Once you have successfully setup your device in the Nest app or Google Home app (depending on the devices you have), you may want to add it to the Nest app or Google Home app on someone else's phone or tablet. A common misconception is that you do this by following the same setup steps, this is in fact not the case and will not work. You can follow the steps below to successfully share your devices with others.
I'm using a Google account
Follow these steps if you're using the Google Home app, and/or you use the Sign in with Google button in the Nest app. This includes those who have migrated their Nest account to a Google account.
Tip: Note that if you're using a Google account, even if the device only appears in the Nest app, you still need to use the Google Home app and follow the steps below to manage home members.
- Open the Google Home app.
- If you have more than one home, tap the Favorites tab.
- At the top, select the home you want.
- Tap the Settings icon, then tap Add + then tap Home member.
- Enter the name or email address of the person you want to invite to your home, then tap Next.
- Tap Next, then review the person’s access to your home.
- Tap Send.
- If your Google Family Group isn’t full and the person you’re inviting isn’t already in one, you should get the option to invite them to your Google Family Group. To invite them, tap Add to Family or to skip this step, tap No Thanks.
The person you invite should receive an email with instructions. Once they receive and accept the invite, your device(s) should show up in their Google Home app and/or Nest app, depending on the type of devices you have.
Note: The email address you invite must be a personal Gmail account (not a Google Workspace account), or if the person you’re inviting to the home uses another email provider, they must create a Google account using that email address. To do that, they can follow the "Use an existing email address" steps in the following help centre article.
I'm using a Nest account
Follow these steps if you're using the Nest app and login using the Sign in with Nest link. These steps do not apply and will not work if you're using a Google account, including if you login to the Nest app using the Sign in with Google button.
- Open the Nest app.
- If you have more than one home in the Nest app, make sure that the one you want to grant access to is active on the app home screen. If it’s not, tap the Menu dropdown on the home screen, then select the home you want.
- Tap the Settings icon, then tap Family & Guests. If you don’t have a Nest × Yale Lock, it’ll only say Family.
- Tap Add a person.
- Enter the person’s name as you’d like it to appear in the app and tap Continue.
- Choose the level of access you'd like the person to have. The different levels of access are explained in the following help centre article.
- Enter an email address or tap Add from contacts to select from your phone’s contact list. You can add a personal message to the email invitation.
- Tap Send.
The person should receive an email invitation from account@nest.com within a couple of minutes containing a link to accept the invite. Once they receive and accept the invite, your device(s) should show up in their Nest app.
