Nest Doorbell (Battery) not charging when wired to a 24V transformer

[Rkulkarni93]

couldnt respond to this post that seems to call out the same issue so heres my situation:

I have the Nest Doorbell (battery), got it november 2021 when it came out and wired it up using my existing wiring (at the time i could get 20V from those wires). This has been working fine since then, no issues with battery life, the Google Home app always showed it as plugged in (infinity symbol in the circle). A few week ago the doorbell died, i thought it was a lose contact or something so it switched to battery, pull the camera off, charged via USB C, tested the wires to make sure it was still getting 20V (still was), and remounted it once fully charged. Checked the app and it still said "plugged in". A few days later, i go back to the app and now all of a sudden its showing a countdown of battery life (as if it wasnt plugged in), and the battery was under 30%. So again checked the voltage, on the wires still 20V, BUT this time i noticed that on my Nest Hub Max, when the doorbell would ring, it started displaying a little battery icon (as if it wasnt plugged in), never saw this before. So again i charged the doorbell via USB C, plugged it back in, now in the app, i see the infinity sign, but i still see the battery icon on the nest hub, and when i click into it, its showing the battery %, and over the next few days, i observe, the battery % (seen in the nest hub) is decreasing day by day, but the app shows "plugged in" with the infinity logo. I hadnt changed any zones, recording preferences, anything, but i thought, let me get a more powerful transformer, so i got a 24V one, plugged it in, verified im getting 24V at the line, still same behavior. Not sure if this is a bug but the bell is clearly charging (since i can boost it back with usb) but wanted to see if anyone had this issue - at this rate the plugged in only version seems more reliable

[MplsCustomer]

@Rkulkarni93 

What are the full specs of your transformer? There are numerous posts in this forum (including ours) where customers upgraded from a 16V 10VA transformer to a 16V 30 VA transformer so that their 1st or 2nd gen wired Google Nest doorbell would work properly.

I don't know if this applies to the battery doorbell, or if something else is going on with your doorbell.

[Rkulkarni93]

it’s 24v 40VA - again my old transformer was producing 20 volts and the bell never had an issue in 2 years

[MplsCustomer]

@Rkulkarni93 

I only mentioned the transformer because it has been an issue for many of us on both the old and new doorbells.

Judging from other posts, it does seem that the battery doorbell's battery sometimes fails after awhile. I hope that isn't the case with yours.

[EdmondB]

Hi there,

Thanks for the information, Can you check the wires connected on the back of the Nest Doorbell  if it has at least 16 V using a voltmeter? Here are the steps on how to use voltmeter.

1. Set the dial to 200 VAC. If the multimeter doesn’t have a 200 setting, choose 100 or 250 VAC.

2. Place the black lead and red lead on any of the 2  wires being tested from the transformer.

3. The normal readout should be somewhere between 20 and 30 V (24 V is most common).

I look forward to your response.

Best,
Edmond

[Rkulkarni93]

Hi yes if you see my original post I’ve tested the lines directly, both at the transformer and at the end of the line, had 20v before, now have 24v

[EdmondB]

Hey there,

Thanks for the information. Have you tried to do a factory reset on the Nest Doorbell Battery? Here is a link on how to restart or factory reset a Nest camera or doorbell. 

Let me know if you have additional questions.

Thanks,
Edmond

[Rkulkarni93]

I have not but can try and let you know thanks 

[EdmondB]

Hello there, 

Sounds like a plan. If you still have some questions, just let us know and we'll be happy to help.

Best,
Edmond

[Rkulkarni93]

Did a factory restore and fully charged it, getting ample voltage at the line, linking a pic of current battery page too - will monitor to see if there is a drain again

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OLsxVt20bf24W8T1q3NGTNlWMlOVo0c1/view?usp=drivesdk

[Rkulkarni93]

Been one night, phone app still shows “plugged in”‘with the infinity logo, but my hub max shows it’s already dropped to 99% - it wouldn’t be showing a battery symbol at all if it were treated as a plugged in camera (like my other 5 cameras)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1heBDZy89n8huRbu5i1719OeFd65wlWKw/view?usp=drivesdk

[EdmondB]

Hey there, 

Cool! The infinity symbol that the camera is showing on the Google Home App means that it is connected to a wire and powering it. Let us know if you still have the same issue with the battery draining faster, even if it is wired. 

Best,
Edmond

[Rkulkarni93]

Hi did you see my previous response, or even the first one? I literally said that it will always show the infinity symbol because it indeed is getting power but once the battery drains enough it changes to a time estimate, if you look at this Picture  you’ll see that the battery level is 73% but the home app still shows the infinity symbol. Your response concerns me that you never actually read my first post - this has been the behavior the whole time 

[EdmondB]

Hello there,

I'm sorry about that, I am referring to the device's behavior after the factory reset to see if it still has the same battery issue. Please fill out this form if you continue to experience the same problem with your Nest Doorbell so that we can investigate further.

Best,
Edmond

[Rkulkarni93]

Yes I have been experiencing the same behavior - you can see I commented that after the rest, the battery dropped to 99% (which means it was draining while plugged in), I’ll fill out the form

[EdmondB]

Hi there,

We got your form — thanks for filling it out. Our team will reach out to you via email anytime soon. 

Best,
Edmond

[Rkulkarni93]

Hi - still nothing from the team, just FYI, and battery is still draining while plugged in

[Lance_L]

Hello Rkulkarni93,

I’m sorry for the delayed response. I’ve sent a follow-up to the team working on your case. Hang tight; the team will let you know once we have more information to share.

Regards,

Lance

[EmersonB]

Hello everyone, 

@Rkulkarni93, I've seen that you have been assisted via email. I'll consider this post as complete and let's continue working on that channel so we can assist you further. Feel free to start a new topic anytime you need assistance with your Nest devices and the Community would gladly lend a hand.

Thanks for answering, Lance.
   
Best,
Emerson

[EdmondB]

Hello Rkulkarni93, 

I'd like to jump in here and check if you've seen MplsCustomer's response. Let us know if you need more help by replying to this thread.

Thanks for the help, @MplsCustomer.
 

Best,
Edmond