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!

[CJG68]

Just installed this today after owning 1st gen for almost 5 years. Not a fan at all.

First up, the taller aspect ratio is terrible. I can see 100% of my porch ceiling and floor, but this thing literally sits less than 3 inches to the right of my front door and it can't capture even half of the face of a person standing directly in front of the doorway. What's the point of a video doorbell that you can't use to actually see who is at your door?

The slim design is also not without problems since you have to be willing and able to shove your doorbell wires into the cavity of your wall if you wish to properly connect the wiring to the push on wiring adapters that connect to the back. If you can't, then it may be best to use the spacers when mounting the back plate just so you can have a bit more room with the wiring.

The quality of the video also seems inferior to gen 1. Picture feels washed out as if contrast has been turned up. Not a fan.

Also, same issue with gen 1, but google needs to stop including the worlds crappiest screws for mounting. Guaranteed to start stripping the head every time no matter how you predrill the hole or try to carefully tighten the screws.

[Jay_Rod]

@CJG68 I replaced a Gen 1 from stripped screws last year after purchasing my new home. And the replacement wasn't a Gen 2 because it wasn't available for sale at the time. It sucks.

[Klaasje]

One big difference not mentioned: 2nd gen supports 5ghz

[CJG68]

5ghz support doesn't matter much with dual band routers being the norm these day. I'd rather not have that support in exchange for functionality losses described in my prior comment and the new ones I've noted below.

Latest issues I've found while using the 2nd gen for the last month:

1. Night vision sensor is not sensitive enough. I live on a street with two street lights in view of the camera. They are easily a few hundred feet away, but they are bright enough that my night vision never turns on at night anymore. What I get is a lower quality, somewhat blurred view of my front porch and yard down to the street all night long. With Gen 1, nightvision would trigger the moment my front porch light turned off and permitted a much clearer and crisper picture that does not appear possible with gen 2 anymore. Gen 2 only gives you the option of turning nightvision on 100% or the time, off 100% of the time, or leaving it to auto. Would be nice to have a timed option, but that seems too complex for Google to sort for some reason.

2. Google Home does not permit you to scroll through historical video stream like you could on the nest app. One of the major points for paying extra on Nest Aware was the ability to store extensive periods of video stream from my Nest doorbell. The Nest app permitted me to go into my history and actively scroll through the timeline at a rapid pace to "watch" the stream video move at a timelapse speed to look for events that may not have been triggered by my set notifications. Nest doorbell Gen 2 doesn't permit use of the Nest App and the Google Home app does not support live scrolling of historical video feed. Instead you are stuck scrolling through time on a static image from the last period you viewed. It isn't until you stop scrolling will the video load to the time you've selected. Factor in the extremely slow, unresponsive scroll functionality and now I've got a largely useless doorbell video history beyond noting specific events captured based on preset zones and notifications only. I had someone litter excessively on my front yard recently and wanted to scroll through history to see who did it since they were far enough away as to not trigger a specific motion event for some reason. With the new app functionality (or lack of) I noted above, that makes it impossible.

All told, I'm considering moving away from Google for my home automation needs. I bought whole-in on the Nest platform over 5 years ago and own Nest Protects, Nest Cameras, Nest doorbell, and Nest thermostat, so that says a lot that I'm considering moving away from it. But what I see with the gen2 Nest doorbell is a drive toward a unified "Google" branded platform and aesthetic at the cost of maintaining functionality and quality of the product. And a slow degradation of functionality and service is just not something I'm willing to keep paying for.

[EmptyNester]

My Gen 1 "Hello" failed about a year ago so I got the Gen 2.  Within in a week I was so disappointed with being stuck with the lack of features in the Google Home app that I returned it for a refund and bought a Gen 1 from someone on ebay.  I'm very happy staying in Gen 1 land.  

[MatLee]

Hello, how do I know if a Nest doorbell belongs to the new or old generation?

Can we see this with a model number? Or with the serial number?

And is the packaging different?

[EmptyNester]

The first generation doorbell was called NEST HELLO and has a slightly different look than the current generation. If you do a google search on NEST HELLO you will see pictures of it pop up.  

The current gen 2 cameras go by the name "Nest Doorbell (wired") and "Nest Doorbell (Battery)".  Here is the link to the google store that shows the Gen 2 doorbells. The HELLO doorbell is not sold by Google any more.

https://store.google.com/us/product/nest_doorbell?hl=en-US

[JWil]

Except for us in Europe. Here still no Gen 2 wired but the old hello. Guess we have to consume old stock first, but everybody is waiting for Gen 2 to arrive... 

[RyATL]

I'd like to give credit where credit is due.  At some point recently, they updated the way video history works in the Home app and now it is much easier to scrub through video vertically (the same way it was on the Hello in the Nest app).  Now, if only they can get their legacy cameras working with the same functionality in the Home app I think things would be in a relatively good place.

I do still agree with most people's sentiment that the Hello had a better form factor and better video (except for the lack of HDR), but for me it's not enough of a difference to really bother me now that the app experience is good again, as IMO that was one of the main differentiators between Nest and other doorbell options.

[EmptyNester]

@RyATL  Very well stated.  For me I'm sticking with the HELLO.  And if it breaks I will buy another one on Ebay.  

As for the new Gen 1 cams the one to avoid is the (Battery) only one.  The list of problems with it makes it not a usable product.   The new (Wired) one is okay to get.  But it also has it's issues. 

And I would add that I will not switch to the new Gen2 cameras until HOME.GOOGLE.COM displays a timeline with EVENTS and the 24/7 recording.  90% of the time I'm viewing on the computer at my office  and the way the old website HOME.NEST.COM works for me is perfect and efficient with the way it displays the little DOTS not the time like.    Sadly, we are not 6+Months with out this feature on the new website.

[alesta]

THANKS for this useful comparison!  I keep wondering if the 2nd gen Nest Doorbell works in Europe as well? should not be an issue about 110V/220V iro internal wiring?

[EmptyNester]

I always thought that even in Europe they used step-down transformers for all doorbells as it is so much safer. 

[MoonCocoon]

@JWil, I'm in the UK, and the store is showing 2nd gen (battery) support wiring.

My 1st gen just broke after 5.5 years, so I'm thinking whether I should get a exact replacement or go for 2nd gen.

Since 1st gen is half price on Amazon at the moment, I'll probably go with that.

Another issue I have is I do not want to change the fitting, as I had to drill into the PVC frame to fit the 1st gen 5 years ago, so getting an exact replacement saves me a lot of work

[EmptyNester]

I'm an end user here in the U.S. and have been using Nest cams for many years.  I would suggest staying with the Gen 1 NEST HELLO doorbell for now for the reasons you stated. But the other thing is the new Gen 2 doorbells don't work with NEST app on your phone.  the only work with the GOOGLE HOME app which is  limited compared to the NEST app.  And while while Google is in the process of moving many of the functions over to the Google Home app they still have a ways to go.  You also can't view the event recordings on from your web browser yet for any of the gen 2 cameras.  

[Stivka2000]

So final verdict-stay away from 2d gen. Good proof that they are sucks. They want you to buy more google monitors; original nest app was grate but what is good for people must be eliminated. Security devices was removed from production for same reason.

[MichaelTX]

I've owned/ussed the Nest Gen I for at least 5 years.  It finally went out, and we went with a Gen II as that was all that was available at Lowes.   Gen II  is the worst!  Horable field of view, important to us with a very wide yard, and a much lower quality.  If I could get my money back for the Gen II I would in a hartbeat.  It SUCKS.  We also find that the old nest app is overall much better to use. Sure, a couple less features, but overall the GEN I is far better.  About to order one from AMAZON and remove the Gen II and toss in a drawer or something, don't. May just trash it.  Maybe I'll put it at the back door, watch the rabits in the yard!  Get a Gen I in my experience, a MUCH better product!

Michael 

East Texas Realtor

@ETexasRealtor 

[Heratik]

My Nest Doorbell V1 died, and I replaced it with a V2. As a Nest Doorbell V1 user and now a V2 user, I can say that I am very disappointed in the new V2's image quality. It is noticeably worse. Additionally, I do not like the new aspect ratio.

I feel burned by this new device. It costs the same as the old device, but it offers nothing new and provides an inferior experience.