Nest Doorbell Automation - Motion Detection not triggering

[schnoodle]

Anyone know why this isn't working? I created an automation activity for my Nest Doorbell - to switch on a light - when motion is detected. The Nest App - notifies me of the motion but the light doesn't turn on. When I switch the triggering activity to "doorbell rings" the light turns on . 

When I look in the "activity" log in the Home App - it notes "person"  - which is NOT an option I can select in the activity.  Beggining to think I'm going to have to buy something like the GE 93130374 Cync Smart Light Bundle  + Motion Sensor combo. Anyone have any experience with triggering outdoor lighting? I want it to switch on when there's a person noticed.

[schnoodle · Accepted solution]

Thank you - I created the following at  http://home.google.com/automations

Wish I could get the two weeks of lost time back because no one at Google suggested this. Just walked outside, in the dark and it worked.  The app was logging motion and person events separately - so I *thought* the motion would in fact trigger a device based on motion. Now I can disable motion on the doorbell. Twice now support tried convincing me I needed a "Nest aware" subscription; the last one tried telling me I'd run into problems if I didn't. Right now I don't care about preseving the video.

What I'd love to do eventually is when my Galaxy watch detects a hard fall - and 911 is called - those lights get fllipped on. Maybe some day.

metadata:
name: Turn on light when a person is detected 
description: When doorbell detects person at night, turn on porch light.

automations:
# “starters” and “actions” are required; “conditions” are optional.
# Use Ctrl + Space to see autocomplete suggestions.

# ---- STARTERS ---- #
# Starters describe events that will start the automation.
# To add more than one starter, duplicate the "- type" section under "starters".
# If you add multiple starter events, any one of them happening will start the automation.

starters:
- type: device.event.PersonDetection # A person has been detected by the camera.
device: Front Doorbell - Front Porch

# ---- CONDITIONS ---- #
# Conditions are optional. Delete this section if it’s empty.
# Conditions will prevent an automation from starting if the conditions aren’t met.
# See g.co/home/script-editor-docs for documentation about how to use logical operators like “and”, “or”, and “not”.
condition:
type: time.between
after: SUNSET
before: SUNRISE

# ---- ACTIONS ---- #
# Actions will start when a starter event takes place and all conditions are met.
# Actions will start in the order they appear in the script and with any delay specified.
# To add more than one action, duplicate the "- type" section under "actions".
actions:
- type: device.command.OnOff # Turn the device on or off.
# Whether to turn the device on or off.
on: true
devices: Porch Light - Front Porch

[cifuentesj]

Hi @schnoodle,

Thanks for reaching out and providing detailed information. I understand that you are encountering some motion detection with your automation created on your Nest Doorbell, and you want to buy a GE 93130374 Cync Smart Light Bundle + Motion Sensor combo. I'm here to help you find a solution together. 

To assist you further, please attempt the following questions:

• What is the model of your Nest Doorbell?
• Are you using the Google Home app or the Nest app to create your automation?
• When did the issue start?
• What troubleshooting steps have you already tried? If so, which steps have you tried already?

Please keep me posted.

Warm regards,

Jeremy.

[schnoodle]

• What is the model of your Nest Doorbell? Where do you find model info? When I go into the Nest App it doesn't display a model # but here's the Software version 4110055. It's a wired doorbell that I bought probably back in 2017
• Are you using the Google Home app or the Nest app to create your automation? I used Google to create the automation; I don't see an option in the Nest app. Of note, I have both apps on my phone. Of note, I purchased almost all my Nest products before Google acquired them.
• When did the issue start? It's NEVER worked. 
• What troubleshooting steps have you already tried? If so, which steps have you tried already? 
• At first I tried a test with a TP Link plug (model P125M) for this automation. The automation was - to turn that plug on when motion was detected between certain hours. It NEVER worked despite the Google Home app logging either motion or a person, or both. I then changed the trigger action to "doorbell rings" and the plug turns on (e.g. the lamp attached to the plug, turns on). I then moved over to a GE CYNC Smart LED PAR38 Outdoor Floodlight and it too doesn't turn on when motion is logged in the Home app.

[schnoodle]

Has anyone SUCCESSFULLY gotten the doorbell "motion" to trigger an action? I've gone back and forth w/support trying to get a definitive answer on products that work. I have an older Nest doorbell that triggers both motion and person - events in the Google Home app. However, it does NOT trigger the corresponding automation activity I assigned (turn on a smart plug ). They claim b/c the plug isn't a "google product" that's the issue however if I switch to "doorbell rings" the automation activity is triggered. So I asked about a 2nd gen doorbell and was told - it's not a google product. OK - well - then what products DO work to trigger something with the doorbell? I've got a GE C-Sync light on order that I ideally want turned on when the doorbell identifies motion (or a person). 

[cifuentesj]

Hi @schnoodle,

Thank you for your timely response and the detailed information you’ve provided. In this case, the GE 93130374 Cync Smart Light Bundle + Motion Sensor combo that you're referring to is a third-party device, and you are experiencing some motion detection issues, and I appreciate the troubleshooting steps you've already taken. I recommend contacting GE directly for further troubleshooting and support.

Warm regards,

Jeremy.

[schnoodle]

That's a ridiculous answer - Google PURCHASED NEST. This is GOOGLE'S APP - it has the option to select "motion" - you tell me - WHAT DEVICES ARE ON THE APPROVED LIST that WORK when motion is triggered?!

[LewisJ150]

I managed to get this to work last night using the google home script editor. I believe that the standard app gives an option to trigger the routine by motion only, while script gives options for motion, detect a person, detect package etc. I wonder if the doorbell detecting motion is not considered the same as detecting a person for some reason, thus not triggering.

Have a look at the script editor, it didn't take me long to learn it as there is a google tool that can write most of the code for you based on your prompt. 

[schnoodle · Accepted solution]

Thank you - I created the following at  http://home.google.com/automations

Wish I could get the two weeks of lost time back because no one at Google suggested this. Just walked outside, in the dark and it worked.  The app was logging motion and person events separately - so I *thought* the motion would in fact trigger a device based on motion. Now I can disable motion on the doorbell. Twice now support tried convincing me I needed a "Nest aware" subscription; the last one tried telling me I'd run into problems if I didn't. Right now I don't care about preseving the video.

What I'd love to do eventually is when my Galaxy watch detects a hard fall - and 911 is called - those lights get fllipped on. Maybe some day.

metadata:
name: Turn on light when a person is detected 
description: When doorbell detects person at night, turn on porch light.

automations:
# “starters” and “actions” are required; “conditions” are optional.
# Use Ctrl + Space to see autocomplete suggestions.

# ---- STARTERS ---- #
# Starters describe events that will start the automation.
# To add more than one starter, duplicate the "- type" section under "starters".
# If you add multiple starter events, any one of them happening will start the automation.

starters:
- type: device.event.PersonDetection # A person has been detected by the camera.
device: Front Doorbell - Front Porch

# ---- CONDITIONS ---- #
# Conditions are optional. Delete this section if it’s empty.
# Conditions will prevent an automation from starting if the conditions aren’t met.
# See g.co/home/script-editor-docs for documentation about how to use logical operators like “and”, “or”, and “not”.
condition:
type: time.between
after: SUNSET
before: SUNRISE

# ---- ACTIONS ---- #
# Actions will start when a starter event takes place and all conditions are met.
# Actions will start in the order they appear in the script and with any delay specified.
# To add more than one action, duplicate the "- type" section under "actions".
actions:
- type: device.command.OnOff # Turn the device on or off.
# Whether to turn the device on or off.
on: true
devices: Porch Light - Front Porch

[LewisJ150 · Accepted solution]

Its probably easiest to log on to google home on a desktop via browser as the script editor on the mobile app is a bit clunky.

You may need to turn on public preview to get access to the script editor.

Create a new automation and it should open the scriot editor. This is the code I used, which uses a driveway camera and the doorbell camera (whichever detects first) to trigger the automation. I added a supression after the first trigger as it seems to try and trigger multiple times if you don't. I also told mine to only trigger when it's dark. The porch light then turns on for 5 minutes.

While this code works, it does have a long delay between when the person is detected and when the light turns on. I think this is similar to the issue google have where once the doorbell is pressed, it can take a long time to get a notification.

This is the code:

metadata:
name: Turn on light when doorbell detects person
description: Turn on light when doorbell detects person
automations:
- starters:
- type: device.event.PersonDetection # A person has been detected by the camera. # Motion has been detected by the device.
device: Driveway camera - Driveway
suppressFor: 5min
- type: device.event.MotionDetection # Motion has been detected by the device.
device: Front door doorbell - Front door
suppressFor: 5min
condition:
type: time.between
after: SUNSET-30min
before: SUNRISE
actions:
- type: device.command.OnOff
devices:
- Porch - Front door
on: true
- type: time.delay
# Adjust duration as needed. Supported units: sec, min, hour
for: 5min
- type: device.command.OnOff
devices:
- Porch - Front door
on: false

[LewisJ150]

I'm having exactly the same issue. I have a GWX3T doorbell and have set an automation to trigger when motion is detected. Despite the motion being recorded in the google home app, the trigger doesn't activate the routine.

It seems that the motion detection is a new feature as I dont remember being able to select it before. When was this feature added, and are google aware of any problem with this? 

[cifuentesj]

Hi @LewisJ150,

Thank you for reaching out and the comprehensive information you've provided. I understand that you want to know when this feature was added. At this moment this feature is not available. Additionally. Consider sharing your thoughts directly with our development team through this feedback. Your input will help us prioritize features and ensure that we're meeting the needs of our diverse user base.

Warm regards,

Jeremy.