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RachelC
Googler
Googler

Hey everyone,

 

Many of you have been existing Nest Doorbell (wired) customers since 2018, but some of our newer Nest customers are trying to find and understand the right doorbell for their home. We’ve heard your questions and general feedback about what makes our new Nest Doorbell (battery) different from the Nest Doorbell (wired) and we’ll be taking some time to break down a few key differences. 

We’re also excited to share that we'll be expanding our doorbell offering in 2022, with the 2nd generation of our wired doorbell (formerly known as Nest Hello), which will include the option of 24/7 continuous video history with a Nest Aware Plus subscription (sold separately). Take a look below to see which doorbell might be best for your home.

 

 

Nest Doorbell (battery)

Nest Doorbell (wired)

Shared features

Mobile app 

Built exclusively for the Google Home app

Nest Doorbell (battery) works with the Home app. The Google Home app gives you visibility into all of your supported connected home devices in one place (whether it's a Google Nest device or another brand). And here are some new features: 

  • Whole home history: see all of your events across devices
  • Video History: scroll through your events horizontally, rather than vertically, and take a more granular look at your history. Learn more about video history in the Google Home app.
  • Priority feed: see events that are most important in a dedicated tab

Works with the Nest and Google Home apps - but the experiences are different

If you’re used to the Nest app and give the Google Home app a try, you may notice there are some things you cannot do yet in the Google Home app, including: 

  • Set up Nest Doorbell (wired)
  • Modify settings 


We’re working on incorporating many of these favorite features from the Nest app into the Google Home app over the next year. Read this post for more.

Both the Google Home and Nest apps allow you to control the earlier generation Nest cameras and doorbell.


From either app, you can do the following:


  • View live video from your cameras and doorbells 
  • Talk and listen to visitors in your home
  • Turn your camera on and off
  • See your cameras and doorbells organized by room
  • Delete video history
  • View device information

Web support

Web based app viewer coming soon

Although Nest Doorbell (battery) is not compatible with home.nest.com, we’ve been working on rolling out a desktop experience for the Google Home app, so the new Nest cameras and doorbell feeds can be viewed and controlled from there. This will launch in 2022.

home.nest.com

View your Nest Doorbell (wired) on a web browser on your computer.

 

Installation

Battery or Wired

The Nest Doorbell (battery) has a built-in rechargeable battery which allows you to install it anywhere within range of your Wi-Fi network. If you don’t want to recharge the battery, you can connect it to pre-existing doorbell wires or a power outlet to work (indoor power adapter sold separately). Learn more about doorbell compatibility at g.co/nest/works.

Wired only

Nest Doorbell (wired) requires hardwired power and must be connected to pre-existing doorbell wires or a power outlet to work (indoor power adapter sold separately). Learn more about doorbell compatibility at g.co/nest/works.

Add accessories or have a Pro help you install 

We stocked the Google Store with accessories for Nest Doorbell (battery), including horizontal and vertical wedges, a power adapter, Wasserstein Horizontal angle mount and solar panel (available 11/4).  


We also offer a power adapter for the earlier generation doorbell. 


On the Google Store, you can also schedule an appointment with a Pro to help you install your doorbell.

Outdoor

Made for outdoor use. Available in four colors: Snow, Ash, Ivy, and Linen.

Made for outdoor use. Available in black.

Built with quality materials

Nest Doorbell (battery) and Nest Doorbell (wired) are meant to be placed outside of your home. They are thoughtfully designed, constructed from durable materials, and built to complement your home.

Alerts

Four types of intelligent alerts and Activity Zones included right out of the box

The new Nest Doorbell (battery) offers four types of intelligent alerts right out of the box, no subscription required: people, packages, animals, and vehicles. We’ve also included Activity Zones, a feature that has historically been a paid feature that required a Nest Aware subscription. Thanks to built-in intelligence, these features all come with your camera, no subscription required.

One type of intelligent alert included; more available with a subscription

The Nest Doorbell (wired) can detect motion and people without a subscription. Package alerts and Activity Zones require a Nest Aware subscription (sold separately) Animal and vehicle alerts are not available on Nest Doorbell (wired).

Familiar Face 

A Nest Aware subscription will give your Nest Doorbell (battery) and Nest Doorbell (wired) access to more video history and familiar face detection where you can train your device to tell the difference between the faces you know and don’t know.


Learn more about Familiar Faces here.


Disclaimer:  Nest’s familiar face detection feature is not available on Nest cameras used in Illinois. 

Camera Detection

Cutting edge performance 

We’ve moved object detection on-device and added a cutting-edge TPU chip, which allows algorithms to run 2 times more pixels at a 2x higher frame rate than Nest Doorbell (wired). That’s a fancy way of saying the new Nest Doorbell (battery) has more accurate, reliable, and timely alerts.

Great performance

Nest Doorbell (wired) has advanced intelligence features such as package and familiar face detection (with a Nest Aware subscription). It uses a mix of on-device and cloud processing to detect objects.

 

Included History

Three hours of event video history (clips) included

Out of the box, you will be able to see a rolling three hours of event video history clips. So, if you check your app at 6 a.m., you’ll see the events that happened from 3 a.m. onward.

Three hours of still images included

Nest Doorbell (wired) offers three hours of still images out of the box. So, if you check your app at 6 a.m., you’ll see pictures of events that happened from 3 a.m. onward, but no video.

More video history with Nest Aware

A Nest Aware Plus subscription will give Nest Doorbell (battery) and Nest Doorbell (wired) up to 60 days of event video history, and 10 days of 24/7 continuous video history on Nest Doorbell (wired).


Nest Doorbell (battery), even when installed using the optional wired installation, does not offer 24/7 continuous video history. 

Camera specs

Camera specs, enhanced with software

The new Nest Doorbell (battery) has a 1.3MP sensor, and a custom designed lens for sharper images and color tuning. With a field of view of 145 degrees and taller field of view (3:4 ratio), you can see visitors from head-to-toe as well as packages as close as 8 inches from your door. 

Camera specs

Nest Doorbell (wired) has a 3MP sensor with HD video. It has a field of view of 160 degrees and 4:3 ratio.

HDR +wedge included to position your camera

Both Nest doorbells come with High Dynamic Range (HDR) image technology that delivers balanced, clear, detailed video even in challenging environments with bright sunlight and dark shadows. Both Doorbells also include a wedge in the box to help you position your doorbell the way you want and get the best viewing angle from the camera.

Local storage feedback 

Enhanced reliability 

In the case of a power or Wi-Fi outage, the new battery-powered Nest Doorbell will record up to one hour of events (about a week’s worth) on-device and upload those clips to the Google Home app once service returns.

To learn more about Storage Fallback

The earlier generation Nest Doorbell (wired) does not offer local storage feedback.

 

Privacy and Security 

Privacy and Security 

The new Nest Doorbell (battery) requires a Google account, which comes with benefits like two-factor verification , suspicious activity detection, and password checkup. 

See the “shared features” column

Encryption and transparency

For all Nest Doorbells, the device’s LED status indicator will always show you when the camera is processing frames or someone is watching the live feed. All Nest Doorbell footage is encrypted while stored and in transit between devices or a data center.

 

We hope this table provides a clear breakdown of the differences between the Nest Doorbell (battery) and Nest Doorbell (wired), formerly known as Nest Hello. And that it serves as a helpful guide as you decide which Nest Doorbell is right for you. 

We know there are features unique to the existing Nest Doorbell (wired) and Nest app that you love and don’t see in the new experience. We’re committed to adding many of them over time, and continuing to add new features that make the new Nest Doorbell (battery) more helpful than ever. 

Thanks again for your continued feedback, and as always please share questions and comments here!

Thanks, 

Rachel

4 Comments
Darobga
Community Member

@RachelC Can you clarify about viewing camera/doorbell via chromecast?  It's not called out here and the feature is removed from the new cameras.  Will it be reimplemented?

timthuston
Community Member

Massive amount of functionality is lost in the garbage Google Home app. 

The Nest app is 100x better than it. 

 

On top of the bloated Google Home app, the "new" Google Battery Cam doesn't work as advertised. I bought 4 of the paperweights and plan on suing them just on principle alone. 

 

They have destroyed the loyalty and continue to lie to consumers about battery life AND function. 

No wonder the return period is only 14 days. They knew the product was crap. 

Madparaglider
Community Member

My new doorbell arrived yesterday I have installed it and am disappointed to find I have the same problem as many others with low, almost inaudible volume from the doorbell speaker when I try to speak to visitors.

When will this get fixed???

EdHill
Community Member

Please tell me how to turn on or raise the volume of the door bell on my Apple 12 mini running ios 15.2 i receive ever banner but when someone pushes the door bell it rings on all my google speakers on wifi but NO ringer on my phone just alert banner ???????   Thank's Ed