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...

[Animal827 · Accepted solution]

You filled out that from so hopefully someone will follow up with so you can troubleshoot with them. Let me know what they say. It shouldn't be this difficult. Makes me question why I didn't go with Ring and Ecobee rather than being on Google for everything.

[caprifolia]

Follow-up on this issue..

I never heard from Google but the Nest app (with absolutely no changes on my end) randomly started to correctly detect the iPhone location and cameras have been turning on and off and as they are supposed to.   Obviously, the issue was on Google’s end.  

[jhonmuller]

Hi Animal827,

You're definitely not alone—this issue has persisted for quite a few users, and it’s frustrating when Home/Away Assist seems to stop recognizing your presence accurately. The core problem often lies in how Google Home detects presence: if either your phone’s location services aren't working reliably or if your household has device permission or geofencing conflicts, it may default to "Away."

Make sure both your and your wife's phones have high-accuracy location enabled, battery optimizations turned off for the Home and Nest apps, and the latest app versions installed. Double-check under Google Home > Presence Sensing that both phones are listed and have granted all necessary permissions. Also, rebooting your Wi-Fi router and Nest devices can help reset presence detection.

Lastly, some users have found that apps like Snapchat (or anything with aggressive background data control on Android like Samsung's One UI) can interfere with geofencing accuracy. These apps can force location services to sleep or reset in the background, so try testing with fewer background apps active. If nothing changes, it might be worth sending diagnostics directly through the Home app—sometimes persistent reports get real developer attention.

Regards

[Animal827]

So we have tried everything, and only one of us can have presence sensing on. I took screenshots but cannot attach. It tells you that another phone is using it so I have to kick my wife off when she is away and vice versa. Also, I thought Google was going to use all the products listed to tell if someone is Home. I have several thermostats, cameras, and TVs. Most of the annoying notifications have stopped... But only if we are both home. Additionally, turning off AC and heat does not work properly. I cannot stress how annoying this is, especially when I pay for Nest Aware. Why cant Google figure this out?