Nest Doorbell wired 2nd gen - Choppy Audio

[gracklepod]

I found I had issues with my wired nest doorbell 2nd gen, similar to others who reported having choppy audio on the live feed, while going back to recorded events the audio was just fine.  My doorbell is connected to my mesh network where the closest pod is approx 6 feet away.  Wifi connection is in the 5GHz band.   Doing a speedtest with my cell phone, connected to the same pod at 5GHz I consistently show ~250MBPS up and down.  Without fail, the audio is choppy.  I can't hear what is being said at the doorbell, the person at the doorbell can't hear me as the voice communication is chopped and scattered at both ends.

I tried all the steps that the gurus on these forums recommended. restart the doorbell, restart the wifi, check your connections, try the Home app on a different phone  and so on.. nothing worked.  I wonder if any of those steps worked for anyone with this problem.

Switching my doorbell to connect to the 2.4GHz band on my mesh network solved the problem.  Once done, voice and video are smooth and stable.

Attention google engineering:  pretty good clue for y'all.  Please patch this and push out a fix wouldja?

[ByronP · Accepted solution]

Hi folks,

Thank you for posting. Sorry for the inconvenience that you're having with your Nest Doorbell 2nd gen (wired). Help's here.

Here are a few steps that you can try to fix the problem with the audio:

1. Verify that you are using the talk-and-listen feature correctly.
2. Check the Google Home app permissions:
   • For Android users: Go to the phone’s Settings Apps Google Home Permissions, and make sure Microphone is enabled.
   • For iOS users: Go to the device’s Settings, Google Home Permission, and make sure Microphone is enabled.
3. Test if the device’s microphone is working.
4. Check if Talk and Listen works on another mobile device.
5. Open the default voice recorder app or any other app that uses your device’s microphone and test the device’s microphone on the app.
6. Check if the device is connected to a Bluetooth device that may be serving as the microphone.

Make sure that the Nets Doorbell has been hopping between 2.4 and 5 GHz (it should work either).

If the issue persists, please let me know.

Regards,

Byron

[Masterleon]

Haha I Googled this last night after experiencing this same issue on my Nest Wifi Pro and didn't find anything. Just Googled it again after testing it today and here you are with the same issue and a solution. Thanks a lot! Hope Google fixes this soon. 

[gracklepod]

I had a ticket open with google on this problem and sent them an email with the solution I found.  It's pretty clear to me that the 5GHz connection dices up the audio path somehow on the nest2nd gen doorbell.  Hope they pass it onto engineering for a patch and push it out without breaking anything else. they should also add "connect to wifi 2.4 GHz band" in addition to their other solutions page https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9257101?hl=en

[1in1class]

Same issue with the nest doorbell audio. Will attach a link with ticket numbers, many are having same issue. It's a software issue.

Link:https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Nest-door-bell-sound-keeps-cutting-out/...

[odonnebj]

Having the same audio issues with it cutting in/out.  Switching to 2.4GHz did not work for me unfortunately 😞

[odonnebj]

Ditto.  I switched to 2.4GHz and even bought another router to set up as a mesh just to be sure it wasn't the WiFi signal.  No dice.  Spoke to Google support on the phone and they told me to buy another one to test whether or not my doorbell was bad.  I returned the old one, bought a new one, and guess what.... SAME CHOPPY AUDIO!  This has been so infuriating.

[ByronP · Accepted solution]

Hi folks,

Thank you for posting. Sorry for the inconvenience that you're having with your Nest Doorbell 2nd gen (wired). Help's here.

Here are a few steps that you can try to fix the problem with the audio:

1. Verify that you are using the talk-and-listen feature correctly.
2. Check the Google Home app permissions:
   • For Android users: Go to the phone’s Settings Apps Google Home Permissions, and make sure Microphone is enabled.
   • For iOS users: Go to the device’s Settings, Google Home Permission, and make sure Microphone is enabled.
3. Test if the device’s microphone is working.
4. Check if Talk and Listen works on another mobile device.
5. Open the default voice recorder app or any other app that uses your device’s microphone and test the device’s microphone on the app.
6. Check if the device is connected to a Bluetooth device that may be serving as the microphone.

Make sure that the Nets Doorbell has been hopping between 2.4 and 5 GHz (it should work either).

If the issue persists, please let me know.

Regards,

Byron

[1in1class]

Hi @ByronP 

These are the basic 101 steps we all tried. Most if not all have done this and still same issue. This is an software issue with the nest doorbell.

More people with same issue in the link below. 

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Nest-door-bell-sound-keeps-cutting-out/...

[Masterleon]

Can confirm, tried all of this to no avail. Still having the same issue with a Nest Wifi Pro sitting less than 10 feet away from the doorbell.

I've had this doorbell since November 2023 and didn't have this issue at first, it just randomly started about a week or two ago and has persisted since then. Nothing has changed in terms of my internet or doorbell setup.

[ByronP · Accepted solution]

Hi folks,

Thank you for posting. I'm sorry that the previous steps didn't work.

Please fill out this form, and a dedicated team will reach out to you via email for further assistance with your concern.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Byron

[1in1class]

This is the process we have done also. Even in the app feedback section they asked to fill out as well with video. Can you please escalate this up to the tech team.

[odonnebj]

I already have a case id:

6-4644000035289

Everyone has tried all of the so-called resolution steps.  I bought another device and even went as far as to get another router.  Nothing seems to fix the issue.  It's something on Google's end.  Not ours.

[ByronP]

Hi folks,

Thank you for your feedback. 

Sorry for the audio issue. I've shared this information with our team and they will further assist and notify you if any updates come up.

Regards,

Byron

[odonnebj]

I've tried two 2nd Gen Wired Doorbells without any luck with the Live Audio. It's extremely choppy and just goes in and out all the time.  Video is fine.  Everything uploads to the cloud just fine.  The Live Audio feature is just completely unusable.  I cannot communicate with anyone when they come to the door.  It's just useless, useless, useless.

Here are my system specs in case anyone has any advice.  Google Support didn't solve anything for me.  They recommended I purchase another device, which I did, and that device had the same exact issues.  Note, I've tried deleting, reseting, reinstalling, factory resetting every single device.  ZERO luck whatsoever.

Specs:

• Nest Doorbell 2nd Gen Wired
• Asus Zenwifi Pro xt12 Router
• Asus RT-AX3000 used as an AiMesh to "extend" WiFi
• Signal strength at full bars everywhere in my house with gigabit internet
• 2.4GHz and 5GHz options (tried both)
• Google Home App (iPhone 15 Pro w/ latest OS)
• Google Home Site (MBP M1 Max w/ latest OS)

[davidjmcc]

I am having the same issue with two wired Gen 2 doorbells at two different houses. It's not my network or ISP. I see it across every mobile device we have, including a Pixel 6 and Pixel 8. It's not our devices.

Audio on the live stream drops in and out while the recorded events sound fine.

The "talk and listen" feature is completely unusable. There is significant delays and it is not possible to converse with someone at the door.

I have also been through the standard hoops of resetting this and relocating that. No luck.

The issues seem to be worse during daytime and less prevalent overnight. Perhaps this is a server issue during peak time periods?

Can Google please get on this and provide a fix?

[ByronP]

Hi folks,

Thank you for posting. I really appreciate your patience with this and your effort.

There is a good article you can check to change the Nest Doorbell audio settings. You can try the steps to isolate the issue. If the problem isn't resolved, please do a factory reset of the doorbell to refresh the connections and add it again.

Regards,

Byron

[1in1class]

@davidjmcc

Many people are having same issue and been escalated. They need to fix this as for the 101 basics for a fix does not work. It's a software issue. Will give you and all here a link to where they got everyone's specs and have pushed it up to the tech team.

Here is the link: https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Nest-door-bell-sound-keeps-cutting-out/...

[ByronP]

Hi folks,

I really appreciate your patience on this. As I mentioned before, we are still working on the issue and investigating. I'll keep updating once more news comes in.

Regards,

Byron

[Ontario1]

I have been having this same problem for a while now and all the regular fixes did not correct it.

Finally today in the News, they have also reported this issue:

For example: 9to5Google has an article today entitled:

"Nest Doorbell (wired) bug causes audio to drop in and out constantly"

This is not a good situation and certainly having it out in the mainstream news like this is not good for the reputation of the company. Hopefully this will reinforce the requirement for Google Technical staff to resolve this rapidly. And really, members who post on the community here should be treated with respect by the moderators/specialists and not made to feel that they are being quickly dismissed with boilerplate generic responses.  There are some real and ongoing problems that need to be resolved with these products.

In this case -- It's not us. It's Google. 

[vpersad]

Based on this other related thread, a fix is being rolled out and few members have confirmed the issue has been solved. Not sure whether the fix requires a software update, or if it's just being rolled out on Google's end 🤷 I asked and awaiting confirmation, however mine still shows software version 1.71 even though the issue seems to be gone on my end as well.

[Ontario1]

Thanks for letting us know @vpersad . It seems that the audio on my doorbell is no longer cutting in/out during a live view session anymore either. (2nd Gen Google Nest Wired Doorbell also running software version 1.71.)
I checked it on the Google Home App (iPad version) and the home.google.com website. The issue seems to be resolved.

There is a little quirk, though, that I hope Google will look into as well. For the doorbell and for my older Nest wired cameras (but not my new 2nd Gen Google Nest Camera (wired)), I seem to have to hit the microphone icon for a talk-and-listen session before I can start hearing the audio when viewing/listening live (on the Google Home app or website).  I can then turn off the talk-and-listen session (microphone icon), and I can continue to hear live audio playing from the camera/doorbell. (On the Nest App, for the older cameras, it is not necessary for me to initiate a talk-and-listen session to be able to hear live audio from them when I select them for live viewing. This is how it should be for all the devices on all the apps/website.) A smaller issue, but something that we should ask Google's engineering/technical staff to look into.  That, and of course, making it so we can have a more noticeable notification on our phones (e.g. iPhones) when we are away from our homes and someone rings our doorbell.  
Thanks,

[Ontario1]

Some good news: Google Home website (home.google.com) has now been updated.

When the live view for a particular camera/doorbell is called up, there is now a little microphone icon on the bottom left of the screen (separate from the talk-and-listen icon in the bottom of the picture). This starts in the microphone off position (microphone with a stroke through it). Clicking it will turn on the microphone (and the icon changes to remove the stroke) during a live view session. This has addressed the "quirk" above in the website version. This issue (described immediately above) still exists on the Google Home App. Hopefully it will be updated next.  

Thanks to the Google Technical / Engineering staff for their continued work on this.

[gracklepod]

Just checked it on my Home app ( android - app ver. 3.15.1.4) - seems to be working much much better!  Yhank you Google team!