Has anyone recovered from "Device offline because of a battery issue"?

[hh820]

One of Nest Cam (battery) devices (3 years old and out of warranty) I use to monitor indoor security started showing "Device offline because of a battery issue" in Google Home app on iOS devices, a few weeks ago. The battery meter showed empty so I charged it. Google Home app shows the battery meter in full charge, but the device error stayed on unchanged. I've tried resetting the Nest Cam by plugging into the charger and holding down the reset button on the back, but the status indicator remains amber and does not turn white as it is supposed to. The camera is still showing "Device offline because of a battery issue" in Google Home app & it is totally useless now. Does anyone know how to recover from this error?

[jenniffert]

Hi hh820,

Thanks for reaching out to the community! I'm sorry to hear that your Nest Cam (battery) is showing a battery error message. Help's here!

As you mentioned trying a factory reset, I'd like to confirm if you pressed the reset button for at least 12–15 seconds and heard a confirmation tone. If not, please try one more time, ensuring you hold the button for the full 15 seconds while it is connected to the power source. Once you've done this, observe the camera's LED lights to see if they're solid or pulsing. For more detailed instructions, you can refer to these helpful articles: Restart or factory reset Nest camera or doorbell and Nest camera and doorbell lights and sounds.

After performing this step, check if the camera is able to power up and see the camera feed.

Please keep me posted.

Best regards, 

Jennifer

[hh820]

Thanks for your support. I had tried numerous time press-holding the reset button for 30-45 seconds but it was not successful to get the device to respond. But, per your suggestion I tried again trying to reset the device, but this time I increased the number of seconds I held down the reset button. The process did not work for 30-seconds, 45-seconds and 60-seconds attempts, but in the fourth attempt (targeting to hold down the reset button for 75-seconds) the device responded with 4 notes sound at 65-seconds mark and the status light turned white. Unfortunately, I'm still not able to configure the camera from Google Home as the setup process errors out with the message, "Something went wrong", "Try connecting again. If that doesn't work try rebooting your device or turning your phone's airplane mode on and off before trying again." I did both several times and I am not able to access the camera from Google Home app. Here are the steps I took and observations (with screenshots):
1. Google Nest Cam (battery) is plugged in, the status light turns white for 4-5 seconds and fades away, the camera makes the ready sound (B4, D5, then G5 music notes), the status light turns greenish cyan for a second then fades away, the greenish-cyan light turns on for a second then fades away for another 4 times. The status light change and the device ready sound continue to repeat in the described sequence.

2. On iPhone (iOS v18), Google Home App, add device. Select "Google Nest or partner device", Select my home, then the app shows "Looking for device".  Next the app asks "What are you setting up?", select "Camera", on next page select "Nest Cam (outdoor or indoor, battery)", then scan the QR code for setup. On next page select "Nest Cam (battery)".

3. Accept all legal disclaimers and user agreements. Get past the screens to store the QR code and "Plug in your camera indoors", select "indoors" on "Where are you putting this camera?" screen.

4. Google Home Ap now shows "Preparing your device" animated screen for nearly 2 minutes, then the screen changes to "Connecting to joining device" animation for another 1-2 minutes.

5. The screen changes to "Something went wrong" message. (screenshots are attached below)

I've repeated this setup process several more times but at this point the camera and Google Home App are not talking and the camera is totally useless. Any additional suggestion is appreciated. Thank you. 

 

[jenniffert]

Hi hh820,

Thanks for following up! I'm sorry to hear that your Nest Cam (battery) is showing an error message during the setup process. Let's try to fix this together.

I appreciate all the efforts you've put into trying to resolve this situation. To gather some more details, I'd like to ask the following:

• How far is the camera from the router?
• Do you have any other Nest devices in your home? If so, are they connected to the same Wi-Fi network?

For now, I’d suggest checking the following:

• Ensure you're using the original power cable that came with the Nest Cam Battery box.
• Check for interference. Identify any devices that might be interfering with your WiFi signal, such as cordless phones or microwaves. Try relocating these devices or changing your WiFi channel. For reference, you can check out this article: Troubleshoot wireless interference.
• Try moving the Nest Cam closer to the router. Even a few feet can make a difference.
• If possible, try connecting the Nest Cam to a different Wi-Fi network or hotspot.

Let me know how it goes.

Best regards, 

Jenniffer

[hh820]

Hi Jenniffer,

The Nest Cam (battery) in question was 3 feet away from Google Nest WiFi Router at the time of the attempt to set it up from Google Home App. I have Nest Learning Thermostat, Google Nest Door Bell (battery), another Nest Cam (battery), two Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) and two Nest Mini speakers which were all online on the same WiFi network and were all accessible. Google Home App was able to also connect with other non-Google devices.

I have always used the Google/Nest 5v 1.5amp (7.5w) charger with these Nest Cams.

Also, I have repeated the setup attempt again while recording the Google Home App screen throughout the process and shared via my Google Drive. It can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RtuA3HlZAOMIjf3QCCG2rAukPWZ64yr5/view?usp=drive_link

In that video I noticed something I missed in my previous response -- there is a fraction of a second that the screen shows another message "Trying to connect to an assisting Nest device", "Looking for a nearby device that can help get your device online faster". I'll attach the screenshot below. This screen is visible for less than one second on screen following the "Preparing your device" screen and before the "Connecting to the joining device" screen. In the video the screen shows up at approximately 2 minutes 13 seconds timestamp.

[jenniffert]

Hi hh820,

Thanks for following up. I understand how frustrating it can be when your Nest Cam isn't connecting to the Google Home app.

I truly appreciate all your efforts in trying to resolve this inconvenience and the details you've shared. Just to continue investigating your case, I’d like to ask the following details:

• When you performed a factory reset, did the camera successfully power on?
• What is the current status of the LED lights on your Nest Cam? For reference, you can check out this article: Nest camera and doorbell lights and sounds.

Please keep me posted.

Best regards,

Jenniffer

[hh820]

Hi Jennifer,

Here are my observations that may address your questions after reading the link you sent about "Nest camera and doorbell lights and sounds":

Q: When you performed a factory reset, did the camera successfully power on?
A: Yes, the camera appears to be working in that regard. As soon as I connect it to the power cord it goes into the setup mode (by making the "ready" sound of B4-D5-G5 notes sequence), but as soon as I disconnect it from the power cord the status light goes off and the sound stops. On the other hand, as long as it is powered it keeps making the "ready" sound every minute or so.

Q: What is the current status of the LED lights on your Nest Cam? 
A: The status light only comes on when the camera is connected to active/live power cord. When the power cord is connected the camera makes the "ready" sound and almost simultaneously the status light turns white (from no light). The status light then fades off (to no light) in a few seconds. Then only about a second later the status light turns on blue in slow blinking manner - I believe this is ready-to-connect status per the linked article. The speed of blinking never turns faster as the linked article says is the indication of the camera  trying to connect to the app and Wi-Fi network. Instead, after about 5 blinks the status light goes off and stays off for a few seconds. Then, the "ready" sound comes on along with the status light turning white for a few seconds followed by slow blinking blue status light. This sequence keeps repeating, and Google Home app eventually reports something is wrong and offers to exit the setup process.

I casually scanned WiFi signals on my laptop using WireShark to see if there is any use of 2.4GHz or 5GHz WiFi channels and I could not detect anything new when this sequence is happening. I don't know whether Google Home app and Nest Cam (battery) try to connect via that means. My laptop did not detect any new bluetooth device coming on at the same time either.

[jenniffert]

Hi hh820,

Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate all the information and details.

Since you’ve tried to add the camera several times to the Google Home app, the camera shows inconsistent lights even if this is charged. I apologize that our previous steps haven't resolved the inconvenience with your Nest Cam not connecting to the app due to the battery behavior.

To continue assisting you, please fill out this form with all the necessary information. Once you've submitted the form, please let me know.

Keep me posted.

Best regards, 

Jenniffer

[hh820]

Hi Jenniffer,

Thank you for your continued assistance on such timely and consistent manner. I have filled out the form and submitted it.

[nerys]

Hi hh820,

Thanks for taking the time to fill out the form!

We'll reach out to you soon via email to discuss more details about your Nest Cam (battery) not connecting to your Google Home app due to the battery behavior.

I'll be here for anything else you may need. Feel free to reply to this post if you have any other questions. I'll be happy to assist further!

Best regards,

Nery.