - not via a hub.
2) Perhaps the battery is dead on the NEST if it has been non operational for a long time and not connected to the low-voltage power in the thermostat base. I don’t know if power is required for it to be recognized as a drive or not.

in any event, I would definitely recommend contacting Google/NEST support. I found them professional, competent, and pleasant. I have had my fill of help desks that get 1 or 2 out of 3 but not all 3.

Re: Forgot Nest thermostat pin and can't access it

enriqxxx — Sat, 22 Jan 2022 00:38:20 GMT

can you upload the file . please