Google Nest Cam Idle Camera - No motion detection

[rthai]

I recently purchased the Nest Cam (battery) for outdoor usage.
I have noticed that for one of the cameras it never detects motion unless I am actively watching the live feed, otherwise the camera is in an Idle state.
I have walked straight up to the camera whilst it is Idle and it never sends an alert or powers on (the green light never comes on).  
The 2nd camera I have doesnt have this issue. 

Any ideas?

[MplsCustomer]

@rthai 

We've had a Google Nest Camera (Battery) for 14 months now, plugged in all the time with the optional power cable, and it's always "Live" and detects events as well as our older wired cameras. But if I unplug it (so it's running on battery power) and walk directly towards the camera, it does not detect that as an event. Judging from other posts in this forum, it seems the camera does not do well detecting events when operating on battery power, perhaps because it's in "Idle" mode then. Perhaps there are also quality differences between cameras, or perhaps the visual conditions around the camera affect it more when on battery power.

[rthai]

It has to be some sort of defect. How can you have a camera that stays permanently in idle mode and will only recognise events when in live mode? The 2nd camera I have does not have this issue and picks up motion and comes out of idle mode. Did you try to return your camera or did you jump straight into the plugged in option?

[MplsCustomer]

@rthai 

We've had it plugged in from day one; we were looking for a wired Google Nest Outdoor Camera but they quit selling them the week before. Ours works fine when plugged in (and we have the advantage of 24/7 recording because it is plugged in). I've only discovered how poorly it detects events in battery mode when I've tried unplugging it and experimented with walking in front of the camera, in response to seeing all the posts in this forum about how poorly the camera seems to detect events when in battery mode.

Since one of your cameras does well in battery mode and the other does not, maybe it's a quality defect, and you should seek a replacement from Support (https://support.google.com/googlenest/gethelp) for the one that's working poorly.

It's too late for ours (14 months), and it works fine when plugged in.

[aatienza]

Hey there,

rthai, let's see what's going on with your Nest Camera (Battery). Do your have an Activity Zone setup in the Google Home app? Were you able to check the Notification settings in the app? Also, have you tried any troubleshooting steps to fix this?

Check the app permission on your mobile device.

For Android users, go to System settings > Sounds and notification > App notifications > Nest or Google Home and follow these configurations:

• Block all is disabled.
• Allow peeking is enabled.

For iOS users, go to Settings > Notifications > Nest or Google Home and follow these configurations:

• Allow notifications is enabled.
• You may disable any or all notification options.

I appreciate the help, MplsCustomer.

Thanks,

Archie

[aatienza]

Hey everyone,

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. 
 

Thanks,

Archie

[rthai]

No Activity Zone setup in the Google Home app. Able  to check the Notification settings in the app. Tried any troubleshooting steps to fix this. I have a 2nd camera setup using the same parameters (height, app settings etc), the 2nd one has no issues at all with event based recording.

I have now done as suggested and wired this and now event based recording works without having me to jump into live mode. Is this a fault with the camera ?

[janthadeus]

Hey folks,

Ah, gotcha. Let’s sort this out — a few questions: have you tried to test the notification of your camera in question using another phone or tablet? Have you tried restarting your phone? When did the issue start? Also, were there any changes to your Wi-Fi network?

Looking forward to your response. 
 

I appreciate the help here, MplsCustomer and Archie.

Thanks,

JT

[EmersonB]

Hello rthai,

I just wanted to follow up and see if you still need any help. Let me know if you have any additional questions from here.

I appreciate the help, MplsCustomer, Archie and JT.

Thanks,
Emerson

[janthadeus]

Hey there,

Just checking in to make sure that you've seen our responses. Please let me know if you have other questions or concerns as I will be locking this in 24 hours if I won't hear back from you again. Feel free to start a new thread and we'll be happy to help.

Thanks for chiming in, Emerson.

Best,

JT