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Google Nest Camera (wired) with Floodlight: "Camera unavailable" | "Live video unavailable"

schaefferarnold
Community Member

I've read many of the other posts about this issue, but the ability to reply on most of them seems to be off - so starting a new post in hopes we'll get some help.

 

My devices:

Nest cam with Floodlight (wired)

Google Home app (version 2.56.107)

iPhone 12 (mini) running OS 15.5

Have 2 other Nest cameras setup and working flawlessly. They are both the same (or further) distances from the router.

Wifi speed as of this moment: 141 Mbps down / 34 Mpbs up (using the 2.4g connection)

 

Update (8/17/22): adding in more context about the height of the cameras. They are all ~10 feet above the ground.

 

Install and Setup

Upon initial connection to power, the floodlights turned on, as did the green light on the camera (just as the setup instructions suggested would happen). I began setup via Google Home app, using the QR code provided with the product to connect the device. This worked without any issues. It wasn't until after completing setup and navigating to view live video that I began to notice intermittent freezing. It wasn't long (a minute or less) until the freezing turned into this:

IMG_5AEEC38EA09C-1.jpeg

Troubleshooting with Google Support

After calling Google support and speaking with 2 separate reps, we tried the following:

  1. Turn off the breaker that's the source of the camera's power for 2 minutes, then turn it back on
  2. Remove the device from the Google Home app, then add it back
  3. Toggle the Video Quality from Max to High (and back to Max after seeing this not help)
  4. Reset the device (hold the button on the back of the camera until a solid white light is visible).
  5. Reset my modem/router.
  6. Test changing the camera on indicator (green light) brightness from Auto to Low (and back again after seeing this didn't help)
  7. Toggled the camera off, then back on.

After ~1 hour of troubleshooting, their suggestion was to send the device back and consider an alternative product. It sounds like that suggestion, along with how unhelpful the Brad-bot has been, maybe the only solution.

I'd love to be wrong about that, though.

25 REPLIES 25

redijedi83
Community Member

I'm getting the same thing.. can't stream live feed. Notifications work and I can look at history but no live feed - "Camera Unavailable" I've tried all the tricks above too but nothing worked.

Can I ask - are you with Shaw for wifi? I am (in Canada) and I know they did a firmware update a couple weeks ago related to device prioritization.. No idea if it's related or not. 

Comcast is my ISP here in California.

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi there, 

I apologize for my late response and thank you for all of your patience while waiting for a reply. I'm terribly sorry to hear that you're having these troubles. I understand how upsetting this could be, but I'm happy to assist you with this obstacle. As a side note; I am not a bot, definitely real and here to help any way I can.

For this inquiry, I am still collecting feedback on it as we are looking into it. I would suggest that all troubleshooting steps are taken with a restart, factory reset if necessary, and make sure that you have a strong wifi connection for it to connect too. 


Best Regards, 
Brad

Your suggestions are the same as the representative suggested, which I included in my original post.

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

@schaefferarnold

 

At this time, there is nothing further I can suggest until there's a solution. Thank you for your patience.

 

Best regards,

Brad

Is there a known issue/problem? Or are you not able to disclose that information?

Trying again. You mentioned “until there is a solution.” Can you confirm, then, that there is a known problem and it’s being worked on by the team?

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

@schaefferarnold

 

I am sorry to hear that you're still experiencing this camera error. We are all here to help you the best we can. There are some issues like this that just isn't something we can resolve for you quickly. This is most likely a bug, or a software related concern. If you have followed all of our standard troubleshooting steps like it seems you have, then I would suggest you contact Support so they can assist you further and possibly even escalate this for you. 

 

Best regards,

Brad

I tried support as I mentioned in my original post. You can see what we tried and what they recommended. 

It sounds like there is a known bug/software-related issue across multiple Nest cameras, and that the team is aware of these issues and attempting to address them, based on your previous post.  Sounds like we all just have to wait for a fix and deal with the lack of live video until then.

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi there,

Just checking in to see how the conversation is going as there's been a lapse in activity on this thread. I unfortunately cannot keep a thread open unless it is still active, and receiving responses from the community. 

Best regard,
Brad

aatienza
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey folks,

 

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. 
 

I appreciate the help, Brad and JT.

 

Thanks,

Archie

Sp2106
Community Member

Hi, I still have the issue unresolved, can you let us know if a software/firmware update is being worked on to address this problem? 

Just to reiterate, I have two sets of devices on two networks:

- On Google Nest Wifi mesh network:

  • doorbell camera
  • floodlight camera
  • indoor camera

All are able to record to the cloud, and give me alerts when they detect a person, etc, but there is no live feed video. I tried all the suggested workarounds, including unticking the "preferred activities", but nothing has worked so far.

  I have a second wifi network on a Netgear router which has a doorbell camera and a floodlight camera, both also have the same issue on live feeds. 

Can you please provide an update on what is being done to fix this? I  really don't want to have to return all products, but this is not delivering the advertised functionality, even when connecting to Google's own wifi router! 

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi there,

Just checking in on this thread and the activity on it. We'll leave this topic open for another 24 hours in case there are any follow-up questions or comments.

Best regards,
Brad

Sp2106
Community Member

Thanks for acknowledging this is a software issue. Please leave this topic open and UNRESOLVED until there is a real solution. 

janthadeus
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi folks,

 

Thanks for your help, Brad.

 

Great troubleshooting so far, schaefferarnold. No worries, we'll figure this out. How far is the camera from the router? What Wi-Fi frequency band do you try to connect to (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz)? Also, could you possibly move your camera closer to the router at least 3 to 5 feet?

 

Looking forward to your response.

 

Thanks,

JT

The Camera is approximately 20 feet from the wifi router. As mentioned in my original post, I am connected to the 2.4g frequency. The camera is closer to my router than 2 other Nest cameras that I've been using successfully for 8 months.

There's no easy way to move the router closer to the cameras without installing a new cable outlet and I cannot relocate the camera to be closer.

And in case you planned on asking, my wifi speed as I stand beside the camera is 139 down / 37 up.

Sp2106
Community Member

Same issue here, both on a doorbell and indoor camera. Wifi signal is very strong and high speed, running on Nest wifi mesh (router + 2 points). Cameras are recording and streaming to the cloud, as I can see the video in the “history “ tab. The problem is only with the live streaming. Many people having the same issue, this is either a google home app issue, or firmware on the cameras. Can you please resolve asap and stop telling people to try the same useless “reset & reinstall” (have tried all suggestions and nothing works). Very disappointed, having bought 2 doorbells, 2 floodlight cameras, one indoor camera, only to find this major issue…

janthadeus
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi folks,

 

I'm sorry for the delayed response and thanks for sharing your thoughts about this. I'd love to help you fix this. Let's dig deeper into this. The camera goes to live video unavailable when the camera is either not mounted on the mounting plate, not seated properly on the mounting plate, not connecting to the WiFi network and or far from the router.

 

The recommended placement for your Nest Cam Indoor/Outdoor (battery) should be between 6 and 6.5 feet (1.8 and 2 m) high for optimal detection. If you plan to mount your camera higher than 6.5 ft (2 m) above the ground. If you could possibly move your camera closer to the router at least 5 to 10 feet it might resolve the issue.

 

Let me know how it works.

 

Best,

JT

Hi JT, the cameras, including a wired Nest indoor camera, do not transmit live video even when I'm setting them up next to the router. This is not an issue with camera placement, mounting, etc. This is most likely a firmware/home app issue. Could you please raise internally and get someone actually working on fixing the issue rather than having customers being directed to not relevant information? Really appalling that Google would ship such a buggy product.

schaefferarnold
Community Member

the 6-6.5 ft recommendation is for the Nest camera (battery)

In a separate thread specifically regarding the Nest floodlight camera (wired), @Rubes, a Gold Product Expert, mentions 13 ft should be sufficient, and then Community Specialist @SteveT1 responds without dispute. 

if you can share some documentation that’s specific to the “Nest flood camera (wired)” product regarding optimal height, that would be helpful. Our other Nest cameras that work flawlessly are 10 feet above the ground, and further from our router than the Nest floodlight camera (wired) product. 

Hi schaefferarnold,

 

Got it, absolutely! Have a look at this article and let us know if you need more help: Tips for camera placement.

 

Best,

JT

That’s the same link I referenced in my reply above. Thanks for the effort, but that’s not new information that’s helping solve the problem in my original post. Feel free to scroll up and give it a read if you have time. 

datadr93
Community Member

Since last Home update, I've been unable to view any live streams. I can view events and notified instantly. Can view those events up thru moment camera becomes live... then becomes unavailable. Exit app, trigger an event, and notification comes thru.

The issue is not connection with wifi or location to router. It's a bug in the current version that is causing live stream views to be unavailable. This is same issue with any Google Nest camera... floodlight, doorbell, and other cameras. 

Resetting one/all of them does not resolve the problem.