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Neat camera not recording events

troykravitz
Community Member

I have multiple Nest security cameras. They always used to work fine. Now under the Google umbrella, they’ve become totally unreliable and I would strongly urge prospective buyers to get a different product/manufacturer. 

i subscribe to Nest Aware (event-based recording). Sounds good in theory, but the camera at my front door does not reliably capture events. Last weekend I had packages stolen. The camera magically failed to capture the theft. (It captures other events, seemingly randomly.) This evening I had a package delivered. The camera did not record an event. I asked a friend to grab the package for me. Again, the camera did not record an event. 

My Nest security cameras have become little more than decoys, and my Nest Aware subscription is utterly worthless. 

To top it all off, when I called Google to complain about the camera not capturing the package theft, their first solution was to tell me to to subscribe to the more expensive monitoring package. (I kid you not.) Eventually I reached a supervisor, who offered me $6 for my troubles. I asked if they’d be sending it in pennies to me, only to be told the compensation would actually be in the form of Google Play Store credit. 

in short, stay away. Stay far away. And thank Google for destroying what was once a great product. 

Coda: no, my camera was not unplugged. No, my camera was not offline. Yes, my camera has a strong internet connection. 

7 REPLIES 7

BG
Bronze
Bronze

I'm sorry you are having trouble with your cameras. I have 6 of the Nest cameras (floodlight), and a Nest Hello and they all work completely fine. I also only subscribe to the basic Nest Aware plan, but all events are recorded as designed. There are many settings for Video sensitivity(trigger), but all of mine are set at the default, and I'm sure you have checked those. The only thing I can maybe imagine is that there is a communication problem. If your camera detects motion and wakes up, it needs to connect to the WiFi immediately. Since my Nest Cam's are hard wired all the time (floodlight version), they are constantly connected to WiFi, so communication is immediate. Same for the doorbell. Then, WiFi becomes the second issue. I had to go buy a new wireless router with enough CPU power to handle all the video feeds and the rest of the house, AND that could also cover a large home. I did a lot of research and bought an ASUS RT-AX86U. It made all the difference in the world. 

It sounds like your problem may be that the camera, upon waking up records and can't connect to the WiFi in time to send you the event or store it in Nest Aware. Do you think that could be the problem? The cameras are dual band cameras and can connect to 5 or 2.4 GHz networks, so be sure they have adequate connection strength. (I know you said they have good connection). Also, finally, many people underestimate their upstream bandwidth. Remember, your camera(s) and other devices become the "server", and whenever they are triggered, or you are watching live, they must be able to adequately "serve" from your home. I'm sure your download speed is fine, but cameras need to be able to serve video, so it is the upload speed/bandwidth that you need. Once I added the 6th camera, I pushed the bounds of my upload bandwidth and sometimes have a little trouble connecting and watching all 6 live.

Suangally
Community Member

I am having the exact same problem. I'm sad that apparently there's nothing that can be done. 

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 can definitely understand how frustrating your situation must be, but I wanted to make sure that your issue was addressed. Do you still need help with this issue? I know that there's been a delay in response since you posted.

 

Please let me know if you need further assistance. 

Best Regards, 

Brad.

Arshaw89
Community Member

I have the same exact problem

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there,

 

I just wanted to jump in real fast and thank you for your feedback. Please feel free to submit your feedback to us. I've put instructions for feedback below.

 

  • Open the Google Home app

Google Home app

  • At the top right, tap your account.
  • Tap Feedback 

and then

  • tap the type of device you'd like to submit feedback for.
  • To display available emails, in the "From:" section, tap the arrow on the right. Select your email address.
  • In the feedback summary, write a brief description of your issue.
  • Be sure to check the box for Screenshot and System logs.
  • To submit feedback, at the top right corner, tap Send 

 

If you need anything else, please let me know.

Best regards,

Brad.

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey everyone,

It looks like we've come to a reasonable conclusion to this conversation. We'll leave this topic open for another 24 hrs in case there are any follow up questions or comments.

Best regards,

Brad

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey Folks.

 

At this time, I'll go ahead and lock this thread. If you're still experiencing problems, feel free to start a new thread and we'll be happy to help.

 

Best Regards,

Brad.