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Do not purchase the Google Nest Battery.

jqderrick
Community Member

I have 2 of the Google Nest Battery camera and the doorbell camera. Overall, I can say that these are the worst cameras I have ever owned or used. First thing first. You cannot see the cameras on anything but your mobile devices or a google home with a screen. Want to check your camera from a web browser? Nope. Want to save videos easily to your computer? Nope. Can't use your phone at work? You don't get to see your cameras until work is over and you get back to your phone.

 

Let's say that you are using your phone to look at your cameras. Want to see them all at once for a quick look at the property? Nope. Can't do that, you have to connect to each camera individually. Want to have all your cameras come up on your google chromecast and give you an overview of your property ? Nope can't do that either. One at a time.

 

Well, it notifies you of things happening in your yard, you shouldn't need to look at all your cameras. Again, nope. The notification range on these cameras is about 10 feet out. It's absolute garbage outside of that range and hit and miss at best. I have one pointed at my driveway and it misses a UPS truck backing into my driveway to make a 3 point turn every other day. The camera is about 15 feet away. I am using the devices on the battery function and people on their utterly useless forums are pointing out that some of these issues are resolved if you plug the camera in.

 

Here is a forum post I made 3 weeks ago and this is the community support you get. https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Nest-Camera-Battery-not-detecting-motio...

 

Now if you ask for help on their chat support, they will guide you through a myriad of settings to try and resolve your issue. I've created zones, I've tried adjust the sensitivity on the cameras. I've even replaced a camera thinking it was a hardware issue. Nope. Same results. Then they start blaming your wireless signal strength for the issues. The reason the camera isn't recording the UPS truck in your driveway is because your wireless signal isn't good enough at that location. You can purchase additional wireless access points, use a signal decibel reader for both 2.4 and 5 ghz , and physically move the access point to within 3 feet of the camera....and they still think it's the network.

 

Then they'll ask you to shut down the 5ghz range of your wireless because that's what's preventing the camera from connecting correctly to record the UPS truck in your driveway. You disable 5ghz and push the change out to your network and the camera still can't detect things in your driveway.

 

You move the camera to a different location. Maybe it's environmental and the camera just can't see the UPS truck Drive all the way down your driveway and then back into your driveway, then unload a package, and then drive out of your driveway and back up the long road to your property.

 

I've had these cameras since the day they came out and I have been nothing but disappointed with them. They won't see people walking in your driveway, but you'll get a 30 second video of them walking away from your house.

 

Here's the kick in the pants though. They only have a 15 day return policy with google. 15 days. Most of that spent troubleshooting. After that, no return. no refund. You are screwed.

 

Seriously, please buy a different security camera. I am sure that over the next 2 years they will improve the software and make it start working better than it does right now, but it shouldn't be released in this state. It's a pile of hot garbage and I regret spending $700 dollars on the equipment without waiting for reviews first.

14 REPLIES 14

Ashepherdson
Platinum Product Expert
Platinum Product Expert

From the sounds of your post(s), I don't think you should be posting on a community forum, but contacting support directly to speak with a higher level.  

I have escalated this post for you, so someone from google will contact you, but of course you can contact google directly if you prefer:

https://support.google.com/googlenest/gethelp

If you read my post and thought....this is a guy that hasn't contacted support, I am not sure how I can better communicate that to you.  

I too have the same issue of the outdoor camera (battery) failing to detect motion that is coming towards the camera.  I have spent hours with tech support and have been run through the same gauntlet described by jqderrick.  Despite following their advice and also setting the sensitivity on high, my cameras will only detect motion about 10-15 ft away, when approaching the camera.  This is a big failure in the camera. 

I have tried and tried to find tech support that truly understands the technology.  Unfortunately, my support help seems to be limited to reading a script and finding an unlimited number of useless straws to eat up time and produce no results. 

 

If you, Ashepherdson, can find a person with the technical knowledge to resolve the issue, then please send my name onward.  I am so frustrated with the equipment performance and the poor technical support that I agree with anyone who advises against the purchase of the Nest Outdoor Camera.  I wish there was a route to return the cameras and obtain a refund. 

EmptyNester
Gold Product Expert
Gold Product Expert

Ashepherdson, with all due respect this is exactly where jqderick should be posting. These are are not just simple tech support issues that can be fixed.  Just about everything outlined is true.  If I could go back to the previous NEST HELLO doorbell I would.  The new doorbell clips about 2 seconds of the recording as it does not have any pre-record built in like many of the other products on the market.  This is one of the big things I miss about the HELLO camera.  That and along with the fact that the new DOORBELL camera does not recording 24/7 like the old one, even if it wired and has power 24/7.  

Ashepherdson, I know Google wants to do away with the NEST app but is there any way that the new cams could be included in the NEST app for the next year or so?   And if the GOOGLE HOME app is properly expanded with all the features of the NEST app (and more) then people will WANT to stop using the NEST app voluntarily.  

Ashepherdson
Platinum Product Expert
Platinum Product Expert

Sorry to be clear I wasn't trying to dismiss anyone, the reason I suggested contacting support was because this forum is made up of volunteers, not Google employees, who are passionate about the products and helping people who run into issues.  The OP has some good feedback and was frustrated about the lack of response , understandably so, but the best way to get feedback to Google is through the send feedback functions along with speaking with the customer support team directly.  I am not an employee, only a community member just like you, so I can't offer any insight into future plans.  All I can say is Google did recently post that they are hearing the feedback from the community and will be porting functionality over to the Google home app.  The nest app is superior for now yes, but it is going away and we need to find a way to make it better.  

 

Anyways didn't want to anger anyone, just trying to help out.  

Rubes
Gold Product Expert
Gold Product Expert

Truer words have never been spoken. Everything said here is honest and confirmed! The Google Home app truly is horrible and the Nest app, IMHO, is one of the more superior camera apps out there. I sincerely fear the day the Nest app goes away.

Arkay174
Community Member

No better than a Blink XT/XT2 outdoor camera in my opinion. Has better 'smart' features, but none of them help with their method of conserving battery power by using a heat/motion sensor to detect movement above the threshold before turning on the camera, hence the late captures.

EmptyNester
Gold Product Expert
Gold Product Expert

Arkay174,  I completely agree with you.  The lack of a 3-4 second pre-record makes this product almost useless.   I'm running it wired so there is no excuse for this very poor design.  ....just my opinion.

Ashepherdson
Platinum Product Expert
Platinum Product Expert

With the battery cameras being a brand new product they are going to evolve and get better over time especially with feedback from both the community as well as from users sending feedback directly through their Google assistant.  I have an original wired doorbell from Google and day one it was a little rough but as the time has gone by it is definitely gotten much better.

That's a crock of horse **bleep**.  I get that the software can improve.   But what's the point of spending this much money on Smart Surveillance cameras that can't even do the basic functionality they were made to do?  I'm supposed to deduce that it can't accomplish basic tasks....like seeing a 24 foot truck pulling into my driveway, unloading multiple packages, and then leaving within a 15 day period?  If you spend any time troubleshooting all the things it's missing because support has told you that it's a combination of settings or that your wifi signal isn't strong enough....You'll miss that window by a long shot. 

 

Long story short, these were released and we are now doing the beta testing for their **bleep**ty current implementation of their software.  I get that it might get better in 2 years.....but that's not what I paid for, I paid for security camera. 

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there, folks.

 

I just wanted to jump in real fast and thank you for your feedback. I completely understand the frustration that the Community is feeling about these new products. I am simply a Moderator over these forums so my assistance is limited in some regard. If you wish to leave feedback, please feel free to submit your feedback to us.  I've put instructions for feedback below.

  1. Open the Google Home app

Google Home app

  1. .
  2. At the top right, tap your account.
  3. Tap Feedback 

and then

  1. tap the type of device you'd like to submit feedback for.
  2. To display available emails, in the "From:" section, tap the arrow on the right. Select your email address.
  3. In the feedback summary, write a brief description of your issue.
  4. Be sure to check the box for Screenshot and System logs.
  5. To submit feedback, at the top right corner, tap Send 

 

If you need anything else, please let me know.

Best Regards,

Brad.

jqderrick
Community Member

This is more of the same issue.  I don't want to submit feedback on my phone or google home device.  I want to type it up on my computer that I use day in and day out.  I am not going to type what I posted above into my phone.  Forcing people to use a mobile device to look at cameras...or submit feedback is the crux of the problem Brad.  This is the ONLY feedback forum online that I've found, and that's why you are seeing so many people complain about the poor quality of the product here.  

I agree with jqdersrick,  Even the google Home app's feedback featured if flawed.   I tried to use it but it is geared toward a specific problem of something not working correctly.  There is no way to submit feedback this is asking for product enhancements.  And YES, that type of thing is much more easily done on a computer.  

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey Folks.

 

At this time, I'll go ahead and lock this thread. If you're still experiencing problems, feel free to start a new thread and we'll be happy to help.

 

Best Regards,

Brad.