Nest Floodlight - constantly turning on for no reason

[Phobos]

Our nest floodlight has recently started to turned on for no reason. It is installed in the backyard and there are no cars or anything moving about. We've had it there for over a year or two and it occasionally had false notifications which were annoying but bearable but it recently turns on and then after it shuts off turns it turns on again 5 seconds later. It does this constantly now.

To troubleshoot I cleaned the lenses and motion sensor and made sure nothing was in the way. I also factory reset the camera and re-installed it. We are still having this issue. I even trying switching detection from People (which it always has been) to Motion just to see if it would make a difference. Same issue continues.

Not sure if the thing is broken or what I can do to fix? Any ideas?

Mark

[EmersonB]

Hello Phobos,

Thanks for reaching out here in the Community. To know more about this issue, I’d like to confirm, how was the reset done? Have you tried changing the position of the camera and floodlights to see if it makes a difference? Were there any changes to its field of view? 

Give these steps a try:

The light sensitivity settings change when your floodlight will turn on during the day if motion is detected. If you choose the Brighter setting, your floodlight can turn on earlier in the evening. If you choose Darkest, the floodlight will only turn on when it's very dark.

1. Open the Google Home app .
2. Tap and hold your device's tile.
3. Tap Settings  Daylight sensor
4. Select Daylight sensor and choose the light setting you want to use.

Regards,

Emerson

[Phobos]

thanks for the reply. I did a hard reset by pushing the button on the back of the camera as well as removing it from the google home app and reinstalling it.

I will play with the light sensitivity settings. But the problem is the thing will turn on at night...then shut off and turn on 5 seconds later stay on for a bit...then turn off and turn back on about 5 seconds later and repeat over and over. Current light setting is to Medium(default). I've just changed it to Darkest. I've also changed the time the floodlight will stay on from 30 seconds to 1 minute.

nothing at all changed with the field of view. The camera would have been moved to a slightly different viewing angle when I took it off and put it back on when I reset it.

I haven't really noticed if it's a problem during the day as I don't notice if the light has turned on from inside the house as it is bright out.

i just check the history of it for yesterday:

5:56 - Person - turned on for 2 min 2 secs...nothing there

6:14 - Person - on for 6 secs

6:16 - Person on for 6 secs

6:17 - Person on for 6 secs

6:18 Person on for 6 secs

6:19 - Person on for 6 secs

6:20 - Person on for 6 secs

6:20 - Person on for 6 secs

6:21 - Person on for 6 secs

6:22 - Person on for 6 secs

6:23 - Person on for 6 secs

6:24 Person on for 6 secs

6:24 Person on for 6 secs

6:25 Person on for 6 secs

6:26 Person on for 6 secs

The previous day had the same issues from 6:06pm to 6:36 turning on a total for 41 times for an average run time between 4 seconds to 6 seconds.

[EmersonB]

Hi Phobos,

Aside from changing the light sensitivity, you may set up an activity zone to make sure you only get notifications on the zone/s you set up and have an option to turn off notification outside the zone. Don't hesitate to post your update here after you monitor its behavior.

To learn more, you may visit our public article about “Set up and use Activity Zones”.

Best,

Emerson

[Phobos]

already have an activity zone set up from before. I also deleted it and set a new one. Did not fix issue.

same issue again tonight. Google home app shows it turning on at 6:18pm (Person) and running for 7 secs before turning off...turned back on at 6:20pm (Person) and ran for 6 secs before shutting off. This went on for 27 more times until 6:48pm each time running for 6 seconds before finally stopping.

[EmersonB]

Hey Phobos,

I appreciate the update. Try resetting it to the factory default and monitor its behavior. Just a reminder, after the reset all of your event history will be deleted.

To reset:

1. Locate the reset pinhole on the back of your Nest Doorbell.
Tip: The reset pin on your Nest Doorbell (battery) is located below the USB port on the back of the doorbell.

2. Insert and hold the pin (you can use an unfolded paperclip or a thumbtack):

• At 10 seconds, the status light will blink yellow four times, and you’ll hear a countdown tone.
• At 12 seconds, the status light will be steady, solid yellow while the doorbell starts the factory reset, and you’ll hear a confirmation tone.

3. Release the button. Your Nest Doorbell will restore to its factory settings.

4. After the factory reset, your Nest Doorbell will appear as “Offline” in the app until you remove it.

5. To remove it from the app, open the app, then tap Settings Remove device Confirm.

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,

Emerson

[Phobos]

I have already done that as I stated in my original post.

[Phobos]

I just scrolled back through the history for the last few weeks. This issue only seems to happen from usually at around 6:07pm until about 6:48pm give or take where it will come on and record for about 6 seconds and then shut off pretty much every minute or less. So it's only happening between 6pm and 7pm consistently and within that time limit will cycle 50ish times.