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Why is this community a complete waste of time?

rrozema
Community Member

None of the questions in this so called "Community" receive any answers. The only 'activity' going on seems to be some "Community experts", periodically checking if they can close your question. Their responses however seem like a bot's behaviour mostly (f.e. @Jake). And if they are not bots, they must be out only for gathering these useless 'badges', because they never respond in a useful way.

Plus, if ever you do get a response, it's most like some spam, trying to promote a site or a product. And again, no response from any moderator, even if you report the spam.

My advise: don't bother asking any questions here. You won't get a useful response.

 

 

1 Recommended Answer

rrozema
Community Member

Hi Dan,

 

You can close the topic. The "specialist" hasn't responded any more after giving the same standard response of trying the fix the issue at hand instead answering my questions, even though I explicitly stated I wasn't looking for those "fix instructions". The topic header seems to have  been correct all the time: this community is a complete waste of time.

View Recommended Answer in original post

45 REPLIES 45

S3bryan
Community Member

Let’s see if this helps you.  Google does not monitor nor do they care about this forum.  The community members will tell you they do not work for Google they only advocate for Google.  The only thing Google cares about is data mining and social media presence.  Go over to twitter and search Google nest.  This forum is for fellow users who also have been abandoned by Google to help each other out.  Google purchased nest and now YEARS later we still have nothing from them about the integration.  Yet google will hype their pixie Dixie phones and tell you how wonderful nest is.  Sorry but it’s true 

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey folks,

 

We're sorry if you feel that way but we're here — we're trying to be as responsive as we can.

 

@rrozema, could you share more details about your concern so we could investigate on it?

 

@S3bryan, while it is true that this is a community forum, we're always here checking on each of your threads. We'll also take your feedback as an opportunity to learn and to be able to provide a better experience in the future.
 

Best,

Princess

https://9to5google.com/2022/07/08/google-home-nest-app-disaster/  Princess post facts not Koolade, moderators do not work for google.  stick with facts instead of spreading pixie dust.  

Nearly a year later, the Google Home app has made no progress in cleaning up its Nest disaster

 

 

Last year, Google refreshed the Nest camera lineup for the first time in several years, but it also came with a change on the software side of things. The Google Home app is supposed to replace the Nest app, but the transition period has been a maddening limbo. Nearly a year later, virtually nothing has changed on that front either.

 




Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi S3bryan, 

 

We apologize for this, but we're here to help. Could you please tell us what Google Nest devices you have so we can sort things out. We'd love to know more details of your set up so we can start some steps in resolving this.

 

We look forward to your response.

 

Best,

Princess

Princess it’s an article from a recognized tech blog.  You’ll notice I even took the time to include a hyperlink.  The we you stated is actually not a we, for Google as they have stated does not participate in this forum. They participate only via social media.  Yet over there it’s worse.  The article if you had taken the time to click the hyperlink, clearly points out google does not care at all about the nest products only the pixie Dixie phones.  You know like magic pixie dust from Disney.  

rrozema
Community Member

@Princesss you could have look at my request for help with the presence detection. The problem still persists, so of you could still give me some pointers what to look for that would be helpful. But even if this is not your area of expertise, the thread will give you a good idea of my complaints with this community: https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Apps-Account/What-are-the-requirements-for-Google-Home-s-pres... . All I got for responses are

  • a spam message which I reported because the same user did the same thing in multiple threads: no response at from anyone to those reports.
  • Multiple times a question from some "community expert" if I had found an answer yet. I responded I was still in need of a reply and never got the promised help.
  • And finally, the same "expert" that promised -but never gave- help, closes the thread. 

I've browsed through the questions in the list -and even answered some of them for which I could be of help- but they all looked the same: no response or only spam responses. The only real information was in very old threads which seem to have been converted from a previous board and thereby had lost most of their context.

 

All this gave me the impression of a waste of time and resources. And looking at the amount of kudos I received on my complaint message, more people feel the same way.

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi rrozema,

 

We apologize for this inconvenience that this has caused you. This is not the experience that we want you to have. 

 

I have reviewed the thread you created and would like to verify other things. Could you list down all the Google Nest devices that are set up in your home? This includes speakers, Nest thermostats, cameras or ddoorbells.

 

Also, you might want to check here more details about Home & Away routines.

 

Keep me posted so we can start some steps.

 

Best,

Princess

rrozema
Community Member

Hi @Princesss,

In my house I have 5 google mini's, 2 nest mini's plus 1 nest hub 2nd gen: At least 1 speaker in every room, the living room has 2 minis as a stereo pair. Plus we have 4 android phones which all share their locations and are set up to report when they leave and enter the home. We use the speakers to issue commands to my domotica system Domoticz via a web service Controlicz.

It's the phones that I suspect not to report their location correctly or not frequently enough. As I described it happens many times -but not always- that one family member leaves the house while others are still at home and yet the assistant switches to away mode. I.e. it switches to Away while someone is still at home. I did even notice a couple of times that it switched to Away while we were all at home. The other way around however happens too: all family members have left but Away mode is not activated.

I want to use Away mode to signal my Domoticz things like: switch off the heating, the vacuum cleaner can start its daily round, remove the restriction on the speed of my ventilation system (it's fully automated using humidity and motion sensors, but i don't want it running at highest speed while we're asleep because of the noise this makes) plus turn off many lights and appliances. Away mode as it is now is not reliable enough to do this: when I allowed Away mode to do these things we kept having to switch everything back manually after anyone left the house.

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi rrozema,

 

I appreciate the details you've shared. Has anyone of you tried to unlink/relink their account to the speakers? I would suggest to try removing the account first to those phone who's not syncing with Away mode. Also, let's make sure that the Home app is updated to its latest version.

 

Keep me posted as soon as you've tried to unlink one account and compare its behavior.

 

Best,

Princess

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi rrozema,

 

We just want to check if you have seen our response posted above. Let us know if you have additional questions, otherwise we'll be locking the thread.
 

Best,

Princess

It's not one account that doesn't sync with away mode: All accounts don't sync with away mode occasionally. Syncing is unreliable for all our accounts at times, plus it's not easily reproducable either. Home/Away can be switched on and off correctly for several days or even weeks in a row and then suddenly it can be off again. And without changing anything it can restore to correct behaviour the days after that. So when I make changes -like for example unlinking one account as you suggest- I can't see if it worked or if it didn't, because if it works, that could mean I've fixed it, but it could also mean that it's still the same and we're in a period that it works correctly.

 

To answer your question: yes, we've removed and re-added accounts from the speakers and still got the same behavior at times. I've had home/away mode for at least 3 years connected to my Domoitcz now and we've gone through multiple mutations in that time: we replaced all our phones (old ones removed, new ones added), we added new speakers, we removed speakers, we re-purposed speakers (remove and re-add in another location/configuration), we moved speakers, we re-added speakers, we removed accounts (f.e. 1 kid left the house), we added new accounts, etc.

Because of the unpredictable nature of the problem I'm now looking for more solid indicators of whether it's working correctly or if something is wrong. This is why I ask for input on what are the exact components that Away/Home mode works on/with, plus if and how I can check correct operation each of these components.

I for myself think the speakers themselves don't do a lot in the away/home process. According to marketing information the nest thermostat does do something to sense presence, but I don't have one of those, the speakers themselves however do'n have any sensors that are capable of sensing presence (other than close-by sensing needed for the manual operation of the device itself). So I'm convinced that in my case only the phones are used for detecting presence of the family members. Can you give me or point me to information on what exactly the mechanism(s) are that presence detection in Google Home uses, preferably including  detailed information on how to test the workings of these mechanisms. I think that the google home app in our phones uses location (determined via gps, cell tower and other (wifi) radio sources) to determine proximity to our home's location. If one phone moves away from the home location more than a pre-set distance, it reports this to the google server. When the last phone reports 'away from the home location', i.e. no phone is known to be near the home location anymore, the google server switches home/away mode to away. Then when the first phone reports comming close to the home location again, the server switches to Home mode again.

If this is indeed how it works, I'm looking for example for a way how I can check the status of each individual phone. So I can verify where the problem lies when my home is switched to away while one or more phones are still at home, or vice versa, when my home doesn't get switched to away while all phones have left.  If it works in another way, I'm looking for information on how exactly it works, so I can try and diagnose the problem.

So I hope to make clear I'm not asking for suggestions to fix home/away mode by trial and error. I've already tried that for years and this doesn't lead to results because the behavior is unpredictable: if it seems to work after I made some change, I never know if the problem was fixed or that I'm just 'lucky' to be in a period it does work. I need information, not guesses at what could fix the issue.

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for all the details you've shared. We'd be happy to take a look into this for you. Please fill out this form with all the needed information then let me know once done.

 

Best,

Princess

@Princesss I completed and sent the form.

Thank you

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi everyone,

 

@rrozema, we've received your form-- thanks for filling that out. Please keep an eye on your email as someone from our team will reach out to you to assist you further.

 

@S3bryan, we understand your frustrations and we want to make it up to you. Please fill out this form with all the needed information so we can assist you via email.

 

Best,

Princess

S3bryan
Community Member

Again WE say why bother.  Google does not read nor participate on this forum.  User feedback is tossed automatically to the trash.  Google has proven they do not care about user needs.  Telling users over and over and over send us feedback is pixie dust you know like Disney.  Feedback from users has been said over and over.  Fix how you destroyed nest.  Right? You drink the Google koolade 

Muddi
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey S3bryan,

 

I just wanted to check if you are able to fill up the form?

 

Cheers,

Muddi

Azarco
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey S3bryan,

 

We're back! Did you have a chance to fill out the form? Let us know so that we can assist you.

 

Best,

Alex

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi S3bryan,

 

One last follow up-- have you had the chance to fill out the form?

 

Best,

Princess

rrozema
Community Member

He's apparently no longer willing to respond. But then he's not the OP anyway.  So no need to close this...

S3bryan
Community Member

Maybe if I Elucidate it will help you to understand.  Firstly In my original text I posted from a tech blog the ongoing issues relative to Nest and Google Home app.  If in Fact the moderators of this site actually took the time to read users post they would have been more cognizant in their respective replies.  It clearly states that Google does not seem interested in doing anything with combining the two required apps.  Nest protect, Nest alarms are USELESS in the Home App.  Secondly Filling out some feedback form will get users absolutely nowhere.. Read the updates for the App posted by Google, for the past year.  Coming soon, new better integration with things Google Loves to boast about.  ChromeTV integration, Pixie integration and coming in hot, TIKTOK and Happy Birthday from the Hub and zero NEST integration. Thirdly, Google does not read, participate nor care what users on this forum say.  Admins on here are charged with Telling us to fill out feedback forums and to lock posts, that's it.  We as in the paying users who bought nest products have been discarded, forgotten, and pushed aside.  Replying on here has become useless, for there is no roadmap of integration.  And on Twitter there is only social Validation of how wonderful the products are and users are idiots for the Products are flawless.   Read the Techblog post I have attached before you reply https://9to5google.com/2022/07/08/google-home-nest-app-disaster/ 

I did not write the tech blog post, it was written by someone who states Clearly there has been zero progress in the integration in over a year.  Wow a year and still a hot mess.  Just like the google July Blog states, Coming in Hot, hot with what?? Fairy Tale Dust.  If Google took the time to read Feedback they would have assigned software resources to Fix the issues.  Think about it, a year later and two different apps to use the products.  Guess they needed the money for Coachella to boast of pixie Dixie dust?

 

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi S3bryan,

 

We appreciate the info you've shared. For us to be able to address you with this, kindly fill out this form and we'll have our senior specialist work with you on this.

 

Best,

Princess

Muddi
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey S3bryan,

 

I just wanted to check if you are able to fill out the form?

 

Cheers,

Muddi

S3bryan
Community Member

So once again another different moderator has asked for the feedback form. Let’s see if this makes sense on why it’s futile.  Google treats its users like we are children who are mindless and pretty much useless.  They choose  names of candy or other sweet delights children crave for their operating system.  Eclair, marshmallow, KitKat, gingerbread, you get the idea.  Secondly they introduce a computer and call it a Chromebook.  It’s nothing more then a very dumbed down OS devoid of pretty much everything useful but it does allow google to data mine everything on it.  Google calls its phones Pixie, again another childlike reference.  Google also does not moderate nor participate on this forum.  Google also displays a blatant disregard for its users on social media.  When user s expresses product concern or issues, the common almost standard practice of response on twitter is “Hi, we stumbled over your twerk.” Again a form of expression that our we are complaining like children and are in the way and that the product is flawless.   And lastly Nest users meaning the ones who purchased nest products created by Tony Fadell, you know the guy that created the iPod for apple, have had zero support since the acquisition.  if in fact google did listen to Nest users it says the same thing over and over and over. Fix the Nest app so we can use only the nest app to see all Products that we have been baited and switched under the nest umbrella.  User feedback requests are exactly that, feedback.  The home app is a disaster, written in crayon with total disregard for users needs.  Yet here we are years later running two different apps to do the same **bleep** thing.  We have given google feedback on here, and on blogs and on social media.  Still no change.  And to prove how little google cares about this forum site, meander over to the blog section. What do you see besides coming in hot month after month after month? Comments that are spam and spam and more spam.  Yet not once has a moderator cleaned up that.  But, they lock us out of postings after only days.  Users feel slighted on here when postings are locked with no answers.  Feedback?  Read the comments it’s all there and has been since the start.  Stop treating paying users like mindless children.  The proof is in the lack of response and lack of updates to the product integration.  We all await with baited breath for you to  pass the pixie dust covered chocolate chrome plated  response which we know will read “ok locking this thread now”

63F29FC4-7F13-460D-8D63-B37B790BAC76.jpeg

 

Lastly, stop lying to us, the Apple TV app does not work if you switch to Google, yet there it is still available to download WITHOUT a disclaimer that only for users to don’t migrate.  

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi S3bryan,

 

We appreciate your efforts. and your honest feedback. For us to assist you further, kindly fill out the form and let us know once you're done. 

 

Best,

Princess

rrozema
Community Member

Just to let you know: i have not yet been contacted in response to my filled out form...

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi rrozema,

 

Sorry for the long wait. I have notified our team about this and as a reference, here's your case ID: 8-1695000032651.

 

I'll keep this thread open until you are assisted.

 

Best,

Princess 

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi there,

 

Due to inactivity, I'll go ahead and lock this thread in 24 hours. Feel free to start a new thread if you need assistance with your Google speakers and we'd be glad to assist you further.
 

Best,

Princess

We know, we are used to that.  Kinda hard to fathom that nest users bought a product to find ourselves ignored and topics locked when admins don’t like what users say

It's still ongoing though...

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi everyone, 

 

Thank you for responding.

 

@S3bryan, we apologize if this thread was closed sooner than you would have liked. As Community Specialists, we occasionally do a bit of housekeeping to keep the conversations in our community fresh and relevant. This includes locking threads after a period of inactivity.

 

@rrozema, we've seen that you have been assisted via email. Have you tried the last steps suggested to you via email? 

 

Best,

Princess

so do tell Princess, Rrozema commented 16 hours along with me.  Yet you’ve decided that it’s housekeeping time and lock the thread.  I give up with Nest

rrozema
Community Member

@S3bryan, I haven't given up yet and I would really like to get an answer to my question. This thread is my best bet so far at getting one, so if I can keep it open to communicate with the people that have the information I am looking for that would make me very happy.

I hear your frustration, AND I feel it with you, but can you please stop the negative responses?

S3bryan
Community Member

Rrozema, my negative posts are only to point out the constant frustration Nest users feel.  Just keep in mind  the last post from the moderator “time to lock the thread”

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey folks, 

 

We appreciate your patience and efforts you put in to this thread. 

 

@rrozema, we already notified our product speacialist about this. 

 

@S3bryan, apologies about any confusion that this has caused you. We'd like to make it up to you by reaching out to you privately via email.

 

I'll make sure to keep this thread open until we reach a resolution.

 

Best,

Princess

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey folks,

 

Chiming in-- have you seen our response posted above?

 

Best,

Princess

Yes, noted. So far I've received no answers yet. My question was passed on to a next level though.

Princesss
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi rrozema,

 

Thanks! I already did a follow up with with this. I'll make sure to let you know as soon as we have some news to share.

 

Best,

Princess

Dan_A
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there,

 

I wanted to follow up and see if you still need help. Please let me know if you are still having any concerns or questions from here, as I would be happy to take a closer look and assist you further.

 

Thanks,

Dan

Dan_A
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi folks,

 

We haven't heard from you in a while so we'll be locking this thread if there is no update within 24 hours. If you need assistance or want to discuss topics, feel free to start a new thread.

 

Kind regards,

Dan