Doorbell wiring

[marisacandoit]

My doorbell is currently wired like the diagram below, but the chime box recently started making a loud buzzing sound (I’ve had it over a year and haven’t made any changes to cause this). I don’t use my doorbell chime (never could get it to work, so use a google mini to notify me when doorbell rings). My question: the buzzing resolves if I disconnect the wire that goes from the google chime connector to the ‘front’ connector on the doorbell chime box. Is this a viable fix or is it a bad idea to disconnect that wire? Alternatively can I not connect any wires to the chime box and simply use the chime connector? Is this a potential fire hazard?

[MplsCustomer]

@marisacandoit 

If your chime connector is wired correctly, but you've never been able to get your chime to work and now it's buzzing, you may need to upgrade your doorbell's transformer. Numerous customers in this forum--including us--have reported that they had to upgrade to a 16V 30VA transformer to get either their old or new Google Nest doorbell and/or its chime to work correctly, even though this is greater than the minimum Google Nest says is required (https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9247132).

You could also check this Google Nest Help topic:

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9317473

[marisacandoit]

Thanks, appreciate the response! Won’t be able to upgrade the transformer in the near-term which is why I wanted to see if this is a safe workaround in the meantime since I don’t want/need the chime and it works otherwise.

Plan to upgrade transformer eventually or may just end up forgoing the nest doorbell (also use the google security cameras and thermostat so preferred to keep everything in the same ecosystem, but unfortunately the doorbell may not be a feasible option for me).

[MplsCustomer]

@marisacandoit 

I didn't address your other questions. The purpose of the chime connector is to provide continuous power to your doorbell without tripping your chime. So you can't just use the chime connector without connecting it to your chime because it wouldn't get any power.

Since your chime isn't working anyhow, you could try turning off the "Indoor chime" option on your doorbell to see if that gets rid of the buzzing sound. We turned ours off on all 3 of our Nest Hello Doorbells because the little internal battery that we didn't even know existed has failed on all 3, causing the doorbells to go offline for a minute whenever the doorbell button is pressed. Turning off the "Indoor chime" option keeps this from happening, and we rely instead (like you do) on "Visitor announcements" on our Nest Hubs.

[EmersonB]

Hello everyone,

@marisacandoit, thanks for reaching out here in the Community. The chime connector allows the chime wires to deliver constant power to the Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen) and Nest Doorbell (wired) and protects your chime from damage. In addition, without the chime connector, you might experience chime buzzing or unexpected chimes. Hit this link for more information.

I appreciate the help, MplsCustomer.

Regards,

Emerson

[EmersonB]

Hello marisacandoit,

We wanted to follow up and see if you are still in need of any help. Please let us know if you are still having any concerns or questions from here, as we would be happy to take a closer look and assist you further.

Best,

Emerson