The difference between the 2nd gen and the 1st gen wired Nest Doorbell

[Leticia]

Hey Google Nest Community,

We know seeing a new generation of a product begs the question, ” Well, what’s new?” Check out this chart to quickly see what new features the 2nd gen wired Nest doorbell comes with right out of the box.

	Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen)	Nest Doorbell (wired, 1st gen)
Intelligent Alerts	✅ Includes People, Package, Animal, & Vehicle detection	❌ Only person detection included. Package detection requires a Nest Aware subscription
Activity Zones	✅ Included	❌ With Nest Aware
Field of view	Taller (3:4) field of view to see people head to toe and packages on the doorstep	Slightly wider 4:3 field of view
Resolution	960p with HDR*	1200p with HDR
Event history	✅ Three hours of event video clips included Includes 2 seconds of pre-roll footage	❌ Three hours snapshot (images only) No pre-roll
24/7 continuous video history	✅ 10 days with Nest Aware Plus	✅  10 days with Nest Aware Plus
Local storage fallback during Wi-Fi outages	✅	❌
Colors	Snow, Linen, Ash, Ivy	Black
Works with	Google Home app	Nest app

* Rated best doorbell in terms of image quality by DXOMARK.

We’re excited to bring you our new and improved wired Nest Doorbell in some great color options with set up and control directly from the Google Home app. For more details about the new Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen) check out our latest blog. 

Ready to upgrade your doorbell? Visit the Google store to purchase a Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen). Check back here in the community for the latest updates on the Nest Camera portfolio. 

The Google Nest team

[markski]

will not work with NEST APP. This 2nd gen doorbell sucks!!!

[Dezhavu]

@markski @Bethel1  The 1st Gen is garbage too. It doesn't record movement in your diameter between 6pm-6:40am. No wonder ADT is giving this piece of trash away free. I recommend the Ring doorbell, at least it picks up motion in your set diameters & some. @Bethel1 I have the same problem & now ADT are saying the doorbell isn't part of there security system just the items that are connected to the fire & police department so they aren’t letting cancel without payingfir the system. Doorbell hasn't worked since day 1 & they replaced it & it's still doing the same thing. 

[LuisCamara]

no mater what Nest is a Ripff

[keepingitrial]

The resolution is worse in the second gen?

[BenW]

Not necessarily. Just a different aspect ratio which means no reason for 1080. I've had both ring and Nest products for years on end. (still do) Here's what I'll say about the differences of the two:

1. Ring has more app options, things like snooze are a HUGE advantage here. Even Arlo has that, the fact they haven't introduced any kind of snooze function it beyond me. 

2. Ring cameras have less (in my experience) reliable wi-fi connections. The reason I even moved over to Nest was because I was on my third, yes third, Ring doorbell. Don't even get me started on the flood light cams. I have a mesh network with signal in the front yard. 

3. Both overheat if in direct sun. My nest cam has overheat (black first gen) in the summer consistently on the hotter days for about an hour. The ring did the same.

4. I've never once had an issue with recording on the Nest (outside of the overheating). I have had a camera fail after about a year and a half it would stop working once the doorbell button was pressed. I'm not sure if that was due to constantly overheating, but I'd venture to say yes.

5. Ring has more add-ons, such as the chime pro. 

Pros for Ring: Better application and add-on options.

Pros for Nest: Better recording (including 24/7) and connection reliability.  

[EmptyNester]

Hello, there is a super handy "SNOOZE" feature for iPhone users that I use almost ever day.  It works for just about any alert you get from your phone apps.  When the gardener comes I want to silence the alerts for an hour.

When you get an alert from the camera that it sees something, simply left-swipe and hit OPTIONS.  There is a 1-hour MUTE feature.  

Hope this helps.

[RyATL]

I just ordered a 2nd Gen wired doorbell and understand that it only works in the Home app, but now that I'm looking at my old Nest cameras in the home app there seems to be no feature parity.  I have no ability to scrub my 10-day video history in the Home app and there seems to be no way to "pin" the cameras so That I can see a real time at-a-glance view of all the cameras like I can in the Nest app.

I understand the desire to move people over to the Home app, but the lack of feature parity is absolute garbage.  I'm thinking about returning this doorbell and replacing all my Nest cameras with something else at this point.  Very sad because I do think Nest has great hardware and the old app is very good but if I have to jump between multiple apps to use all the features what is the point?

EDIT: I did figure out how to see all my cameras in the home app "at a glance" but it does still require an extra step more than it does in the old app.  Also, scrubbing through video history in home SUCKS.  The left-right scrolling is awful for going back more than a few minutes.

[spiderplex]

my 1st gen Nest  Hello doorbell cam required a HUB for network connectivity --- does the 2nd gen model have a similar requirement?

[RyATL]

@spiderplex not sure what you're talking about.  The 1st gen Hello did not require a hub, and neither does the 2nd gen.

[spiderplex]

My 1st gen has (came with ?) a small hub IIRC had to be installed "near" the cam doorbell -- what does it do if it's not required???

[EmptyNester]

I also do not know what hub you are talking about.  Can you post a picture of it?  

Are you maybe talking about the small circular disk that needs to be installed inside the existing door-bell-chime to make it compatible with the Nest Doorbell?

[RyATL]

@spiderplex I believe you're talking about the remote chime trigger.  It is not required for the doorbell to work, it just triggers a physical doorbell chime if installed.  The 2nd Gen also comes with one but it works with the one that came with the Hello.  Either can be used without a physical chime and you can use a Nest speaker or just your phone notifications to alert you to it ringing.

[Ashridge]

Can someone tell me what features are lost when migrating from Nest App to Google Home. I have a Nest Hello (1stGen), 2x Nest Protect and a Nest Thermostat.

Thanks

[spiderplex]

@EmptyNester  this thing 

[RyATL]

@spiderplex that is a Nest Connect range extender.  It is used for distant components to communicate with the Nest Secure system.  It isn't required at all for the Hello or any doorbell to function.  I'm not sure if it is necessary for the doorbell to communicate with the security system as I don't use that, but I don't know why it should be necessary since the doorbell uses WiFi.

[Mgarretson]

So will these fail and stop working early in its life like all the other Google nest products? Or has all your learning finally paid off? I'm gonna guess that you still haven't learned and this won't last just like the first generation. Don't buy Nest products unless you want to rebuy them in a few years. 

[Chuxter]

The internal battery on 1st generation died after a few years causing the doorbell to power off and reboot upon pressing the button. I was told that I would need to buy a new doorbell. I repeat: no option to replace a $5 battery, but must repurchase a $150 doorbell. That's B.S. - make the battery swappable and charge $20 for it!

[rameckmd]

Is there a way to turn on “sound” notification for the nest doorbell wired 2nd gen?  I only get the pop up text notifications when there is an alert 

thanks 

[Chuxter]

@rameckmd- I believe that whether or not your phone makes a sound when it receives a notification is based entirely on your phone's sound settings for notifications. It is outside the scope of control of the Nest doorbell.

[JWil]

Biggest difference: Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen) still NOT available in Europe (Netherlands) 😞

[DanaB]

The camera is smarter, but good grief the Home mobile app and especially the web app are HORRIBLE. NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME!