Google nest cam battery w/ Solar Panel

[jlrmywork]

 hi, i was wondering if anyone else is having issues being able to see their feed on the outdoor battery google nest camera with the Solar panel? For some reason mine doesnt show me everything, i have every setting on even the events dont always get recorded as events and i find it annoying. I need somwthing that will record at all times like the wired original nest cams i have. Unfortunately i cant run a power line to my car port so i chose thos google nest cam outdoor battery version with the most expensive solar panel that is supposed to keep the device at 70% charge. I had someone in a benz light up a firework in front of mt driveway and i wasnt able to get all the footage of what rhe guy did. My original nest cams dont have a good resolution either to zoom in and see license plates so the guy got away eith me putting out the small fire that could have gotten bigger if i wasnt home that night.

[MplsCustomer · Accepted solution]

@jlrmywork 

The "video isn't available" error has been reported by multiple customers in this forum. Some customers have resolved it by improving their Wi-Fi signal.

Unfortunately, if the battery camera is powered by a solar panel, it is running off of the battery, and therefore cannot record 24/7 (see below). We have the battery camera, plugged in with the optional power cable; it is always online and we do not have "video isn't available" problems. However, if we unplug it, so that it is running on battery power, it does a very poor job of waking up out of "Idle" mode to detect and record an event. Other customers in this forum report similar problems with their battery camera not catching events when on battery power.

"If you’ve connected your Nest Cam (battery) to the Wasserstein Solar Panel, the panel doesn’t directly power the camera. Instead, the battery is trickle charged by the panel, and the camera runs off the battery charge." (https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/11830989)

"The Nest Cam (battery) must be connected to a power source to have 24/7 video history. If your camera is battery powered, it will only have event video history, even if you have a Nest Aware Plus subscription." (https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9681538)

[MplsCustomer · Accepted solution]

@jlrmywork 

The "video isn't available" error has been reported by multiple customers in this forum. Some customers have resolved it by improving their Wi-Fi signal.

Unfortunately, if the battery camera is powered by a solar panel, it is running off of the battery, and therefore cannot record 24/7 (see below). We have the battery camera, plugged in with the optional power cable; it is always online and we do not have "video isn't available" problems. However, if we unplug it, so that it is running on battery power, it does a very poor job of waking up out of "Idle" mode to detect and record an event. Other customers in this forum report similar problems with their battery camera not catching events when on battery power.

"If you’ve connected your Nest Cam (battery) to the Wasserstein Solar Panel, the panel doesn’t directly power the camera. Instead, the battery is trickle charged by the panel, and the camera runs off the battery charge." (https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/11830989)

"The Nest Cam (battery) must be connected to a power source to have 24/7 video history. If your camera is battery powered, it will only have event video history, even if you have a Nest Aware Plus subscription." (https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9681538)

[jlrmywork]

Ah, i understand now. Thank you so much for explaining this. So i have to figure out a safe way to run AC power to this camera in order to have it always recoding. Alrighty, i will do ny best to figure that out. Thank again. 😁 🙏

[MplsCustomer]

@jlrmywork 

We were fortunate to have an outdoor outlet about a dozen feet from where we mounted our battery camera. In fact, we were looking to buy the older Google Nest Outdoor Camera (wired), but that month (Sept. 2021) Google Nest quit selling it.

[EdmondB]

Hello jlrmywork, 

Checking in — did you get a chance to try the steps shared by MplsCustomer? If so, how did it go? Let me know if you need more help.

Thanks for the help, @MplsCustomer. 

Best,
Edmond

[jlrmywork]

Hi, unfortunately no i was not able to try plugging in the google nest cam battery from Solar to AC power because i dont have a safe way to do so. The camera is mounted on a car port tent with the solar panel on it. I went this route because i needed to keep an eye on my vehicle while in my driveway and the only way to do that is by having the solar panel plugged in. I do wish there was a better solar panel that could provide AC type power to the nest cam outdoor battery cam so that i can always have these recordings. Even with all my settings set to (ON) the camera takes too long to wake up from sleeping and record a person passing by. By the time i get a recording the person is already 75% out of the picture. I guess the camera is good for what it is based on the limited charging conditions i have it in but i much prefer to charge the device my self every other day if it means i can have hourly recordings. Sometimes an event happening outside doesnt get detected as an event which means the google nest cam wont record the footage and i then have to depend on my original nest vams that are powered to AC. Well. Thanks for trying to help. I appreciate it alot. 🙇‍♂️🙏

[EdmondB · Accepted solution]

Hey there,

We have a weather-proof cable for 15 Meters that you can connect to the Nest Camera Battery so that you can set it up for 24/7 continuous video recording. But you have to factory reset the Nest Camera and select the options wired in the set-up process instead of battery. Here is the link for the Nest Cam Weatherproof Cable.

Let me know if that helps.

Thanks,

Edmond

[jlrmywork]

Thank you!!!!! This should help for sure! You are so Awesome!!!!!! 😁🙌

[EdmondB]

Hi there, 

I’m glad to hear that, As we got our resolution here, I'm going to mark this one as resolved. Please feel free to open up a new thread if you need assistance.

Thanks,
Edmond