Nest Cam Offline due to empty battery

[NestCam-Robert]

Hi,

I have 4 outdoor Nest Cams in my house. One of them is not working, showing "Devise offline because of an empty battery" in my Google App. The Cam is plugged in and shows blue light. How is that possible to have a "empty battery" when it is plugged in? Please help, Thanks.  

[MplsCustomer]

@NestCam-Robert 

You could check for a few things that other customers in this forum have encountered with their battery camera:

Is the power cable plugged in firmly in the bottom of the camera?  (Some customers have had loose or defective plugs.)

Is the power cable feeding towards the FRONT of the camera?  (Some customers have discovered theirs was plugged in backwards with the cable feeding towards the BACK of the camera.)

Was your camera originally installed as plugged in?  (Some customers who plugged in their camera with the optional power cable sometime after installing it had to reinstall it, so that Google Nest would recognize it as being plugged in.)

Are you using the 1-meter charging cord or the 5-meter or 10-meter optional power cable?  (Some customers have had trouble powering their camera with the 1-meter charging cord.)

Is your camera receiving power at all times?  (Some customers have discovered the switch to their camera's electrical circuit was sometimes switched off.)

In the Google Home app, under Settings | Battery, your camera should show as "Plugged in" with an infinity symbol.

(We've had a battery camera for over 2 years now, and it's always "Live" and remains charged.)

[NestCam-Robert]

Thank you for the reply. See my replies in Red. 

Is the power cable plugged in firmly in the bottom of the camera?  (Some customers have had loose or defective plugs.) Yes

Is the power cable feeding towards the FRONT of the camera?  (Some customers have discovered theirs was plugged in backwards with the cable feeding towards the BACK of the camera.) Yes. The power cable has a 4-prone male metal connector. I line them up with the female connector on the camera.

Was your camera originally installed as plugged in?  (Some customers who plugged in their camera with the optional power cable sometime after installing it had to reinstall it, so that Google Nest would recognize it as being plugged in.) I don't believe this is the case. The cam had been working for a while but only became "empty battery" recently.

Are you using the 1-meter charging cord or the 5-meter or 10-meter optional power cable?  (Some customers have had trouble powering their camera with the 1-meter charging cord.) I use a very long cord, probably 10-meter.

Is your camera receiving power at all times?  (Some customers have discovered the switch to their camera's electrical circuit was sometimes switched off.) I think so. Besides, the cam shows blue light at all time.

In the Google Home app, under Settings | Battery, your camera should show as "Plugged in" with an infinity symbol. No, it is not showing "Plugged in". My three other cams do show "Plugged In" but not this one. It shows "empty battery" and "battery needs to be charged".

[MplsCustomer]

@NestCam-Robert 

It's odd that your camera does not show as "Plugged in". If you added the power cable AFTER you installed your camera, you might have to remove your camera from the Google Home app, do a factory reset (https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9252162?hl=en&sjid=4376769710898708643-NA#zippy=%2Cnest...), and reinstall it, so that it recognizes that it is plugged in.

Two other things are odd about your situation, though. The first is that it the camera's battery is NOT charging. The second is that your status light is blue; Google Nest does not list a solid blue light: https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9268073?hl=en&sjid=4376769710898708643-NA#zippy=%2Cgoog...

If doing a factory reset and reinstall does not help, perhaps you should contact Support using the link and instructions in this post:

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Using-Google-Nest-s-quot-Contact-Us-quo...

[EdmondB]

Hello NestCam-Robert,

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

[NestCam-Robert]

Hi Edmond,

Unfortunately, I'm out of town and not able to check the steps shared by MPLSCustomer. Please keep this thread until Sept 27 and a few days after when I will be back.

Thanks, Robert

[EmersonB]

Hello everyone,

@NestCam-Robert, it's us again. How's it going? Were you able to perform the steps suggested above? Don't hesitate to update us here about its light status with or without the plugged in cable and the result after you reset it.

I appreciate the help, Edmond and MplsCustomer.

Best,

Emerson