Both Google nest gen2 indoor cameras offline randomly

[bmayou]

Recently installed two gen2 indoor wired nest cameras, second one a month after the first. The first would sometimes drop off, with a message of 'saving battery' or similar silly 'canned' message since it is wired. I could wait a few minutes and turn it back on so maybe a thermal problem since these cameras do get quite warm in use.

After installing the second, there is similar behavior with both/ Either one/sometimes both will be offline when I attempt to turn them on remotely. Occasionally one will show 'offline' with the other in the 'off' state. I attempt to turn the 'available' one on, it responds and shows live view for a few seconds, then also drops off as 'unavailable'. 

I have used the 'retry' option numerous times. Sometimes after many hours, one or both will be able to be toggled back on with the retry. Other times a hard reset of the cameras (unplug/plug) restores them to available.  Rebooting the wireless router appears to get them reconnected also.

I'm using Android with Home app for install and remote viewing. I did set up my PC to view also. Thinking that connecting with the PC or multiple devices might be causing the connection issue, I have limited connecting to a single Android device. This has not made any difference in the number of amount of drop off or connection failures.

I have disabled video history for both. Turned off all notifications to ensure this is not a 'device' storage issue.  No change.

The router logs show nothing.Thinking that it still might be a wireless issue, I have located both within 15' of the router.  No change. Verified router firmware is up to date.

I have assigned individual 'fixed' IP addresses to each camera suspecting maybe assignment conflicts since there are other devices in the home that may be up and down during the day  No change.

So is this a GHome cloud/server issue  Crappy electronics/firmware of the camera?

I suppose I could 'factory reset' both and go thru install again, but I'm not accepting that it would resolve since both cameras have this behavior

I'd love to hear others' thoughts, experience and hopefully solutions (or their experience finding a better performing device).

Many thanks.

[maedacortez]

Hi bmayou,

Thanks for reaching out. I understand that your Nest indoor cameras are going offline randomly and getting warm. I know this can be frustrating, but don't worry, I'm here to help!

To better understand the inconvenience, please answer the following questions:

• Do the cameras show any signs of damage or wear? If so, could you please send me a picture?
  Are there any error messages or codes appearing on the app?
• Could you check if your indoor camera exceeds 77°C (171°F)?

I look forward to your response.

Regards,
Manuel

[bmayou]

Hello Manuel,

Thanks for responding. Here are the answers to your q's:

Do the cameras show any signs of damage or wear? 

One cameras has been in use for ~120 days. The second camera has been in use for ~60 days. These are installed in my elderly parents' home, so I am always viewing remotely. Both are located in different rooms on wall shelving, 36" and 72" from the floor surface. No one has handled, moved or touched them since install. There is no visible wear, or damage.

Are there any error messages or codes appearing on the app?

I had disabled 'alerts and notifications' as a troublehooting exercise. Before disabling, there would be a message sent that 'a device was offline' when the failures occurred, but usually this error was for the last camera that was had been in use that day. This message would be received when the camera(s) were not in use.  The time stamp in the message was always hours (sometimes 6+) after the prior use.

Could you check if your indoor camera exceeds 77°C (171°F)? 

I will measure the temperature when I visit the home and send you those results. I do not believe high temps to be an issue since the home is air conditioned and the shelving is 'open' between two rooms - so there should be adequate air circulation. I am familiar with messages and cameras shutting off due to high temps. I had experienced this failure shortly after installing the first camera.  Temp failures would occur when 'live viewing' for extended periods of 1+ hours.  The camera in use would 'turn off'. The app would show the ' low battery' or some such message for that camera, however the cameras were not offline, and I was able to reconnect after 'letting them cool(?)' for 5 or 10 minutes. This does not seem to be the same failure mode that I am currently experiencing.  

****I have questions for you and your support contacts.

Is there a 'memory buffer' that may be filling? Is there a developer mode available to allow me to view more granular log info?

Are firmware updates for this product released?  If so, how often does this occur.

Best,

bmayou

[maedacortez]

Hi bmayou,

Thanks for your reply. Please check the temperature of your Nest Gen 2 indoor cameras. This will help me determine if overheating is causing the alert notifications and random offline status. Additionally, please check if the cameras are receiving direct sunlight through windows or other sources that might be causing them to warm up.

I understand your questions about the Nest Gen 2 cameras. To clarify, these cameras do not have a memory buffer. Instead, they save videos or motion events directly to the cloud through your Google Home app.

Regarding granular log information, I apologize that there isn't currently an option to view detailed logs on the Nest Cameras. 

Finally, I understand your desire to check for firmware updates. Unfortunately, there isn't a built-in feature for this at the moment.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

I'll be waiting for your response.

Regards,
Manuel

[bmayou]

Hello Manuel,

Thanks for the answers to my questions re: logs and firmware updates.

I have the info you requested regarding temp and location of the cameras:

Please check the temperature of your Nest Gen 2 indoor cameras.

I visited the home today and measured the room temp, the standby temps of both cameras and operating temp of the 'warmest' of the 2 cameras.  I am using a 'commercial' Exergen IR contact probe with a fixed focal distance.  Room ambient temp was 75 degrees F.  Room temp is a constant, as I mentioned earlier the home is air conditioned.

Camera readings: At 'standby', one was at 84 degrees F, the other at 85 degrees F.  Neither had been streaming since the previous day-roughly 9+ hours before.  I enabled 'live view' feed for 1.5 hours on the 85 degree standby temp camera before taking a 'working' temp reading. At that time the warmest point (top rear) of the camera read 95 degree F (see image). The surface of the camera felt similarly warm as compared to the past.

Additionally, please check if the cameras are receiving direct sunlight through windows or other sources that might be causing them to warm up.

As mentioned earlier, both cameras are on 'open' shelving.  One is located center of the home with an east facing window, however a taller home blocks morning sunlight so no, sun exposure is not a factor for this camera.

The second camera is on a north wall,  a solid wall and would never see sunlight.

**My Questions:  Guessing that the 177 degree F temperature you mention causing failures may be an 'internal temp' reading? How would my temp measured correlate to an internal temp?

Is it safe to assume that with an outer surface temp of 95 degree F I measured, one would expect the internal temp of the circuitry to be well below the 'failure temp' of 177 degree F?

The problem I experience is the cameras being 'unavailable/offline' and the 'retry' button will not reestablish a connection.   Traveling to the home to physically unplug to hard reboot the camera appears to be the only resolution when the failure occurs. If by some chance a temp fault is occurring, would one expect the cameras to be available again once they have 'cooled' sufficiently below the 'failure temp' and retry button allow a successful reset/reconnect?

Have there been 'failures' of this 177F cut off temp circuitry that would result in camera disconnects/offline status at a lower temperature?

[bmayou]

Hello Manuel,

Just noticed this troubleshooting info in Google Help Center, Nest Camera section(copied below). Wondering where the temp values you quoted me are coming from ? Which is correct?  A temp of 104F would seem quite low and 177F would seem to be a 'frying' point for processing components-unless measured directly on the chip itself?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Nest camera or doorbell gets hot

Like any electronic device, Nest cameras produce heat while they’re on. It’s normal for your camera or doorbell to get warm to the touch, but it’s designed to quickly disperse heat.

Make sure you’re using your camera in the environment it was designed for.

• Nest Cam wired, Nest Cam IQ Indoor, Nest Cam Indoor, Nest Cam (wired): 32°F to 104°F (0°C to 40°C)
• Nest Cam Outdoor, Nest Cam (battery): -4°F to 104°F (-20°C to 40°C)
• Nest Cam IQ Outdoor: -40°F to 113°F (-40°C to 45°C)
• Nest Doorbell (battery), Nest Doorbell (wired), Nest Doorbell 2nd gen (wired): -4°F to 104°F (-20°C to 40°C)
• ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

Best,

bmayou

[maedacortez]

Hi bmayo,

Thanks for your reply and for check the temperature, how you mention before the camera feel warm that is why I recommend you check the temperature to be sure if was necessary a safety escalation but with the temperature that  you sent all is okay the is good, and that is correct the temperature reading that I sent you is internal temperature on the camera I am happy to know that all is okay with the temperature. about you question How would my temp measured correlate to an internal temp? how you check the temperature is the correct one and or when you touch the camera it feel hot and this can affect because when the camera is overheat it can do internal damage.

so you mention that the inconvenience that you have is that you Nest camera indoor is not keep connecting before sending you troubleshooting steps please answer this questions: to understand more the situation.

When did the issue start?

Are you getting any error messages?

How far is the camera from the router?

Do you have other Nest devices in the house?

Are there other devices connected to the same Wi-Fi where the camera is connected?

Can the camera find other Wi-Fi networks?

Are there devices or appliances (such as baby monitors, microwaves, cordless phones, etc.) near the camera?

Do other devices experience slow internet speeds?

What troubleshooting steps have you done so far?

For cameras with status light turned off, have you tried to move the camera to a different power outlet?

What Wi-Fi frequency band do you try to connect to (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz)?

I will be awaiting your response,

Regards,

Manuel

[bmayou]

Hello Manuel,

Thank you for confirming that temp is ok and is not causing 'thermal' safety issue.  We purchased these for health/safety reasons to monitor an elder parent.  Not being able to have live view or use movement triggers reliably may be compromising this person's safety and well being when the cameras are not functioning correctly as we are not often aware of the failure until we attempt a live view.

Here are the answers to your questions:

When did the issue start? First camera problem started about 2 or3 weeks after install.  It may have been sooner and not noticed since we were not viewing very often and visiting the home frequently. 2nd camera problem was noticed quickly since we were regularly attempting remote viewing.

Are you getting any error messages?

Occasionally when live viewing, the camera would turn off and a message about 'saving battery' would display.  Since these are wall powered, I would attempt to turn on. Was sometimes successful, but most often it was not.

When not able to remote view, the app shows one or both cameras as offline/unavailable. Sometimes only one camera is shown as unavailable, but as soon as I try to 'turn on' the available one, it shows live video for a few seconds, then blanks out and shows 'offline/unavailable' also.  I currently have notifications disabled for both cameras for troubleshooting. When it was enabled, I would sometimes get a message on the android phone saying that 'the camera was offline'.  Neither camera would be streaming at that time. I would then open the app and try to use the 'retry' to connect, but most often this was not successful.   There have been times when no error was sent to my phone, but when I went to 'live view' either one or both cameras were 'offline or not available'.  Error reporting was/is not consistent.

How far is the camera from the router?

One camera is approximately 12feet from the router.  The other is approximately 19 feet from the router.

Do you have other Nest devices in the house?

No, but do have a google mini speaker that is not affected and is located in the same area as one of the cameras

Are there other devices connected to the same Wi-Fi where the camera is connected?

Connected devices in the home are 1 roku TV, 1 google mini speaker, 1 wireless/cloud photo frame and the 2 cameras.  The 2 cameras have been assigned fixed/dedicated IP addresses on the router for troubleshooting purposes.

Can the camera find other Wi-Fi networks?

Using 'freeware' wireless tools, I can see that there are other neighbors' wireless networks (as expected in a village setting).  These network signals are weak however compared to the local home network.  I don't have the tools to see what the camera may be attempting to connect to. Are there logs in camera I can access that would show this?

Are there devices or appliances (such as baby monitors, microwaves, cordless phones, etc.) near the camera?

A microwave is in the adjacent room (kitchen), approximately  20ft from each camera.

A portable phone is in the home, 25ft from one camera, 10ft from the other camera.

Do other devices experience slow internet speeds?

The only device that is primarily 'on' is the Roku TV.  Have not noticed any issues with buffering, etc.  I have run multiple speed test at different times to trouble shoot the problem and have not seen any lags or noise issues.

What troubleshooting steps have you done so far?

Multiple reboots of modem, router, cameras. - always resolves, but problem returns

Multiple unplug/plug in of camera-always resolves, but problem returns

Disable all notifications from cameras

remove all activity zones and triggers from cameras

For cameras with status light turned off, have you tried to move the camera to a different power outlet?

No. Each camera shares a duplex outlet with another device.  One camera shares with a fan. The other camera shares with a lamp.  Neither outlet shows signs of losing power.

What Wi-Fi frequency band do you try to connect to (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz)?

2.4GHz

[maedacortez]

Hi bmayo,

Thanks for your response. Let’s work together to resolve it. Here are a few more troubleshooting steps to try.

1. Restart Your Nest Indoor Camera:

• Unplug the power adapter from the electrical outlet.
• Wait 10 seconds.
• Plug the power adapter back into the outlet.

2. Check App Version:

• Ensure you have the latest version of the Google Home or Nest app.

3. Restart Your Router:

• Power off your router, wait 30 seconds, and then power it back on.

4. Factory Reset (Last Resort):

Here's what'll happen after you factory reset your camera or doorbell:

• Your camera's personalized settings will revert to default settings.
• Your camera's entire video history and snapshots will be deleted. Once your video history and snapshots are deleted, they're gone forever. They cannot be recovered. We do not keep backups.

Note: If you want to save any video footage before you perform the factory reset, create video clips or timelapses and download the files to your phone or computer.

• Your camera will forget the Wi-Fi network name and password, and will be “Offline” in the app.

Here you go the steps to make the reset: 

1. Open the Nest app.
2. Tap the camera that you want to reset.
   • Tip: To help restore your settings after resetting your camera, write down or take a screenshot of your camera settings.
3. Tap Settings Remove device Confirm.
4. Finally connect your Nest camera on the app again, simply go through camera setup in the app again.

I hope these steps help! Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Regards, 

Manuel

[bmayou]

Hello Manuel,

These are good suggestion, however all have been done multiple times (excepting factory reset) before contacting the community. See my comments below on your suggestions.

1. Restart Your Nest Indoor Camera: yes, done many times to correct connection failures

2. Check App Version: yes, this has been done.  all android devices are using same version. Web View version (on PC) is only one that I have found.

3. Restart Your Router: yes, done many times to correct connection failures

4. Factory Reset (Last Resort).  I agree. See my progress on my troubleshooting plan in process

To review my earlier messages, I had disabled all notification, cleared/disabled histories, removed event zones and limited live view streams to 5mins or less. I used the cameras in this configuration for the past 1 week and had no connection failures.  Beginning this past Saturday, I extended live streams to hours instead of minutes and again experienced no errors.

At this time I have enabled notifications and histories and re-created event zones. I will run in this configuration for the next week to confirm that cameras maintain streaming without any further connection failures and reconnect issues.

In the event of failure(s) factory reset would seem to be the last option before a warranty claim will be made.

I will let you know the results.

Best,

bmayou

[maedacortez]

Hi bmayou,

Thanks for trying the troubleshooting steps and for letting me know that you've tried other options. I'll be awaiting your results. If you continue to have connection trouble even after performing a factory reset, please let me know.

Regards, 

Manuel