Camera fails to "finish setup"

[Spiaggia]

Just installed 2 new "Nest Cam with Floodlight"s.  Added both to Google Home app.  Both floodlights work fine - can turn them both on & off using the Google Home app.  Both cameras are recording events, and even sending notifications to phone & watch.  BUT - when I select either camera in the Google Home app - it puts me in a "settings" dialogue that gives me 2 options: "Remove device" or "Finish setup".  I select "Finish setup" ... 1 or 2 seconds later the app falls back to the screen for the main home.   If I again select the camera - same thing - asks me to Remove or Finish Setup.  Note that I can select the floodlights, and turn them off & on, and adjust brightness.  But if I select the camera - I get stuck in the "Finish Setup" infinite loop.

Interestingly - I can see footage from both cameras if I go to the Home app's main "history" page.  But I cannot select a camera (to see live footage) without entering the dreaded "finish setup" loop.

Have re-installed Home App, have restarted phone.  Installed Home app on iPad - got same exact behavior.  Tried pushing the factory reset button on the back of one of the cameras - held for 10 seconds.  Didn't seem to do anything at all.  

LED on the front the of both cameras is steady green.

Any ideas or help?

[Supert3d]

Exactly the same problem here.

[Supert3d]

Got it working by using my old Android phone to end the setup. Must be an iOS bug.

[Spiaggia]

So after getting it to work with your old Android phone, does it now work on your iOS device?

[Supert3d]

Yep! It just needed that last push over the line to finish the setup, then it functions as normal. Very annoying bug, hope you have access to an Android phone.

[Spiaggia]

Thanks for the reply Supert3d ... I didn't have an Android phone - but I solved that problem by downloading Bluestacks on my MacBook, and running Google Home there. 

[frustrated100]

That’s a great summary. Although I’m relieved to see it’s not isolated to a few people, I am sorry you have endured the death loop too. I reported my issue to google, like others. I was ignored so I’m on the 3rd stage of my complaint that I filed with the ACCC. Good luck with your next brand of cameras although I’m sure they’ll simply work as intended without the whole being robbed thing. 

[Spiaggia · Accepted solution]

I solved this problem.  Thanks to a suggestion from Supert3d, I was able to complete the setup using an android phone.  Since I don't own an android phone, I downloaded & installed (for free) Bluestacks (android emulator) on my MacBook Pro.  Ran Bluestacks, logged in using the same gmail login I use for my Google Home app on my iPhone.  Installed Google Home inside of Bluestacks - so now I could run Google Home on an android platform.  Ran Google Home inside of Bluestacks, logging in using the same gmail as I use for Google Home on my iPhone.  It showed my entire home setup, and allowed me to "finish setup" on both cameras.

After completing the "finish setup" inside of Google Home running inside of Bluestacks on my MBP, I then went back to my iPhone and ran Google Home there.  And all was working - yay!  I can see live footage on both cameras, history from both cameras, etc.  It now all works on iOS.

What didn't work was camera setup using Google Home on iOS.  Which is - of course - a bug in Google Home for iOS (are you listening Google? - you have a fatal bug in your iOS app).

Using Bluestacks meant jumping through a lot of hoops to solve the problem - but it worked without me having to buy an android phone, or waiting (perhaps forever) for Google to fix their iOS-app bug.

Hope this helps others of you with this problem.

[frustrated100]

Thanks for sharing in detail how you did it. Not long after you mentioned it it dawned on me you were implying just use a android phone for the set up.  I’ll track one down and give it a shot. Thank you 

[edgeofuniverse]

I got the same problem with my iPhone. Nothing works for me. Just wondering if I should ask for refund. It is really frustrating.

[janthadeus]

Hi edgeofuniverse,

Oh no! We’re sorry to hear that. Don’t give up on us yet. Let’s sort this out — a few questions: what’s the model of your Nest camera? When did the issue start? What’s the status light of your camera? How far is your camera from the router? What’s the make and model of your phone? Also, what Wi-Fi frequency band do you try to connect to (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz)?

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,

JT

[aatienza]

Hey there,

I just wanted to follow up to see if you still need our help. Please let us know as we would be happy to answer any questions you may have. 
 

I appreciate the help, JT.

Thanks,

Archie

[edgeofuniverse]

Hi there,

Model: Nest Cam (Indoor, Wired, 2nd generation).

The issue starts since I bought them.

Status light showed white and blue. They were blinking.

They are right next to the router.

I use Apple iPhone 12 mini (latest iOS)

Tried both frequencies (2.4  GHz and 5 GHz).

Hope this help.

Thanks!

[EmersonB]

Hi edgeofuniverse,
 

I appreciate you getting back to us and giving us those important details.
 

Give these steps a try:

• Reset your Nest camera to the factory default. 
• Remove it from the Google Home App. 
• Reinstall the Google Home App.
• Re-add the Nest camera to the App.
   

Let us know how it goes.

Thanks,

Emerson

[edgeofuniverse]

Hi Emerson,

Thanks for your attention. I've tried all of them, none of them work for me. The camera did show white light, then blinking blue light. Near the end of the setup, the blue light went off and the step on downloading update never complete... Extremely frustrated.

[janthadeus]

Hey edgeofuniverse,

Thanks for following the suggested troubleshooting steps. Let’s dig deeper into this — here are some troubleshooting steps you may also try:
 

1. Restart your modem or router. Unplug it from the power outlet, wait for 1 to 2 minutes. Then, plug it back in.
2. Make sure Bluetooth is on. Turn Bluetooth off, then back on to refresh the connection.
3. Close all the apps running in the background of your phone, reopen the Google Home app then try adding it again.
4. Bring your phone closer to the camera within 10 to 12 inches during pairing setup.
5. Restart your phone, turn it off for 60 seconds then turn it on.
6. Put your mobile device on airplane mode, then turn on Bluetooth and WiFi.
7. Try a different mobile device.

Let me know how it goes.

Thanks for the help here, Archie and Emerson.

Best,

JT

[edgeofuniverse]

Hi @Jan ,

Thanks. I've tried all of the suggestions, but still failed to get them set up.

The funny thing is even when the camera is unplugged (no power), Google Home App still allows me to proceed to set up all the way to "Downloading updates" as if the camera is reachable. Of course the setup never finish.

I reckon Google Home App for iPhone is broken badly.

Best regards,

[EmersonB]

Hello folks,

@edgeofuniverse we haven’t heard any updates from you. I’ll go ahead and lock this thread in 24 hours. If you're still in need of assistance, feel free to start a new thread and we'll be happy to help.

@Jt and Archie I appreciate your response.

Regards,
Emerson

[edgeofuniverse]

I read https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Indoor-Nest-Cam-gen2-will-not-finish-se... there are people with similar issue back a year or two ago. I'm quite upset and have no idea whether it is the Cameras, iPhone Google Home app or Google server issues. I've an older generation of Nest Cam (black). It works well with Nest App. Never so disappointed and helpless with Google's product before. Should I ask for refund? Or is that an official Google communication channel to get it sorted?

[Spiaggia]

Hi - I shared your frustration back in March (see my "solution" post above).  I concluded that all the rebooting of routers and modems and phones and cameras was useless.  The problem is the iOS version of the Google Home app.  It has a fatal bug in it that seems to cause this problem.  I didn't own any android devices, and didn't want to buy one just to solve this problem ... so I found the free Bluestacks Android emulator, installed it on my MacBook laptop, and then ran the Android version of Google Home inside that emulation.  The Android version of Google Home running inside Bluestacks worked just fine - it completed setup without a hiccup, and everything then functioned as expected.  The happy-ending part of this story is that after completing the setup using the Android emulator (Bluestacks), everything worked just fine on my iPhone using the iOS version of Google Home.  The bug is just that dreaded "can't complete setup" problem.  If you get past that problem, then Google Home on iPhone works fine.  Yes - it's a royal pain to have to resort to the Bluestacks solution.  Yes - it is completely unreasonable to expect the average consumer to be willing to go to that length to work around the obvious bug in Google's iOS app.  Yes - I do think that Google is probably losing LOTS of sales due this problem.  Yes - if you're not willing to either buy an android device, or use an emulated solution like Bluestacks, then I think your only choice is to return the product.  Another lost sale due to Google ignoring the fact they have a bug in their iOS app.   Are you listening Google.   Good luck edgeofuniverse.

[edgeofuniverse]

Hi @Spiaggia I was trying to use Bluestacks. Unfortunately, Google Play Store does not allow me to install Google Home App on Bluestacks due to unsupported device... So sad.

[Spiaggia]

Hmm.  Sorry to hear you're having trouble with that - I'm not a Bluestacks expert ... I've only used it for just this one instance of solving the dreaded can't-complete-setup problem.  I just tried it again on my MacBook (2016 model, running macOS Monterey 12.6) - and it still works just fine.  I followed these instructions to get it all setup .... maybe this will help (??): https://www.bluestacks.com/apps/lifestyle/google-home-on-pc.html

Yes - that link talks about windows/PC - but the instructions are identical for running on a Mac (intel processor - bluestacks apparently does not run on M1 or M2 Apple Silicon)

BTW - If I run the Google Play Store app inside of blue stacks - it can't even find Google Home.  Can't explain that.  The search that finds it - and allows me to download and install it - is the search in the upper right corner of the Bluestacks window itself (as described in the instructions in that link above).  

Hope that helps ... I don't have any other suggestions for you other than borrowing an actual android device and using that to complete setup.  

Edit: One more piece of info:  In my instance of Bluestacks, I have it configured to be emulating a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra.  Configured in BlueStacks->Preferences->Advanced->Choose a predefined profile.  Maybe that would solve your unsupported device problem.

Lotta headache just to workaround Google's BUG! in their iOS version of Google Home, huh?

[edgeofuniverse]

Hi Spiaggia,

Super thanks for your suggestions. I tried them all. Unfortunately I can get my Bluestacks setup for Google Play Store to allow installing Google Home App. Also I tried to get hold of an old Android phone. Unfortunately, Google Home App does not support that phone...

[janthadeus]

Hi there,

We've received your form — thanks for filling that out. I'll consider this post as complete and will lock the thread in 24 hours. Please keep an eye on your email as someone from our team will reach out to you to assist you further.

Best,

JT

[janthadeus]

Hi Nkorotash,

Got it, thanks for letting us know. Let’s sort this out — a few questions: may I know which type of camera you need help with? Could you pair your camera using an Android phone and let me know how it goes? Also, what troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,

JT

[Nkorotash]

Hi there! Thanks for the quick reply. I’m working with the Nest outdoor camera with floodlight. So far I have only restarted the app and turned off and on the power to the camera. I have not reinstalled as I’m going to try to finish the setup with a friend’s android phone tonight. 

[janthadeus]

Hey folks,
 

edgeofuniverse, we appreciate you following all the recommended steps. We’d like to further check on this — could you fill out this form and let me know once you’re done?

Spiaggia, thanks for posting and we appreciate your time in providing the Community the steps that resolved your issue — it's a big help. We hear you — I'd suggest you send feedback about this using the Google Home app. Here's how.
 

Best,

JT

[edgeofuniverse]

Hi, I've filled out the form. Thanks for following it up. 

[Spiaggia]

Hi janthadeus,

Is Google not aware of the issues that are surfaced in this forum/community?  If not - well that's weird.  Also - what is your role?  Are you simply a volunteer that tries to help out on this forum, or a Google employee, or ??  When you say "We hear you", who is "We"?  Is Google not part of "We"?  Please don't take this as criticism, but rather than pointing me at a convoluted way of telling Google about their BUG, I suggest you short-cut the process by simply pointing them at this thread yourself.  I've pretty much laid out what the problem is.  Even if I were willing to go to the trouble of figuring out how to report this through the Google Home app, I would do nothing more than share the URL to this discussion.

[janthadeus]

Hey there,

Spiaggia, yep — I'm part of the Google team. Rest assured that we'll take note of it. Also, we got your form. Our team will reach out to you via email and continue the conversation there.

Nkorotash, how's it going? Still need our help?

Best,

JT

[janthadeus]

Hi Nkorotash,

I just wanted to follow up to see if you still need our help. Please let us know as we would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Regards,

JT

[Nkorotash]

I am now having this exact same problem. Bluestacks isn’t an option for me as I only have a work computer that won’t allow me to install it. I guess I need to find somebody with an Android phone? Do I just login to Google home with my email address on their phone?

[edgeofuniverse]

Hi @Nkorotash , I'm on the brink of giving up. I'm using iPhone. My experience is that it is bugs in Google Home app for iPhone. I exhausted all options including using my two old Android devices (they are too old to be supported by Google Home app). May be it is Google's business decision not to allow iPhone users to use Nest cam.

[janthadeus]

Hi there,

Just checking in to make sure that you saw my response. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns as I will be locking this in 24 hours.

Best,

JT

[edgeofuniverse]

Hi JT,

Google has reached out to me for replacement. However, I am still uncertain whether a replacement would work for Google Home app for iPhone. I asked in my replies to Google support, but got no direct answer yet.

Best regards,

[janthadeus]

Hey there,

Could you provide the case id of your interaction with our support team so I can have it reviewed? 
 

Thanks,

JT

[edgeofuniverse]

Hi Janthadeus,

Sorry for late reply. The case ID is 5-8324000033384.

By the way, I received one of the replacement from Google. Unfortunately, it does NOT work with my iPhone version of Google Home app. It suffered from the SAME problem -- a never ending Downloading update.

Very disappointed.

Thanks

[janthadeus]

Hi edgeofuniverse
 

Yikes! We truly appreciate your efforts here. Let’s check other options for you — do you have another phone or tablet we could try pairing your camera? 

Give it another shot by following these steps:
 

1. Ensure that IPv6 is enabled on the access point. Test it here: Google's IPv6 test.
2. Make sure your phone is on the same WiFi network as the selected network for the Nest camera.
3. It should not be connected to any Bluetooth devices. 
4. Cellular data should be turned off.
5. On iOS devices with iOS 14 or later, ensure that Local Network Access is enabled for the Google Home app.
   • On your iOS device's home screen, tap Settings.
   • Tap Privacy > Local Network.
   • On the list of apps, turn on Local Network Access for the Google Home app.

Let us know if that helps.

Thanks for chiming in, Princess.

Best,

JT

[edgeofuniverse]

Hi Janthadeus,

Thanks very much for your new insights.

I've never thought IPv6 is required for Nest Cam to work. (I owned an older version of Nest Cam (the black one), it worked like a charm.)

I followed as close as possible your suggestions. Here is the result:

1. No, I still couldn't get it working with my iOS version of Google Home app.
2. I checked my Wifi, IPv6 is enabled.
3. I ensured Google Home app is in the list of local area network in my iOS device
4. I turned off Cellular network from my iOS device
5. Both my device and Nest Cam are in the same network
6. Visited https://ipv6test.google.com. It said I don't have IPv6. Weird.

When I setup the Nest Cam, the blue light went away with a chime when it went to "Finishing Setup". It never came back on. The "Downloading update" screen kept at 0% forever.

Does it actually work for iOS device? 

Thanks!!

[janthadeus]

Hey there,

It should be working using an iOS device. Do you have another iOS device or Android device you can it try on? 

Regards,

JT