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Can’t remove doorbell from account to reassign it

SusanMarie
Community Member

My father passed away and our nest products were under an account he created.   We do not have a password to access his account.  We want to add the doorbell to another account but to do so are being told it must be removed from the previous account.  Obviously, we can not do that. I have gone 3 rounds with Nest reps via chat and none could provide assistance.  The last told me to factory reset it and “I should be good”.  I did factory reset it and I still rec’d the message that the device must be removed from the previous account to be added to a new account.  Surely there has to be a way to reassign this doorbell.  Does anyone know how?

1 Recommended Answer

MplsCustomer
Bronze
Bronze

@SusanMarie 

Yeah, the cause is Google Nest's design. In order to change Wi-Fi settings on the newer cameras and doorbells (and thermostats), it seems we have to remove the device from our Google account in the Google Home app while still on the Wi-Fi network we are going to get rid of (and while on the previous account, and THEN do a factory reset (either triggered automatically by the removal, or manually). See this Google Nest Help topic, for example: https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9223711?hl=en#zippy=

There are many postings in this forum by customers caught by variations of this, either because they moved, or updated their Wi-Fi router/mode, or the previous owner died or moved BEFORE the device was removed.

Some customers report that Google Nest Support was able to help them out of this predicament, while others, like you, report that Support could do nothing at all for them.

You could try contacting Google Nest Support again and hope this time you get someone who is able to help you override the glitch in Google Nest's design.

View Recommended Answer in original post

8 REPLIES 8

MplsCustomer
Bronze
Bronze

@SusanMarie 

Yeah, the cause is Google Nest's design. In order to change Wi-Fi settings on the newer cameras and doorbells (and thermostats), it seems we have to remove the device from our Google account in the Google Home app while still on the Wi-Fi network we are going to get rid of (and while on the previous account, and THEN do a factory reset (either triggered automatically by the removal, or manually). See this Google Nest Help topic, for example: https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9223711?hl=en#zippy=

There are many postings in this forum by customers caught by variations of this, either because they moved, or updated their Wi-Fi router/mode, or the previous owner died or moved BEFORE the device was removed.

Some customers report that Google Nest Support was able to help them out of this predicament, while others, like you, report that Support could do nothing at all for them.

You could try contacting Google Nest Support again and hope this time you get someone who is able to help you override the glitch in Google Nest's design.

Thank you so much for replying. I had seen the similar post, and the various outcomes and that left me more confused. We are remaining on the same Wi-Fi network, the problem being we can’t access dad’s Google account to access the google home account to remove the devices.  Nest support, led us through all the topics mentioned in the link you shared. Unfortunately none of those worked.    It’s hard to believe, that there isn’t a workaround and products would be rendered useless in cases such as this.   

I will take your advice and contact support again.  Maybe I just haven’t spoke to the right person yet.

thank you again for your time and response. Have a wonderful day!

@SusanMarie 

Thanks.

Google Nest's recommendation ("If you ... can’t get the previous owner to remove the camera from their account, return it to the seller for a refund or exchange it for another." - https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9249728?hl=en) fails to address your situation. I hope they don't tell you that your camera is now useless.

@MplsCustomer 

Unfortunately, this doorbell is well past the return date.   It is several years old.  It was purchased new.  But …

I took your advice and called Google Nest Support yet again.  Looks like I lucked out this time and reached someone who was confident they had a solution.  Step one was to disconnect the doorbell wiring and leave it disconnected for 48 hours.  It is disconnected now and just need to wait another day to proceed.   Once the 48 hours pass, I have to jump through some hoops before doing a factory reset. We will see if that does the trick.  Fingers crossed.  Thanks again!

aatienza
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey SusanMarie,

 

Checking in — we hope you've got the answer you're looking for. Let us know if you have more questions in mind.
 

I appreciate the help, MplsCustomer.

 

Thanks,

Archie

Thanks for the assist @MplsCustomer and checking in @aatienza I am up and running!   

janthadeus
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there,

 

As we got our resolution here, I'm going to mark this thread as resolved. I'll be locking this thread if we won't hear back from you again in 24 hrs. Should that happen, feel free to create a new one if you have more questions or have other concerns in the future.

 

Best,

JT

Hi everyone!

 

Awesome, we're glad to hear that! If you need help in the future, you know where to find us.

 

Thanks for your help here, MplsCustomer and Archie.

 

Cheers,

JT