Nest Battery Camera notifications

[SimonTigger]

I believe I have done everything I should have done to install my camera correctly.  Live feed works just fine most of the time.  But I cannot get notifications to even switch on whatever I try.  I set up Events OK.  I set up a zone OK.  I checked that notifications were allowed for the app in my iPhone settings.  I tried the Nest app (but that just takes you back to the Google Home app).  I tried it on an Android phone.  Still nada.  Computer says no.   Notifications are resolutely staying switched off.  I cannot hard wire the camera even if I wanted to as it is across the other side of a drive.  But the whole point of a battery operated wifi device is that it shouldn't need hard wiring.  If I cannot resolve this soon, I will have to return it and buy something that actually does what it claims to do.  I only bought a  Nest product because I thought the market penetration would mean that it would work seamlessly.  Very disappointed so far.  Anyone els had this issue and resolved it?

[MplsCustomer · Accepted solution]

@SimonTigger 

In the Google Home app for your camera, have you gone to Settings | Events | Seen events, selected a zone, and turned on event history for People, Animals, Vehicles, or Motion? And once you do, you should see a "Your notifications" option. Are you unable to turn on that option?

[SimonTigger]

Hi

I had done everything except turn on Event History.  I thought that was related to subscribing.  Turning it on seems to have cured the problem.

Whilst I am very happy to have the camera working properly, I am a bit annoyed that it took so up so much of my time to get it sorted.  I would blame myself except that online forums like this suggest that I am far from the only one encountering this problem.  So I conclude that the setting up instructions may need to be clearer.  I was on the verge of sending the camera back to Amazon and buying another, so thanks for your swift response that prevented that.

Regards

Simon

[MplsCustomer]

@SimonTigger 

The user interface in the Google Home app is not at all intuitive or obvious.  It took me awhile to realize that in the Google Home app we turn on event history separately from turning on notifications.  And then we have to keep remembering things work differently in the Google Nest app for our other cameras.

[SimonTigger]

I am reassured that it was not my idiocy that was to blame!  Sounds like Google/Nest has some catching up to to with the rest of the market!  We tend to expect user interfaces to be simple and straightforward nowadays and not involve in hair tearing and hours of frustration.  If I could charge Google/Nest for my time wasted, the camera would have been free!  Ah well, experience is a fine thing.  What it does mean is that if I fit another security camera or door camera, safe to say it won't be from this stable.

[Brad]

Hi there,

Thank you for your patience, I know that keeping your Nest devices charged is very important, and I would love to help you out. When it comes to keeping your Nest Doorbell (battery) or Nest Cam (battery) up and running, here are some articles and troubleshooting guides for the best charging practices:

• This is a great article on general charging times for your devices.
• This helpful article tells you how to save the battery with your doorbell or camera.
• And this last article, will go over charging expectations when you may live in a cooler/colder environment which will address charging temperatures, etc.

I hope those articles help shed some light on charging and maintaining battery levels of your Nest doorbell or camera. Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Best regards,

Brad

[Brad]

Hi there, 

Let me know if you need anything from me, but I am just seeing how the conversation is going. We'll leave this thread open for a little longer for follow-up questions and concerns. 

Best regards, 

Brad

[janthadeus]

Hey SimonTigger,

I just wanted to jump in here to make sure that you saw our response. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns as I will be locking this in 24 hours.
 

I appreciate the help here, MplsCustomer and Brad.

Thanks,

JT