Android Nest App - Push Notifications Delayed

[GKKG]

For about a month now, the Android Nest app stopped receiving instant push notifications for my Nest Camera and Nest Hello and is delayed for ~1 hour or is received only when unlocking the phone. Instant push notifications are still working fine on the iOS app.

[GKKG]

Real-time alerts are working today for Nest Hello, still delayed for 1st gen Nest Indoor Camera.

[pstryjew]

I'm having this same problem, totally annoying.   Surprisingly, I'm not seeing a lot of traffic on the topic.  There are variables, like phone/notification config, phone OS, VPN use, etc.   All of that makes troubleshooting difficult.

I need to try with the iOS app, but that doesn't rule out other variables.

[GKKG]

Here we go again. Real time alerts on the Nest Android app is not working on my Nest Hello and my 1st Gen Nest Indoor Camera.

[Juni]

Hi folks,

Thanks for reaching out and sorry for the delay, Is the issue happening with push notifications or both email and push? Do you all receive push notifications on multiple devices? Also, are your mobile devices connected to a network?

Could you all try to connect the mobile device to another Wi-Fi or cellular network? Signing in to your account on another mobile device and triggering a notification to test might also help isolate this.

Regards,

Juni

[pstryjew]

I haven't been able to nail it down.  But I have two Android devices - the Samsung S20+ has the delay  but a Motorola sitting next to it doesn't have an issue.  
These are both on the same wi-fi in the house. 
If I'm actively using the device, it will come through.  Otherwise, it seems to wait until the device is active (getting email in the background or some other app is running), this can be 10+ minutes late.   
I have the Nest app to never sleep.  Other apps push notifications don't have this problem.  Doesn't seem to matter if the device is on battery or AC power.
I don't have email notifications.
What are suggested situations to test (besides Wi-Fi and cellular)?
BTW - My Nest app say last updated Dec 14th, 2022.  I HAS worked since the update but not now.

[GKKG]

The delayed push notification with the Android Nest app happens on all of our Pixel 6, Pixel 7, and Pixel 7 Pro devices, connected to both WiFi or cellular network. Email notifications are working which gets received ~1 minute after an incident occurs.

Nest app is the Dec 14 2022 version 5.70.1.2, which was working fine up until ~3 months ago. 

[Juni]

Hi folks,

Thanks for the additional detail you all shared. Could you please try to connect your Nest Camera and Nest Hello to another network and observe if it will make a difference?

I look forward to your responses.

Best,

Juni

[pstryjew]

I'll work on that.  But I have two devices (phones) side-by-side on the same network and the Samsung is delayed.  Two latest 20minutes and 7minutes.    
It's someway the app is getting info from the Nest servers.   The "push" isn't causing a notification until the app "wakes up".  If I open my phone, it will come immediately.

[pstryjew]

Juni - see the potential "fix" below.   This is something that needs to be documented.

Setting Nest app to "unrestricted" battery usage.

[Alex_S]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for updating us in this thread! We’re glad to hear that this has been sorted out. Please let us know if anyone here is still having issues so we can further look into it.

Kind regards,
Alex

[pstryjew]

Alex - how will this new information be shared with other Nest Users?   The Android application hasn't been updated since December.  This is probably something that can be solved in the application, or at least make it an option.

[Gini]

I'm having the same problem. I get my notifications on my note 22+ and they are delayed by at least 10 min and I took the camera out of the network and back in. Reset it all and it's still doing it. We could have people in our house sitting here and it goes off saying they are in our driveway. Not good when we use it for security 

[Sparkster]

I have this exact same problem and it's really frustrating me now as the notifications used to be so reliable. Now they can come in up to 45 minutes later - absolutely not what you want from a security system! 

If the device is unlocked, I get the notifications no problem. If the device is locked they come in eventually but it can be anywhere up to 45 minutes later from what I have observed. If I unlock the device the notifications come in as soon as I unlock.

I have checked notification and battery settings etc and everything looks like it's as it should be. I can't say for sure when the problem started, but it has definitely been a few weeks.

• Device: Pixel 6 Pro
• Android version: 13 (Android security update 5th May 2023 applied). All up to date.
• Nest app version: 5.70.1.2 (installed from app store 14th Dec)
• Adaptive battery is turned OFF
• All notifications ALLOWED for the Nest app
• Nest app set to "Unrestricted" battery usage
• Notifications on lock screen set to "Show conversations, default and silent" (so everything)
• The delay still happens when I am at home on Wifi or out on 3G/4G
• My wife's iPhone still gets the notifications as they happen, so it's something related to Android
• I'm not having problems with any other apps/notifications on my device
• Yes, I have turned it on and off again
• No, I'm not going to connect all of my cameras to another network because that's a waste of time when we know the notifications are working on iOS
• I have a different Nest cam (the Indoor/Outdoor one) which is connected to the Google Home app and notifications for that camera come in no problem (side note to the Nest team - how annoying that the new cameras have to go to the Google Home app instead of the Nest app which is just so much better). Maybe something to look into is whether the changes be made to the Google Home are somehow conflicting with the Nest app notifications? 

[jkbenzene]

Also chiming in with the same issue on an Android device. More specifically, running Android 13.1 on a OnePlus 10 Pro. The issue started happening maybe 3-4 weeks ago, can't remember specifically. My push notifications for recognizing a person in a specific zone of my wired Nest doorbell are generally delayed about 10 min or more. However, upon testing it just now, it was immediate so maybe it is not a constant issue.

I have not done any testing yet with my wife's iPhone. I have not done much other troubleshooting yet but reading some other threads, it does not seem to be an isolated device/network issue. It seems to relate to Android so I don't want to waste much other time with my specific setup. I am running app version 5.70.1.2. I am copying the other threads started which seem to show the exact same issue:

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/LONG-Delays-on-Doorbell-Notifications/m...

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Delay-Notification/td-p/428666

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Nest-doorbell-battery-slow-notification...

(there is a form on this one to report the issue which I also completed)

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Nest-doorbell-notification-delay-on-And...

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Delayed-doorbell-notification-on-Nest-a...

----------------------------

So just to reiterate, way too many people reporting the same problem to isolate to one device manufacturer, network, etc. The one commonality is Android.

[Cronner]

same happened to me it's even when people ring the bell and then it's useless on my phone

[Swordy068]

After trying so many things eventually got rid of the issue by enabling the notifications settings for the Instagram app.

[Ashleynicole]

Ditto to everything Sparkster said. All the settings are identical, the iphone user is my house is not experiencing the delay at all. This is a new issue within the last month and renders our security system useless. Especially our doorbell system. I need an alert about someone at my door the second they're there. Not 7 minutes later 🙄

[Switchfire]

Same problems for me. Very inconsistent notifications. Pixel 7 Pro.

[Sparkster]

I have been messaging with Google Nest Support on Twitter and I give them credit for being responsive and trying to help with the issue, but unfortunately they weren't able to resolve it. I believe the issue probably is something much deeper within Android itself conflicting with Nest. I don't know if it's the Nest team that needs to fix something in the app or the Android team. Given things were working at the start of this year AND the Nest app hasn't been updated since December, then I suspect it's something within Android itself that has changed.

Based on Google's track record, I would be very surprised if this ever gets fixed. I've reached the conclusion that It's probably only a matter of time before they kill the whole Nest product anyway and I have started to think about how I slowly swap all my Google stuff out for something different.

[pstryjew]

Sparkster- check my post below.  Setting the App to "unrestricted" in the power Optimization settings fixed my issue.

[Sparkster]

I already had the Nest app set to unrestricted battery usage back in June, so it's not that.

My notifications started working again normally about a week ago. I haven't changed anything new so something has changed at the Nest/Android/Google end.

[pstryjew]

Saw that you had tried earlier.  But at least it's working now.

[pstryjew]

It appears to be an issue around power savings.  When my phone is plugged in, it comes through right away.  If it's running on battery, it doesn't notify until it "wakes up" either manually or when another app (email) is active.

[Cronner]

I disabled all power save and still it's slow, even on my local hub, im opening the door before i get notified

[Swal83]

Just going to add my name to the list of affected users. 

Pixel 6, zero issues with notifications until recently, and as most have highlighted, it appears to be a power saving thing, if the device is awake then no issue at all, leave it for the screen to sleep and you've no chance of seeing a notification until you wake the screen again.  

The missus, on iOs, completely unaffected. 

I suspect it's the last android update, but obviously can't prove that. 

[pstryjew]

Swal83 - did you see my post from Monday.  Mine is working fine again.

[Swal83]

Was one of the first things I'd tried. Made zero difference. 

[pstryjew]

I THINK  that I have this figured out.  I can't find the exact method I originally used.  I had a notification on my Galaxy about (Battery) Optimized Apps.   It gave me a settings screen I can't find again (searching Optimization doesn't find it).   

However, try this for a Galaxy (probably similar for others)
Settings -> Apps -> Nest
under Usage -> Battery
Set Nest to "Unrestricted" versus "Optimized"

II think an OS update changed the default to Optimized ( "Optimized based on usage of this app. Recommended for most apps") or the way it was determined.

My assumption, is since Nest and  it's notifications are usually NOT running, it goes into battery optimization mode and "wakes" up only in certain instances or when charging.

[Switchfire]

This is interesting. I'm going to try it!

[pstryjew]

Any luck?  Let us know.

[Switchfire]

It seems to be working as expected now!

[Ashleynicole]

This was one of the first things I tried and it didn't help anything in my case 😕

[pstryjew]

Sorry to hear that it didn't work.  I had tried a bunch of other power savings setting, but stumbling on this one seems to work.  I'll keep an eye on it.

[pstryjew]

Did you try to set it again?   
Since I set mine to unrestricted, it works like the "good old days"    No delays.

[Gini]

I'm going to try this. My camera has been shutting off alot lately. When I just checked it I had it on  "restricted". So I did what you said. Hope it works! Thanks! 

[pstryjew]

So did it help?   

Since I set to "Unrestricted" mine is working totally as expected.  When I walk out the front door, I get the alert within seconds.

[Gini]

So far so good. I had to end up resetting the one camera I have been having issues with about 3 days later because it totally went out again. But since then no issues 🤞