Google OUTDOOR Camera -battery DO NOT BUY

[PWE]

If you have multiple Google Nest products such as a couple of Nest Hubs, couple of Nest Minis and Nest Battery Door bell, DO NOT BUY THE CAMERA. Google has a problem with their software that it will conflict and you cannot open under your existing Home. You have to open up a 2nd Home in order to get it to work.

We purchased the camera for our backyard to view the pool with the idea that if we were in the kitchen, we could still monitor the pool. Because we could not hook it up to the same Home the Nust Hubs are, the whole point of the camera is defeated. We can only monitor ot through our phones.

[MplsCustomer]

@PWE

We have had a Google Nest Camera (Battery) for 14 months, plugged in with the optional power cable. It is in the same Google Nest "home" as our our Nest Hubs and Nest Mini and our older Google Nest cameras and doorbells, is "Live" all time time, and works fine. We can view all of our cameras from our Nest Hubs. Our only quarrel is that it works only in the Google Home app and therefore lacks some of the functions of our older cameras that work in the Google Nest app.

[scottm9]

I have the same complaint. Several Nest devices. Bought the Google Nest Camera (battery), and can only add it into the Google Home app. I expect to see it in the Nest app along with all my other Google Nest devices.

Since Google decided to keep it only in the Home app, I will be voting my opinion with my wallet. I will not be buying another one of these.

[Bunger78]

I was pretty disappointed with realization myself as well. I would love to see the new cameras show up in the Nest app, as well as Nest web interface.

Because the Nest IQ outdoor cameras are no longer sold, and these new cameras don't mix well with the older stuff, I am considering changing my entire ecosystem away from Google / Nest.

[MplsCustomer]

@Bunger78

See what Google Nest actually does with their upcoming update to the Google Home app:
https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Blog/Recap-Introducing-the-new-Google-Home-app-and-Nest-devic...

And see what they add to their trial home.google.com website.

[scottm9]

Thanks for the links. Looks promising. I signed up for the Public Preview - hope to see things come together better moving forward.

[Brad]

Hi there,

Thank you for your feedback on this, I fully understand the frustrations of not having your new Nest cams in the Nest app like you may be used too. However, you can now use the Google Home web app to view your cameras and doorbells.

The new Nest cameras and doorbell are exclusive to the home app because we wanted to create an integrated experience with your speakers and displays. A Nest Aware subscription applies to all of your cameras, speakers, and displays in the same home structure. Thank you for your continued patience, and support. 

Best regards,

Brad

[scottm9]

Thanks for the response Brad. I'm re-exploring the Google Home app and looking forward to the Preview version that may be emerging in the near future.

While I can swing along with these migrations from Nest logon to Google logon, and then Nest app to the Google Home app, others in my family - less tech-fluent - find it more troublesome. 

[PWE]

Hi Brad

This is the issue. I am using the Google Home app, not the Nest app. The camera is NOT available on the Hub as in order to get it to work, I had to open up a second Home under the Google app. So your suggestion does not work.

[Brad]

@PWE

Have you tried to inquire about this in our Speakers and Displays forum? I would suggest checking it out to see if you can receive some assistance with your Hub there.

Best regards,

Brad

[PWE]

I literally spent over 8 hours on the phone with Google support and opening up the second Home was their solutiion to even make the camera work. I am not a techie and the camera should work through the Google app as the instructions say. It doesn't so all I am saying is if you are in the same situation, don't bother buying the camera as it won't work the way you want it to. The first support person I talked to said it was a defective camera which it wasn't and sent me a new one. Now I have a paperweight. I have been waiting for about 4 months for Google to resolve the situation and basically they have ignored me and my case #. So don't buy their product!

[MplsCustomer]

@PWE 

You should NOT have had to create a second Google Nest "home/structure" in order to install your camera. Did you do that because you encountered the "assisting device" error?

@Brad: It's really unfortunate that Google Nest has not fixed the "assisting device" problem in over a year.

[PWE]

As per my previous reply, I installed the second Home because that was Google Supports workaround. They could not get the camera to work under the existing Home

[Brad]

Hey there,

Sorry to hear you had a poor experience. We’re always looking for ways to improve, and appreciate your feedback. You can send it at any time using your devices by saying, "Hey Google, send feedback," or by following the steps found here. 

Best regards,
Brad

[MplsCustomer]

@Brad 

"Feedback" is a wholly inadequate way to address problems like the "assisting device" issue that have been preventing customers from properly installing their cameras for over a year and that have been reported by dozens and dozens of customers in this forum.

Customer @harrismix on this thread below reports that they ended up returning their camera for a refund because the "assisting device" approach required by Google Nest prevented them from installing their new camera:

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/quot-Nest-quot-Cameras-aren-t-really-Ne...

[Brad]

@MplsCustomer

Those users who are affected are welcome to reach out to support, or go through the form that we posted on the main thread. As I am not solely responsible for finding a solution, please send in your feedback or questions to support. Thank you for your patience. 

Best regards,

Brad

[EmersonB]

Hello everyone,

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

I appreciate the help, MplsCustomer and Brad.

Thanks,
Emerson

[EmersonB]

Hi there,

Just one quick final check in here since activity has slowed down. We'll be locking the thread in the next 24 hours, but if you still need help, I would be happy to keep it open. If there's more we can do, just let me know.

Best,
Emerson

[PWE]

What I would like is a response from Google to my outstanding Case #

[MplsCustomer]

@PWE 

I'm just another Google Nest customer, but I've noticed that SOME customers in this forum have reported that, once they successfully installed their camera or doorbell in a second Google Nest "home" in order to get past the "assisting device" error, they then removed the camera or doorbell from that "home" and added it to the regular "home", and it worked, carrying forward the correct Wi-Fi settings.

[EmersonB]

Hello PWE,

Could you share with us the case ID from your interaction with our support team so I can take a closer look and update you here.

I appreciate the help, MplsCustomer.

Thanks,
Emerson

[PWE]

Case ID 3-5725000033290

[EmersonB]

Hello PWE,

I reached out to our support team last week about your concern and they told me that they'll go ahead and check your options. Today, I checked your case and found that you were in contact with them. Please continue the conversation there to avoid confusion here. We'll be locking the thread in the next 24 hours. Feel free to start a new thread and we'll be happy to help.

Regards,
Emerson

[EmersonB]

Hi PWE,

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

Best,
Emerson

[Brad]

Hey there,

We’re always looking for ways to improve, and appreciate your feedback. You can send it at any time using your devices by saying, "Hey Google, send feedback," or by following the steps found here. Please let me know if you have any follow-up questions or concerns.

Best regards,
Brad