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GoogleNestTeam
Community Manager (Admin)
Community Manager (Admin)

Nest Community Members, 

Since launch, many of our long-time Nest customers have provided valuable feedback on our new Nest Cam (battery) and Nest Doorbell (battery) devices -- particularly on the transition to the Google Home app experience. We hear you, and we’re taking your feedback to heart. In this post, I want to share more about our commitments to you going forward. 

 

The transition to the Google Home app

Our new cameras, including the upcoming Nest Cam (indoor, wired) and Nest Cam with floodlight, were made specifically for the Google Home app. Unlike the Nest app, the Google Home app was built to accommodate both battery and wired products, event-based and 24/7 continuous video history, while giving you a whole home view and history of your camera and doorbell feeds across all Nest cameras. You can check out the recent Nest Community blog if you want to read more on Nest cameras and the Home app. 

We chose to transition to the Home app because this app is designed for the future of the smart home — a single place to set up, manage, automate, and control your home. Today, most home devices are controlled across multiple apps, but we’re working on making the Google Home app the central controller across all your home devices, including Google devices and devices from 1,000s of other brands. We continue to make major improvements to the Home app to support this future. 

That being said, this means that existing Nest households with cameras and doorbells prior to Nest Cam (battery) and Nest Doorbell (battery) may have a two app experience. We know this can be frustrating, and we are committed to bringing the experiences and Nest devices you have come to love in the Nest app into the Home app. This will take time to get right, and we will continue to share more details as we have updates.

We are listening to your feedback and will continue to make improvements to advance the camera experience in the Home app. For example, we’ll soon introduce the ability to flip between events quickly and easily, which is helpful for events that are far apart, or if you only want a glimpse of the events versus playing them back fully. And we’ve also 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. 

 

Other updates

We also heard feedback from many on the multi-pack cameras only offering a single charging cable. We recognize that this doesn't work for all users, so we are offering a free additional cable(s) to customers who purchased the two-pack or three-pack. Just contact our support team.

Finally, we commit to being more transparent with you on where we are taking the camera portfolio. We know that those with wired doorbell connections prefer to have a doorbell that can also support 24/7 continuous video history (via the Nest Aware subscription). We are excited to share that we will be launching a 2nd generation of Nest Doorbell (wired) in 2022. 

 

Hopefully this post gives you more context on where we’re heading together, and we’ll share our upcoming plans here on the Nest Community. I encourage you to share your feedback with us as we continually improve our products and experiences.

-rishi

 

Rishi Chandra

GM/VP of Google Nest

411 Comments
mattfkho
Community Member

Most likely Google could not keep the Nest Engineers for any new integrations.
Thus, you can only see the live streaming via the Google Home app, with the new cam.
Don't think anyone really care which app to use, as long as all of the same good features can be use on both old and new cameras.
I hope I'm wrong, but often Google support teams only support fix things whenever they feel like it.

leftlung
Community Member

I am having trouble returning my 2nd gen Nest camera. I need it to work with the Nest App. I am 1 day out of the return period, and spent a significant amount of time in the hospital. SO incredible frustrating.

tdfischer
Community Member

Since launch, many of our long-time Nest customers have provided valuable feedback on our new Nest Cam (battery) and Nest Doorbell (battery) devices -- particularly on the transition to the Google Home app experience. We hear you, and we’re taking your feedback to heart”… obviously no one at Google has read this feed since September of last year!  F’in joke!

flug
Community Member

@mattfkho Nah, they could have easily integrated the new feeds into the Nest app, they're just camera feeds like the rest of their products. They did this because they want to try to push other Google products and do not care what it does to customers. It's idiocy and arrogance, plain and simple. Like a lot of tech, they think if they force you into using their app that you will suddenly pick up all of their other b.s.  The note above shows they do not care, they have never responded to one person or one claim. If they cared, they would have launched it within Nest and then worked on the Google integration. Instead they force consumers into a bull**bleep** two app thing knowing **bleep** well that people would not be happy with the experience - they just don't care. That is why I said to leave reviews on retailer sites, they will definitely pay attention to those because they will hurt sales. This is where people end up after they already make the mistake of purchasing the new products. 

MplsCustomer
Bronze
Bronze

This is a plea to Google Nest to address several key issues:

For almost 5 months now, we've had to use the Google Home app for our one new Google Nest Camera (Battery) and the Google Nest app and the home.nest.com website for our other cameras and doorbells. It's long past time for Google Nest to address this; it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Google Nest, when you address the 2-app dilemma, please add back to the new Google Nest cameras the Nest app capabilities that were lost because they are supported only by the Google Home app and not the Google Nest app. These include: browser access to cameras, the Enhance (zoom) capability, the ability to create manual clips, the ability to flag sound events, email notifications, and the timeline capabilities in the Google Nest app.

Google Nest, please address the installation issues that cause some customer installs to stall on a "can't connect to assisting device" errors, other connection issues, or download update failures. The solution should be something better than having customers remove and re-install all of their existing Nest devices and trying to guess on the correct re-installation order.

Google Nest, please address the design issues that prevent the new Google Nest Doorbell (Battery) from keeping the battery charged during normal operating temperatures even when wired. If the doorbell cannot operate in mildly cool climates, this should be stated up front.

Google Nest, please address the issue that is causing the internal battery on Google Nest Hello Doorbells to fail after 2 years of use. If the battery can only last 2 years, then Google should provide replacement doorbells designed so the customer can comfortably replace the battery every couple of years.

Google Nest, please address the design issues that cause the exterior of some customers' Google Nest Doorbells to peel after one or two years of use.

 

flug
Community Member

@MplsCustomer they are not responding and they are not updating anything. They. Do. Not. Care. If they cared, they would have rolled out these products to the existing Nest app (very easy to do since the infrastructure is already in place) and worked on the Google Home app. Instead they screwed everyone over that trusted the brand. They would much rather cause issues with their customers for months and well into the future rather than do what is right, and it wouldn't take long to go back in and just allow the new cameras to be used on the Nest app - but again, they don't care. Want them to pay attention, give them real reviews. 

saadbrak1976
Community Member
MicDef
Community Member

While I really appreciate the updates, I unfortunately read between the lines as, I bought a product (next doorbell battery) that is not ever going to work right, but no worries you can buy the next new doorbell that comes out, and that one should work.

How do I get my money and time back from Google on my doorbell that is pretty much useless in it's current form, and zero actual plan to fix it all.   

 

Please help me through returning this and I'll reinstall my ring this weekend and can ship back the best doorbell once I get theb info

 

harharvar
Community Member

Are there plans to add a “feature” that would allow the doorbell to actually ring?

I visited a stranger’s house to buy a picture frame off OfferUp and she had a Google battery “doorbell” like mine. I rang the doorbell and no response. I messaged her through the app and she came down.

I asked her if she’d figured out how to make the doorbell ring, and she said “well, it makes a sound here when you push it, but nothing inside.” She even had a Google pod or whatever & not even that would make a doorbell sound. 
We were both like, smh. 

“Doorbell” is false advertising, It should be called Google Camera with a Button. 

EmptyNester
Gold Product Expert
Gold Product Expert

Hello RISHI,  Are you still there?  

I echo the thoughts of the other folks in the last few weeks. It has now been (4) Months since you mentioned new updates would be coming in 2022.  Can you give us any kind of indication that things are happening and when we might see some forward movement on the Google Home app actually being usable for the cameras?  Because right now it is useless.  Or better yet, just make the new cameras work with the NEST app and this nightmare can all be over with.

Actions (or lack thereof) make me feel like there are ZERO resources allocated to this product right now.

... just my 2 cents.

homeautomationz
Community Member

So is nest dead?

Google home app vs nest fracture.  Home app is terrible and Nest app is great, some devices only work on one or the other.  Nest app is getting eliminated.

Product lifecycle is a mess, battery doorbells don't' do 24x7, nest secure dropped.

Works with nest is killed.

So to recap, the app is bad and doesn't work with all the devices.  Products are dropped or are getting worse.  No options to integrate other solutions to fill gaps nest created.

And now, new doorbell promised and crickets.

Amaximov1
Community Member

For the hopeful few that are new to the Google customer experience, I am sorry but don't expect any acceptable fixes, and those fixes that are implemented will come much much later. They will do everything they can do kill the Nest app, by slowly removing features, like they do with everything they get their hands on. 

If you are not aware of the debacle happening with the speakers after the Sonos IP lawsuit, head over to the https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Blog/Upcoming-Speaker-Group-changes/ba-p/77811 page. There are hundreds of pissed off, frustrated customers there. Google is scrambling and applying half a$$ patchwork without results. So our Nest / Home app issues are not even on the burner at this time. For those reporting connection install issues, the lawsuit is part of the reason you have to use the Device Utility app versus the old way.

MplsCustomer
Bronze
Bronze

Aside from the Sonos/speakers issue, what about the many Google Nest customers who are reporting:

- Google Nest Hello Doorbells that are peeling?

- Google Nest Hello Doorbells that start to go off-line when the doorbell is pressed once the doorbell is older than a year or so?

- New Google Nest Doorbells (Battery) that can't stay charged even when wired once temperatures drop to around 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) or lower?

- New cameras, doorbells, and other Google Nest devices that cannot be installed due to a "can't connect to assisting device" error?

- Google Nest Hubs that freeze on a gray screen with a "G" in the middle?

flug
Community Member

To everyone commenting, I hope by now you see they do not care. They set this board up so you could yell at the wind and walk away. If you want them to listen, leave them accurate reviews about your experience with the new products. This will impact sales and then they will listen. I left quick links to the major retailers - as you'll see, Google review bombed those sites with paid reviews. 

mpb65
Community Member

Google seems to react to lawsuits as they have no choice.

Maybe class action lawsuit time for those of us who have spent considerable money on defective products.  #nestdoorbell

Jpmtahoe
Community Member

This is so frustrating, I feel misled by Google.  I use these cameras to monitor my children and now I can’t on one seamless platform.  It’s actually a dangerous situation for me.  I wish Google would allocate more resources to fixing this in a timely manor.  We should be provided target completion dates of migrating the platforms.  The early adopters of the new battery power nest cameras are being used as Beta testers without any idea we were doing so.  Please fix this.  

Johnsy
Community Member

So when's this desktop "experience" happening ? You said 2022.. last time i glanced at a calendar we are well into 2022..

EmptyNester
Gold Product Expert
Gold Product Expert

Hi Johnsy,  Great question.  My gut tells me they don't even have anyone working on it yet.  

 

James-Roberts
Community Member

Anything yet? And how about a web app? I used to leave my browser open at work so I could see when packages get delivered or when the kids get home.

This miserable experience started the minute we migrated our Nest accounts to Google accounts, which promptly broke integrations with other devices. No one warned us about that. I wish we'd switched to  a competing product immediately after that. Instead, we bought more Nest devices. We have 6 Nest cams, three Protects and two thermostats. I can't believe we fell for this.

I don't understand why this Home thing would be released half done. It's a rotten customer experience. It feels sketchy and low quality--not near the delightful, modern experience we're accustomed to from competing products. I don't feel like the other guys would do this to us. We bought into the entire Nest product line. I feel like we made a big, expensive mistake.

Google, shame on you.

MplsCustomer
Bronze
Bronze

A considerable amount of feedback has been left in this blog and elsewhere in this community forum expressing dismay and disappointment that the new Google Nest cameras and doorbells work ONLY in the Google Home app and that the new cameras and doorbells therefore have LESS functionality than our old cameras and doorbells.

On Sept. 29, 2021, GM/VP Rishi Chandra said above: "we are committed to bringing the experiences and Nest devices you have come to love in the Nest app into the Home app" and "we’ve also 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."

The feedback expressed by many customers indicates this should have been done BEFORE releasing Google Nest cameras and doorbells that work ONLY in the Google Home app and are therefore hamstrung. Instead, we've been forced into "a two app experience" with limited functionality on our new cameras for over 5 months with no end in sight.

There has also been considerable feedback left in this community forum about several other distressing issues affecting many, many customers:

1.  Installation issues that cause some customer installs to stall on a "can't connect to assisting device" error, other connection issues, or download update failures.

2.  Physical limitations that prevent the new Google Nest Doorbell (Battery) from keeping its battery charged during cooler but still normal operating temperatures even when wired.

3.  Failure of the internal battery on Google Nest Hello Doorbells that causes them to go offline when the doorbell is pressed after one or two years of use.

4.  Design flaws that cause the exterior of some customers' Google Nest Hello Doorbells to peel after one or two years of use.

5.  Issues that cause some Google Nest Cameras (Battery) to fail or cease functioning during cooler but still normal operating temperatures when not plugged into power.

To paraphrase from Apollo 13, for months this feedback has been telling Google Nest's headquarters: "Okay, Palo Alto, we've got some problems here." Some of us have even written directly to senior Google management.

Instead of listening, Google Nest management seems to be intentionally ignoring us. As late as yesterday, Feb. 8, 2022, Nest Support's "brand response" on Best Buy's website to concerns about the new cameras working only with the Google Home app is still saying: "Our priority with this launch was to create an integrated experience with other Google Nest products...." In September, they were saying: "...our priority with this launch was building a complete experience for our new cameras and doorbell in the Google Home app." And for months, we've seen this same Google Nest response in this forum to justify having to use 2 apps for our cameras: "...the new Nest cameras and doorbell are exclusive to the Home app because we wanted to create an integrated experience with your speakers and displays." Having to use 2 apps instead of one is neither "integrated" or "complete". And failing to address customer concerns about the other issues I named above is certainly not, as Mr. Chandra said above, "taking your feedback to heart."

Lance626
Community Member

I'm a little late to the party but just unpacked and tried to setup my new camera. I have already invested in 6 others for our two houses plus two Nest thermostats. Everything in the past worked easily. Now I find out that the new "Nest" camera doesn't work with the Nest app. Also from the post above it's clear that Google did this deliberately and hid this fact on their website to con people into continuing to buy the Nest brand. This is certainly the last Nest product for me!

urlybird
Community Member

The next Google Product to get messed up will be the Nest Thermostat.

Another copyright issue.

Time for some senior Google staff to have a career change.

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/271725/20220211/google-nest-thermostat-feature-leads-copyright-is...

 

urlybird
Community Member

This is not the first time that Google has been accused of stealing intellectual properties from less-known tech firms. 

tdfischer
Community Member

The initial message was posted almost 5 months ago without a response from Google - I can’t believe we are still commenting on this thinking they care, will do anything, or are even going to read this.  What a f’in joke!

stevew407
Community Member

Old man not knowing about much of this. SCANNING not reading 220 comments and not seeing and REALLY experiencing FALSE support and excuses with NO or very difficult way or ways to speak to management for discussion if necessary or better yet RESULTS and Resolve.  So probably move wasted time here?

Wfearley
Community Member

It has been 5 months since anyone at GOOGLE/NEST has responded or posted.

I have many KASA SMART lights and lighting products.

Today I received an email about their outdoor camera KC420WS

It has a subscription so that you can look back at history.

Maybe this is why Google has not responded.

Did they just decide to get,out of the camera business?

Check it out at:    kasasmart.com

 

model:  KC420WS

 

 

 

 

 

MplsCustomer
Bronze
Bronze

Almost 6 months ago we purchased a Google Nest Camera (Battery) with an optional power cable because Google Nest quit selling the Google Nest Outdoor Camera the week before. We discovered the camera worked ONLY with the Google Home app.  We also learned that because it did NOT work with the Google Nest app OR the home.nest.com website, it had LESS functionality than our other Google Nest cameras and doorbells.

In my dismay, I discovered this Google Nest Community. Since then, I have discovered how resolute Google Nest is in continuing to deny there is any problem with their 2-app solution. After six months, the "Brand response from Nest Support" on Best Buy's website today on why Nest cameras don't work with the Nest app is the same exact canned response I received months ago: "our priority with this launch was to create an integrated experience with other Google Nest products and to make the Google Home app as the one place you can control all your Nest and other smart home devices with the Google Assistant."

Even more disturbing, however, is to watch how Google Nest responds--or fails to respond--to other issues with their cameras and doorbells:

* Even after finally admitting last week that the battery-operated Google Nest Doorbell (Battery) cannot keep the battery charged at temperatures below 32°F (0°C) (https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/11830989?hl=en), the "Brand response from Nest Support" on the Best Buy website to cold weather concerns is to continue to assert that the "Nest Doorbell (battery) is designed for the outdoors with the temperature range of –4°F to 104°F."

* When customers continue to report that their Nest Hello doorbells are failing after 1 or 2 years of use due to a failing internal battery, the response from Google Nest Support is that there is no recourse at all for doorbells older than 1 year.

* When customers continue to report that their Nest Hello doorbells are peeling after 1 or 2 years of use, the response from Google Nest Support is that there is no recourse at all for doorbells older than 1 year and to lock the posts.

* After multiple reports for months from customers that they are unable to install new cameras or doorbells due to "can't connect to assisting device" errors, there is still no solution from Google Nest Support--only customer suggestions.

I am simply dumbfounded at seeing a company operate like this.

Wfearley
Community Member

After months of doing nothing, the reality is that NEST/GOOGLE is probably out of the CAMERA business.  They are selling their remaining inventory to unsuspecting people ( like all of us).  GOOGLE probably realized that they do not want to be in the NEST business.  They probably realized that CAMERS as not their core business.  Keep your eye on CAMERAS made by KASA.

There is not any other logical explanation why there have not responded in 5 months.

Shame on Amazon, Best Buy, Lowes, and Home Depot for selling these GOOGLE CAMERAS.

UNBELIEVABLE !

mattfkho
Community Member

Google_Support_Capture.PNG

flug
Community Member

@Wfearley I hate to keep saying it on this thread but have you left them reviews on those sites? That is how you get them to change, affect sales by letting people know what the post purchase experience is going to be like. 

 

flug
Community Member

My post keeps getting buried (due to all of the people posting about **bleep**ty experiences and realizing Google doesn't care), you make a difference by making sure reviews that accurately reflect your experience with the new line of products are front and center and the Google paid review bombs does not get to take over and drown out real reviews. Most of these reviews can be done in just a couple of minutes and you can copy/paste for speed. 
--

I can’t say this enough. If all of the sites start showing 1*-2* reviews, they will pay attention because it will affect sales. Leave them your thoughts on every product page you can. Here’s a list of links to help you get started. 

Target: https://www.target.com/p/google-nest-cam-with-floodlight/-/A-83702962 
Kohls: https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-5465600/google-nest-cam-security-camera-with-floodlight 
Best Buy: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/google-nest-cam-with-floodlight-snow/6473270.p?skuId=6473270 
Home Depot: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Google-Nest-Cam-with-Floodlight-Wired-Outdoor-Smart-Home-Security-Camera... 
Bed Bath Beyond: https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/google-nest-cam-wired-with-floodlight/5643052?skuId=6... 
Sam's: https://www.samsclub.com/p/nest-cam-with-flood-light-wht/P03001385 
Lowe's: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Google-Nest-Cam-with-Floodlight-Outdoor-Wired-Smart-Security-Camera/5003045... 

boatdude
Community Member

PLEASE GOOGLE:  Spin off your hardware businesses (Home and Nest) and let someone who cares about that business operate them and then you can focus on your main business harvesting data to pester the world of users with spam at every possible opportunity.

 

pslawing
Community Member

For all those struggling there may be help!  Got this email today.  Starling hub has a solution if you want to look into it.

https://www.starlinghome.io/post/ditch-the-google-home-app

this my be out answer

flug
Community Member

@pslawing thanks for the link, it could be a great solution for some but I don't think I want to spend almost $100 just to get my floodlight camera into Homekit. It says it will not work with my older products which is a bummer because HOOBS does not do a great job of integrating them into Homekit either. I do like that they figured out how to use iCloud to record clips. 

 

ElkinTat
Community Member

So ... *when* are we going to see these remarkable improvements? We're well into 2022. Has anything been rolled out yet??!

I still can't believe I have to view my cameras in two different places. And I'm still infuriated with how ABSOLUTELY **bleep**TY the Google Home app is when compared to the Nest app. 

I feel totally misled by Google when I purchased these new battery cameras. The marketing of an integrated platform is just untrue, fraudulent. 

Johnsy
Community Member

You wouldn't want to hold your breath waiting for these muppets to pull their finger out and do something....

MplsCustomer
Bronze
Bronze

For over 6 months now, since purchasing a new Google Nest Camera (Battery) in early September 2021 and discovering it does not work with the Google Nest app or the home.nest.com, we have been waiting for updates to the Google Home app that would deliver on Google Nest's promised "plan to bring other Nest devices into the Home app" (9/3/2021) and deliver on Google Nest's commitment to "bringing the experiences and Nest devices you have come to love in the Nest app into the Home app" (9/29/2021). And we are still waiting for the promised "new home on the web" (9/3/2021) and a "desktop experience for the Google Home app" (9/29/2021).

This still hasn't happened. Instead, yesterday's update to the Google Home app provides a vague ability to "adjust your devices with fewer taps" and "quickly find what you're looking for." Seriously?

This forum is littered with canned non-answers from Google Nest staff to issues reported by customers.  Vendor review forums like Best Buy's (where we bought our camera) are littered with similar canned non-responses from "Brand response from Nest Support" to issues reported by customers.

Instead, magazines to which we subscribe feature full-page adds touting what Google does "every day".

And six months later, we are still waiting for Google Nest to provide our new Google Nest Camera (Battery) with the same functionality as our older Google Nest cameras and batteries.

EmptyNester
Gold Product Expert
Gold Product Expert

MplsCustomer said it all!  I agree 100%.  

I look at various consumer websites like BestBuy and I see the 4+ stars the new cameras are getting and I am totally baffled. They should be 2 stars at best in my opinion.  I mean anyone who knows anything about these kinds of DIY security cams knows that these cameras are not usable products because of the Google Home app.  

flug
Community Member

@EmptyNester now you see why I have been posting that people need to go leave accurate reviews so Google actually pays attention. The Google team seeded a bunch of paid reviews before they launched (you can see when you read them) so they're not really that accurate. 

Wfearley
Community Member

Google must be fabricating the reviews at the various retail locations selling their Nest/Google badly designed battery cameras.

just wait……as soon as the inventories are depleted at these retailers……Google will say that they are out of this cam  business.

Check out the TP-link outdoor wired cam.  It sure beats the Google battery cam.

Do you all think it would take this long to make things right?

All of the engineers that did a great job for Nest must have jumped ship.  
Google will soon announce that cams are not part of their core business.

 

 

fulgeru
Community Member

Not only Americans are waiting for these updates, but also foreigners (me included).

Outside the US (where access to Nest services is only partial), I am now MORE limited than ever - forced to use G-Home. @GoogleNestTeam 

Oldforester
Community Member

The reviews of Google Nest cameras are most likely tainted with "in house" reviewers or hired writers to populate the review board with positive comments.  Amazon sellers, for instance, use algorithms to determine which critical words in product descriptions gain 5 Star Reviews, and populate their verbiage to include the words that are in other 5 Star Reviews.  Amazon doesn't read this, it is done automatically by computer.  These companies have gotten too big and are not in our best interest.  As the U.S. did decades ago with the phone companies, they need to be broken apart as they have become monopolies and only serve their own interest. 

doogledobetter
Community Member

@GoogleNestTeam do better!

What is the status of the integration with nest cameras and google home app? Empty promises for past year as @MplsCustomer points out.

Why can't your cameras work with amazon echo devices as promised? I will be leaving honest reviews of the google nest cam battery and nest doorbell wired I have purchased and frustratingly tried to get working with the  new echo show 15. The fact that you need two apps, google home app and google nest app to use these devices is ridiculous. I'm considering cutting my loses with google devices since i cant return them at this point and getting cameras that actually work with amazon echo.

Ben8362
Community Member

I also wanted to add that while the app incompatibility is supremely annoying it quickly became one of my lesser gripes with these new cameras. It's pretty clear that some major corners were cut to prolong battery life. I'm not sure about the rest of these users, but I would much rather have a camera with a 1 week battery life that worked than what we currently have.

Most modern cloud cameras are recording 24/7 and then look at the video to see if motion was detected before deleting static video and uploading motion video. As an example, if a squirrel runs across your yard and it causes 20 seconds of motion detection the camera would take that 20 second clip, add what is called a pre/post roll (usually at least 3 seconds) to each end and then upload that 26 second clip to the cloud. With these cameras though there does not seem to be any kind of pre/post roll and often people or critters just appear in the middle of the scene at the start of the clip. When I am trying to figure out how a skunk is getting into my backyard this quickly becomes extremely frustrating since it's much harder to tell where they entered the scene from.
The cameras have IR LEDs that spit out infrared light at night that is invisible to the naked eye, but using a filter, the camera is able to see what that light illuminates. To have proper motion detection at night the IR would need to be on all the time. At one point I had overlapping coverage on my various cameras and I noticed that viewing a live feed on the new camera was triggering motion on another one. That was because the IR LEDs were only turning on when I was live streaming, triggering a scene change in the other camera as that scene was flooded with a new light source. This explains why I was constantly missing footage from my yard. Several times it missed my 6'4" self walking around the backyard and others I was in the yard staring at a skunk standing literally 5 feet away from the lens of the camera (near ground level) without triggering any motion detection. 

Lastly, most modern cameras do what is called dual streaming where they are actually recording the video in two different resolutions. The higher one is used to stream live video or more often just for storing of motion video while the lower one is used to provide previews and to do faster image processing for analytics and motion detection. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with the night time and pre/post roll issues, but I suspect to save on battery life these cameras are only running the lower stream while idle and then fire up the better stream once motion is detected. 

Suffice to say, I'm pretty miffed. The cameras look good on paper, but fall short of the basic functionality that most people expect from a camera manufactured anywhere in the last 5 to 10 years. A huge step back from the IQ cameras when I rightfully expected these to be an improvement over the previous generation of hardware.

Mdh2os
Community Member

If I could go back about 6 years knowing what I know now, I never, ever, ever would have went with Nest products. The Nest app is far superior to the clunky 2010 interface in Google home, and as you can tell from every comment here everyone agrees. How in the hell can you think that what you are doing is better?  This is one of the biggest failures in a product since New Coke.  You should be searching for a new job and no one should hire you. 

BasecampWayne
Community Member

@Rishu , while I appreciate the note to the community on how you are going to improve, I have decided to move to another product.  As many have mentioned, I purchased the nest thermostat and then cameras due to the quality, function, and integration of the solution.  I purchased the Nest Cam with Floodlight recently, installed and setup the device only to find that it only works with Google Hub.  You sold me a Nest product that doesn't work with a Nest app or web interface.  What!?!  The older Nest cameras are in both apps so I expected the new device to do the same. The Google Home app is difficult compared to the Nest app.  I work as a product manager and understand the need to move forward but I also understand the need to focus on the customer first.  In this instance, it feels as if you are trying to force everyone into your new Google Home app that looks and feels like it is still in Alpha stage.  I expect that in 5-10 years you may have it right but I don't have time to wait on you and won't keep wasting money with this product. 

boatdude
Community Member

I think at this point it should be obvious to everyone that Google is simply not interested in investing any money or labor in this market segment.  All of the posts here have been plainly ignored and are not cared about.  Time for us all to move on to other solutions.  Personally, I returned the new outdoor wireless cams as soon as I realized they are not actually Nest products.  I will NOT be buying ANY hardware from Google or any of its affiliates, EVER!

ShawnT
Community Member

Where are we at on this? I just got my new floodlight and battery two pack and not only csnt I see them on the nest app I can't look at the history of my old cameras like I used to be able to on the nest app in Google home. This is absolutely ridiculous. Why wouldn't you migrate the old cameras to the Google home app before you started selling people overpriced new cameras that don't work on the old app? 

Nca35
Community Member

This bait and switch is outrageous - only after I purchased a new Nest product did I discover it doesn’t work with the Nest app, and lacks key features that the Nest app has (like sharing individual video feeds).  At least when Sonos makes non-compatible products and apps they make it very clear up front.   Returning this product and telling all my friends to avoid Nest going forward. 

Stuy
Community Member

How is it now April 2022 and we STILL HAVE NO INFORMATION about when when you will be allowing us to access Google Home on our computers?

You promised to become more transparent in September 2021, and that's clearly a lie. 

 

I feel completely lied and betrayed to, I bought your prouducts under the pretence from your websites promising me I'd be able to access my cameras through my computer. This was a complete lie and false advertisement .