IR Filter Stuck in night mode during the daytime on Gen 2 Nest Camera (Wired)

[Harvey1958]

My driveway camera showed everything in shades of pink, and indication that the IR filter was "stuck" when the camera was supposed to transition from night mode to day mode.

I had read that sometimes knocking the unit sharply, or drawing a powerful magnet around it would "free" this presumably mechanical filter (moderators, please confirm if this is actually a lens that swings into place for the IR to work, and then retracts).

I had purchased a replacement, and installed it.  Since the old unit still had perfectly good night vision, I installed it in my back yard to help keep track of my two terriers at night.

During the installation to the hard to access end of a timber off my gazebo, the unit was knocked about a bit.

During first test, it was 50% pink, 50% normal imaging, encouraging me to more robustly impact the device.  It soon returned a perfectly balanced image.  Imagine my further surprise when it transition to IR mode that night, and back to normal the following morning.

Anyone else have similar luck freeing up a camera from being stuck in pink, IR mode during the daylight hours?

[EmersonB]

Hi Harvey1958,

Thanks for reaching out here in the Community. This can happen if your camera gets too hot or too cold.

• Do not use indoor cameras outside. They're not designed for outdoor use and have an operating temperature range for indoor environments.
• Place outdoor cameras under eaves or in shady spots so they don't overheat during very hot weather.
• Your camera's video might also have a pink, blue or purple hue if there's a problem with the Night Vision.

Give these steps a try: 

1. If the Night Vision settings are on Auto, switch it to Manual. Then, manually toggle the setting on and off. Observe the feed to check if the pink or purple tint goes away when they toggle the Night Vision settings off.
2. Unplug your Nest Camera from the power source, wait for 30 seconds, and plug your Nest Camera back in.
3. Ensure your Nest Camera is installed in a supported location and not in an area prone to overheat or direct sunlight.

• Note: Overheating can cause issues with video feed quality. Try moving your Nest Camera from a warm location to a cooler area to help resolve the issue.

        4. Unplug your Nest Camera from its power source and reposition it after it’s had sufficient time to cool.

Hit this link for more information.

Regards,

Emerson

[Harvey1958]

Emerson, thanks so much for that thoughtful answer.  Can you confirm if indeed the Night Vision setting when deployed causes a mechanical lens to rotate into the focal plane?  Any truth to the possibility that my jarring the device during removal and relocation freed it up?

It is an outdoor rated camera, but is indeed in an a location with a south facing exposure, under the eaves.  I'll need to check once this atmospheric river passes to see if the replacement is being impacted by direct insolation or not.

Harvey

[EmersonB]

Hello Harvey1958,

Thanks for getting back to us. Google Nest Camera's night vision uses high-power infrared (IR) LEDs to illuminate the scene when it's dark. When night vision is set to Auto, Nest cameras wait to switch between normal and night modes only when the light gradually changes. For instance, at dusk or dawn, when the lighting is marginal. Some cameras flip back and forth between normal and night modes, which makes the video too light or too dark. Also, we don't have information about the mechanical lens of the Nest Camera that would trigger to rotate into the focal plane. Keep us posted with your update.

Best,
Emerson

[janthadeus]

Hey there,

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, Emerson.

Thanks,

JT

[janthadeus]

Hi 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.

Best,

JT

[Harvey1958]

I had hoped to get confirmation about the possibility of there being a mechanical lens.  I don't see how having the IR lighting stuck on during the day would cause the entire image to be pink, in the bright sunlight.  There's no way of talking internally with anyone from the design team at Nest that could confirm the presence of a mechanical shutter?

If the answer is still "no" then yes, go ahead and lock the thread.  I'll have a look on Linkedin to see if I might find someone from the Nest reliability team that could verify this.  Happy to reopen a thread if I'm successful.

Appreciate your support.

Harvey

[janthadeus]

Hello there,

Thanks for your patience here. We’d like to further investigate this —  could you fill out this form and let us know once you’re done?

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,

JT

[EmersonB]

Hello everybody,

@Harvey1958, we wanted to follow up and see if you were able to fill out the form? Let us know if you have additional questions.

I appreciate the help, JT.
 
Regards,
Emerson

[EmersonB]

Hi Harvey1958,

We haven't received your form — were you able to fill it out?
 
Best,
Emerson

[EmersonB]

Hey Harvey1958,

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, we would be happy to keep it open. If there's more we can do, just let us know.
 
Regards,
Emerson