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Nest Hello 2nd Gen (wired) not ringing mechanical chime

patrickg
Community Member

My neighbour was looking to get a video doorbell, so I recommended the Nest Hello, as that's what I have, and it works great. I have the first generation, but he got the 2nd. We live in the same complex, and have the exact same hardware otherwise (ie. Nutone transformer, mechanical door chime). I installed it for him, but for some reason the door chime won't fire. The Nest powers up just fine, connects to wifi, etc, and I see the voltage being raised on the door chime itself when he pushes the button, but it doesn't trigger the sound. We've checked the settings in the nest to make sure it's set to a mechanical chime and that quiet mode is off.

Thinking it might be a problem with the door chime, he got a brand new one (exact same model), and we wired it up to test. Same issue. Raised voltage when pushing the button, but no sound.

Does the 2nd generation need more power by chance? The Google support articles show its requirements to be the same as the first generation wired, and the transformer puts out about 20v when I measure it. Is there a way to know how much power it's supposed to deliver to the chime?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

9 REPLIES 9

patrickg
Community Member

I just measured my own first generation, and the voltage on the chime jumps to about 12v when the doorbell is pressed. I'll have to double-check, but I think on my neighbours, the Nest only seems to deliver about half of that to his when pressing the doorbell.

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi there,

 

Sorry to hear you're experiencing this. I would love to look into this further for you. You need a transformer that’s rated for 16-24 V AC, 10-40 VA to provide enough power to your doorbell. For more information, check this article. Please let me know if you need further assistance. 

 

Best regards,

Brad

patrickg
Community Member

The voltage reading on the transformer is just north of 20V. Does the second generation doorbell use significantly more power than the first generation? LIke I said, my neighbour and I have the exact same transformer, and the only difference between our setups is that I have the first generation Nest Hello, and he has the second.

It seems like the chime puck is the source of issue for many people, so I guess the next step will be to try removing it to see if it makes a difference.

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

@patrickg

 

The Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen) must be connected to a transformer rated to 16 to 24V AC and at least 10 VA to receive enough power. 30 VA is recommended for homes that have high-impedance doorbell wiring due to long wire runs or thin doorbell wiring.

 

You may need to upgrade or replace your current transformer. You also need to replace your current Nest chime connector with the new one that comes with the Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen). For more information, check this article.

 

Best regards,

Brad

patrickg
Community Member

To be clear, I'm using my own installation of a first generation Nest Doorbell to compare to my neighbour's who has the second generation. The wiring is identical (same floorplan townhouse), same transformer. The 2nd generation chime connector is what's installed.

There seems to be no acknowledgement from Google/Nest about faulty chime connectors with the 2nd generation doorbell, but there is a lot of discussion about it. Asking again: does the 2nd generation doorbell have higher power requirements than the 1st generation? Because my 1st generation setup works perfectly, but the 2nd generation in an identical townhouse with the same transformer is not.

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

@patrickg

 

The information shared is some of the only information regarding the Nest Doorbell 2nd Gen (wired) and it's Chime Puck. If you wish to look into this further, please fill out this form, and a higher tier of support will reach out to you with next steps.

 

Best regards,

Brad

patrickg
Community Member

Okay. You haven't answered the question about whether or not the 2nd generation doorbell uses more power than the 1st generation, but I know the transformer power requirements are listed as the same on Google's support page. So I guess this is likely a problem with the chime connector that many people have reported that continues to have no official acknowledgement about. I'll use that form and hope they can send a replacement.

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there,

 

In an attempt to keep content in these forums fresh, we'll be locking and closing this thread. If you still need assistance with this issue, feel free to start a new thread. Thank you for your understanding.

 

Best regards,
Brad