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Can I USB-charge Nest doorbell (battery) while it’s wired to my doorbell?

indygupta
Community Member

So my Nest doorbell (battery) is wired in (installed last week), and was working fine and closing/recoding video. But after a (long) power outage it shows very low battery (currently at 9% and doing its trickle charge very very slowly; a this rate it will charge to 75% in  2 weeks). Currently I cannot see video as the app says the batter is too low to use the camera. (The bell itself works when pressed and calls the chime.)
My question - Can I plug in the usb charger cable to the nest while the nest is also wired in to the electricity? I wanted to fast-charge it. Wondering if it’s safe for the doorbell. Will the doorbell ensure that it is taking only one source of power?

(Essentially I don't want to change anything that my electrician set up when he installed things. I just want to fast-charge the doorbell).

Indy

3 REPLIES 3

EdmondB
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hello indygupta,

I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble with this. No worries; we'll check this out. For charging the Nest Doorbell Battery, if it's not hardwired, you have to charge it for at least 6 hours via USB charger, but if it's hardwired, it should be fully charged faster. 
So yes, you can charge the Nest Doorbell via USB cable while the wire is still connected, but it will appear offline in the app since you will have to remove it from the mounting plate. Since you have a power outage, it would be best to check the voltage on the two wires on the back of the Nest Doorbell. If it has at least 24 volts using a voltmeter, it could be the reason why it is charging slowly. 

I look forward to your response.

Thanks,
Edmond

indygupta
Community Member

Thanks for the response! (After power returned) After one reboot, it didn’t seem to charge from the wire. After a second reboot, it seemed to start charge but very slowly, at about 1% every 2 hours (all this from the wired connection which is 24 v). I decided to wait instead of charge via usb. After 2 days on the wire (after the outage) I saw it show 33% (3 days left). Then an hour later it showed “infinite” battery life. So happy ending, but I’m still mystified what caused it to charge so slowly from the wire, or why it ran out of charge in just a day long power/network outage (given that the battery lasts 3.5 weeks).

EdmondB
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hello indygupta, 

I'm glad to hear that your Nest Doorbell battery is up and running again. I'm going to mark this one as resolved. Please feel free to open up a new thread if you need assistance.

Best,
Edmond