Nest Cameras randomly go Offline

[mustang35thann]

I have 3 indoor cameras, the doorbell and 1 outdoor camera, all wired.  They are about 4 years old.  I also have 7 Next smoke detectors.  The cameras randomly go offline multiple times during the day.  I've tried the following:

• Restart cameras - no help
• Reboot router - no help

There are times when the indoor cameras will go offline but the outdoor camera and doorbell stay online. 

I've had times where the smoke detectors completely disconnect from the wi-fi but the cameras are all fine.  Those I had to delete and add again just to get them to be recognized.  

This seems to be happening all within the last couple of weeks.  It's getting completely frustrating to the point I'm ready to ditch the cameras and go with a different product.  

On top of that, I bought an additional camera in the last few months and the Nest app doesn't recognize the camera.  Only Google home.  

So frustrating.  I'm recommending against purchase these products.  

[MplsCustomer]

@mustang35thann 

If you have multiple devices going offline, it's more likely you have some sort of issue with your Wi-Fi network, rather than with Google Nest. We have multiple cameras, doorbells, and Nest Hubs and they're all online regularly.

With regard to your newest camera, the Google Nest cameras and doorbells released since Sept. 2021 only get installed in the Google Home app and can be accessed on the home.google.com website; they do NOT work in the Google Nest app or on the home.nest.com website. We've had to use both apps since buying a battery camera in Sept. 2021.

[mustang35thann]

I've ran diagnostics on the Fios wi-fi network and all appears to be fine.  I would assume if it were a wi-fi issue then I would lose all my cameras, not different cameras randomly.  To have some cameras work and some not all at the same time seems like a Nest issue and not a wifi issue.  Open to suggestions and troubleshooting.  

[MplsCustomer]

@mustang35thann 

Since it looks like you have an iPhone, you could use the Airport Utility app to run a scan and see what your signal strength is for each of your Wi-Fi channels at the location of each of your devices.

Beyond that, I don't know what to suggest.

[zoeuvre]

Hi folks,

@mustang35thann, thanks for reaching out to us, and I'm sorry to hear about the situation. I want to check if you are still in need of any help. If so, please answer the following:

• When did the situation start?
• Are you getting any messages or codes on the app?
• How far is the camera from the router?
• Do you have other Nest devices in the house?
• Are there other devices connected to the same Wi-Fi where the camera is connected to?
• Can the camera find other Wi-Fi networks?
• Are there devices or appliances (such as baby monitors, microwaves, cordless phones, etc.) near the camera?
• What troubleshooting steps have you done so far?
• For cameras with status light turned off, have you tried to move the camera to a different power outlet?
  • Does the power outlet have a switch?
• What Wi-Fi frequency band do you try to connect to (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz)?
• Has the camera ever successfully connected to this network?
  • Is there any recent network changes like a new router or a recent move?
  • Is there any changes to the network name or password changes?
• What is the make and model of your router?
• Does the camera have a subscription?
• Where is the camera located? If located in a hard-to-reach place:
  • Do you have a ladder?
  • Are you comfortable climbing up to get the camera?

I'll look forward to your response. 

I appreciate your input, @MplsCustomer. 

Best,

Zoe 

[mustang35thann]

See my responses below

• When did the situation start? - about a month or two ago
• Are you getting any messages or codes on the app? No error messages, just messages throughout the day that the cameras have gone offline
• How far is the camera from the router? Camera distances range from 6 fee up to 30 feet
• Do you have other Nest devices in the house? Yes, Nest Protect smoke detectors
• Are there other devices connected to the same Wi-Fi where the camera is connected to?
• Can the camera find other Wi-Fi networks?
• Are there devices or appliances (such as baby monitors, microwaves, cordless phones, etc.) near the camera? No
• What troubleshooting steps have you done so far? Camera reset, unplug and allow to reboot, power down the restart the router
• For cameras with status light turned off, have you tried to move the camera to a different power outlet? No
  • Does the power outlet have a switch? No
• What Wi-Fi frequency band do you try to connect to (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz)? 5GHz
•  Has the camera ever successfully connected to this network? Yes.  They've all been connected and functioning for years
  • Is there any recent network changes like a new router or a recent move? No, Router was installed over a year ago
  • Is there any changes to the network name or password changes? No
• What is the make and model of your router? It is a Verizon Fios supplied whole home router.  Will have to verify the model later.  
• Does the camera have a subscription? I have an annual Nest subscription
• Where is the camera located? If located in a hard-to-reach place: Not in hard to reach places.  They are mostly in common living spaces except in a gable outside the house.
  • Do you have a ladder? Yes
  • Are you comfortable climbing up to get the camera? Yes

[Jenelyn_O]

Hi everyone,

@mustang35thann, thanks for providing the information above. Please check the status of the Nest service. Occasionally, when the Nest service is down, it can show that the camera is offline. If this is the case, other products will probably appear offline as well, but sometimes only cameras could be impacted. Also, try to manually reconnect your Nest Camera to Wi-Fi.

Reconnect the camera to Wi-Fi by following these steps:

On the Google Home app:

1. On the Google Home app home screen, select the offline camera.
2. On the top-right, tap Settings.
3. Select Device information.
4. Tap Wi-Fi to manage the network that the camera is connected to.

On the Nest app:

1. On the Nest app home screen, tap Settings .
2. Select Home info Home Wi-Fi help.

Note: If Home Wi-Fi help doesn’t appear, remove the camera from the Nest app and add it back. 

1. Select the offline camera.
2. Tap Start.
3. Tap Update settings and follow the on-screen prompt.

I appreciate the input, @MplsCustomer and Zoe.

Regards,

Jenelyn

[MplsCustomer]

@Jenelyn_O 

The Nest service being down could explain why our cameras are inexplicably offline at times. However, Google Nest claims that the Nest service is almost never down. Per the Issue and Maintenance History (see screen shot below), the Nest service was last down in July 2023.

My own suspicion is that, when Google Nest servers have bandwidth issues on the server that prevent them from accessing our cameras or retrieving history for our cameras, they falsely report that our cameras are offline. We can usually access all of our cameras all the time, so I don't see any explanation for the occasional access problems.

Yesterday, for example, I tried retrieving history for our plugged-in battery camera from a week ago. The camera was online and could be live-streamed, but when I selected the day I wanted, there was a delay and then a message saying "Camera unavailable. Cannot reach this camera", even though it had just displayed video history from the day before. Shortly thereafter, video for the desired day displayed. I then noticed that the Google Home app was reporting that one of our 1st gen Google Nest Outdoor Cameras was offline. But when I asked one of our Nest Hubs to show that camera, it did so immediately, and then the camera showed as online in the Google Home app.

[RenzJ]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for sharing your experience and your insight, @MplsCustomer.

@mustang35thann, I'd like to jump in here and check if you've seen Jenelyn's response. In addition to that, you can check the Update Wi-Fi network and router settings for more information. Let me know if you have additional questions.

Thanks for the help here, Jenelyn.

Best,

Renz