Camera Notifications When Home but Set for Away Only

[Animal827]

I see this issue come up often but usually with no resolution and conflicting responses. Additionally, those conversations end up being closed so you cannot add to it.

I have several Google/Nest devices. All are set with home/away assist. I'm the beginning, there was no issue, and then there was a period of time that no matter what, my wife and I would get notifications as if we were away even though we are both home. Then it somehow stopped. Several years later we are back in the same hell of receiving hundreds of notifications while we wre home.

I am not sure if there were some updates to the Nest App, Google Home, or Samsung Galaxy S21. I am probably wasting my time again since last time Google was no help and acted like no one experiences this issue. 

However, after several years later, maybe there is a fix. Please let me know if you need more information (screenshots, settings, etc.).

Here is a link to almost the same issue (except we are getting notifications when we wre both home). There doesn't seem to really be an answer to fix but rather a explanation of how home/away assist is supposed to work.

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Camera-Notifications-When-Home-Settings...

[Badstar25]

Hello, I've been having the same problem for a few days.
We had the same problem in 2024.
It's definitely coming from Google's servers.
At home, the cameras no longer turn on when I leave, and they no longer turn off when I come back...
Yet the Nest app clearly sees my back and forth in its history!
Please file a ticket here: https://support.google.com/googlenest/

[caprifolia]

Same problem here.  Nest app doesn’t correctly turn on and off outdoor cameras depending on where the home is located.   No fix anywhere. 

[caprifolia]

Same here.

[Badstar25]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Nest/comments/1jmxpta/anyone_else_having_homeaway_assist_issues/

[ByronP]

Hi Folks,

Thank you for reaching out to the community. I understand you're experiencing troubles with Home and Away Assist, receiving "Away" notifications despite being at home. This can be frustrating, and I'm here to help.

To troubleshoot this, please do the following steps:

1. Check for additional devices:

• Review all devices logged into the Nest app (iPads, tablets, etc.). These can sometimes interfere with Home/Away Assist if left stationary within the home.

• If any devices are found, remove them as contributing devices to Home/Away Assist.

2. Verify phone location settings:

• Nest app:

  • Go to Settings, then Home/Away Assist, then What decides if you’re home, and then Use phone location set to Yes.

  • Go to Settings, then Presence Sensing, then Phone Location next to your phone in the list.

Note: If you recently switched phones, reset your phone location within the Nest app; you’ll see a prompt to switch to your current phone.

Please let me know the results of these steps.

Regards,

Byron

[Animal827]

Hi Byron,

Thanks for replying, but this does not solve the issue.

1. Where can you see a list of all devices logged into the Nest App? The only thing I see is under Home/Away Assist under "What decides if you're home". The only thing listed there for me is my phone and my wife's phone (the same phones for the past 5 years) and our thermostats (the same thermostats for nearly a decade). Additionally, if the device is home, wouldn't this indicate that the user is home and therefore we should not be receiving notifications that are set to away?

2. There is no Presence Sensing under Options in the Nest App. The options all look the same - starting with Account and ending with a list of your devices (e.g., cameras and thermostats).

Lastly, why would this start to happen out of nowhere with no action by user (e.g., no new phone, no new device, etc.)?

I appreciate your help and look forward to a solution.

[caprifolia]

No other devices are logged in to Nest.

Nest app home away/assist - what decides if you’re home - it’s set to my phone as it always has been.  
“Presence Sensing” does not exist in my Nest app.  

[ByronP]

Hi Folks,

Thank you for your prompt reply. I appreciate the detailed information. Let's explore additional options.

Based on your answers. Please do the following:

1. Check that your home address and pinned locations are correct in the Nest App; here are the steps:

• Go to Settings, then Home info, then Address, then type in the address, then drag the map so that the pin is on your home.

2. Check your app permissions on your phone; here are the steps:

• Android:

1. Android Settings Apps All Apps Home or Nest

2. Permissions Location Allow all the time and use precise location.

3. Mobile data & Wi-Fi background data toggled on.

4. App Battery usage Unrestricted is preferred, but optimized may also work.

• iOS:

  1. Privacy & security Location Services Nest or Google Home Precise location on.

  2. General Background app refresh turned on for the Nest app.

Let me know how it goes.

Regards,

Byron

[Animal827]

Hi Byron,

These settings have remained the same for years. I have confirmed once again. I would like to make clear that this issue happened several years ago for me and then it fixed itself (most likely an update to the app or server). Then it worked fine for years, and now all of a sudden is not working. This is a current common issue across many forums and has been a common issue in the past. There must be something happening on the app or server side that makes this is an issue every so often.

[caprifolia]

Those settings are exactly what I have in my phone.    Those settings have been the same for several years.  

[ByronP]

Hi caprifolia,

Thank you for your response. I appreciate your feedback. Let's check other options:

Please try the following troubleshooting steps:

1. Verify Wi-Fi signal strength: A weak Wi-Fi signal can prevent accurate home status detection. Please ensure your Wi-Fi signal is strong and stable.

2. Reset phone location detection: If your phone has remained within the geofence for an extended period (e.g., a week or more), Home/Away Assist may not register location changes. To resolve this, do the following steps:

• In the Nest app, toggle your phone location setting "Off."

• Wait 60 seconds.

• Toggle the phone location setting "On."

• Wait another 60 seconds before returning to the app's main screen.

Note: A yellow triangle warning next to your phone's name in the Home/Away Assist settings indicates that your phone's location has not been detected recently.

Let me know how it goes.

Regards,

Byron

[caprifolia]

1:  WiFi signal strength is excellent.

2:  I come and go from my house every day with my phone so my phone has not remained in one place for an extended period of time.    I’ve never seen a yellow triangle in the Home/Away Assist setting.
Turning off and on phone location changed nothing.    I’m sitting in my house, the location in the app shows the phone is at home and the app still says I’m away.  

[Animal827]

Hi Byron,

My response is the same as caprifolia. All is good and confirmed... Besides the issues woth Home/Away assist working.

[ByronP]

Hi Folks,

Thank you for your prompt response. I appreciate your efforts to troubleshoot this situation. To continue, let's try a few more steps.

Please restart your mobile phone, then clear the Nest app's cache and storage. Here are the steps:

1. Navigate to your device's settings.

2. Select Apps, then Nest.

3. Choose Storage, then tap 'Clear cache' and 'Clear storage.

Please let me know the results.

Regards,

Byron

[Animal827]

Hi Byron,

I figured this was going to be your next troubleshooting steps, so I have already completed these steps before posting as well completing them AGAIN earlier this week. Phone has been restarted several times and cache for both the Home and Nest app have been cleared several times.

[caprifolia]

‘Storage’ does not exist under Apps => Nest

[Animal827]

I am using a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, but it should be the same for Android phones. It should be under Battery and above App Details in Store.

[caprifolia]

I have an iPhone 16 pro max

[Animal827]

I'm trying to look at my iPad and figure it out, but I am really not an Apple guy. 

[Animal827]

Gemini says to either offload or delete app and reinstall it. There has to be an easier way to clear cache on an iPhone...even a quick look on Reddit says there is no option to clear cache.

[caprifolia]

I deleted and re-installed the Nest app several days ago.  I doubt that clears the cache because when I reinstalled all the correct settings were there.  

[Animal827]

According to what I am reading, that would clear the cache. Your settings might be attached to your profile account and not the app itself. Anyway, clearing cache rarely fixes issues like this... So just waiting on the next set of troubleshooting steps... 

[Animal827]

 

[ByronP]

Hi Folks,

Thank you for your response. I'm sorry for the confusion. You're right @caprifolia. I appreciate the help @Animal827 . There is no option to delete storage or cache under iOS devices. Please do the following:

1. Touch and hold the Nest app.
2. Tap Remove App.
3. Tap Delete App, then tap Delete to confirm.
4. After that power cycle the device.
5. Then reinstalled the Nest app.

Please let me know the results.

Regards,

Byron

[caprifolia]

As I indicated before, I’ve already done that but I just now did it again.   After being away all morning I’m now home and after reinstalling the Nest app indicates that I’m Away. 

[Animal827]

While caprifolia has her Nest saying she is away..

I actually have mine saying I am here and it still sends notifications of every camera movement and sound. So annoying to get hundreds of messages a day.

 

 as an example, all my cameras are setup like this... AND have always been. 

[caprifolia]

My app says I’m Away because I manually set it to Away when I left the house because if I hadn’t done so the app wouldn’t have recognized that I was away and cameras wouldn’t have turned on at all.    

[ByronP]

Hi Folks,

Thank you for your prompt responses and your diligent troubleshooting efforts. Help's here.

The team would like to learn more about this behavior. When you get a chance, please fill out this form and let us know when you’re finished. We’ll have someone reach out to you via email from there.

Please monitor your email for further assistance.

Regards,

Byron

[Animal827]

The from has been completed. This is at least my second form over the past 10 years about the same issue. Hoping for better results this time around. What I do not look forward to is repeating the same troubleshooting steps AGAIN. 

[ByronP]

Hi Animal827,

Thank you for your response. I received your form, and our dedicated team will reach out to you for further assistance.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Regards,

Byron

[caprifolia]

Form has been completed and submitted. 

[ByronP]

Hi caprifolia,

Thank you for your response. I received your form, and our dedicated team will reach out to you for any updates.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Regards,

Byron

[Animal827]

Has anyone received a communication from this dedicated team? It's been almost a week and I have received another 10,000 notifications from my cameras about being in my own home. My wife is also receiving these notifications and  is really making these cameras a nuisance. 

[caprifolia]

Nope.  Crickets.  
It seems to me that the NEST app isn’t checking location.

[Badstar25]

Hello, the problem has been resolved for 48 hours by the Google teams!

[Animal827]

After updating presence sensing on the Home app, it now recognizes that we are home. However, you can only set one phone to presence sensing on the Home app, so when I am out of the house, I get all the notifications of my wife and children at home. It is such a stupid setup between Nest and Home. There should just be one app or have the same options on both apps. So while not fixed, at least when we are both home we don't get hundreds of notifications. 

[caprifolia]

Not using the Hone app because I have Nest wired outdoor cams.  I use the Nest app.  

[Animal827]

I get it. I have cameras too. However, Google must have recently added this presence sensing or maybe have recently made it matter. I use both Google Nest (thermostats and cameras) and Google Home (TVs, speakers, and other Google enabled devices). I think your using Apple, but see if you have a Google account at all and check Home. Again, it is still broken for me, it is just better I am not getting all these notifications while I am at home. I do not remember seeing this presence sensing setting before.

[caprifolia]

Someplace way ⬆️⬆️ it says if using the wired Nest outdoor cameras to use the Nest app and not the Home app.   We have no other devices that need to know where we are so I stayed with the Nest per those instructions.   🤷🏼‍♀️