cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Replies are disabled for this topic. Start a new one or visit our Help Center.

Nest Hello Doorbell cuts out when button is pressed

DarkGhost18
Community Member

I've had my Nest Hello Doorbell since 2018, it worked perfectly and without issue until recently. Now everytime someone presses the button, it cuts out mid ring in the device, and loses power. The camera stops working until maybe 30 seconds later. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to resolve this issue?

1 Recommended Answer

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey folks, 


Sorry for the confusion that the earlier actions caused - We noticed that this is still affecting some users and there are more recent discussions happening. You can join that thread here. In the meantime, all future updates will be on the more recent post. We’ll be closing this thread to keep the discussion fresh - however, there may still be some workarounds provided by users in the comments there. 

 

Best regards,
Brad

View Recommended Answer in original post

1,027 REPLIES 1,027

TomS
Community Member

Congrats on getting a replacement unit even if it is a refurb. To refurb it, all they had to do is replace the battery that we all know about, and Google knows about it too. Did you have to send the failed units back?  Sending back stuff takes a lot of time from our busy days too. They owe all of us a replacement unit. I bought a new one because I needed it. I made the old one into a baby monitor, an expensive baby monitor. 

foxx0168
Community Member

I did send the broken cameras back on RMA. Google provided the shipping labels.

carlk
Community Member

Thanks for the info. You got more than I did. I spent a lot of time on the support chat that ended in bad battery... Buy a new doorbell.

Our doorbell gets no direct sunlight, installed in 2018, and is also flaking/chipping around the bezel.

GandhiFlipFlop
Community Member

Same thing here, crackling / chipping around the button. It get sunlight for about half of the day and it was installed in July 2019.

Toddow21
Community Member

Same exact issue, same exact timing. Coincidence? I think not... Going to try the replacement battery. If that doesn't work I am moving to a different product. No way I would buy another Nest product after this experience. Also have the plastic cracking issue and makes it look like garbage. 

frustrated_jake
Community Member

Wow - wanted to add to the thread here with a very similar experience with a wired Nest Doorbell (2018). Green status light is steady but no power in the unit and shows as offline. I have missed many crucial deliveries due to this already! earlier it would chime for a half-sec and then power-cycle but now its completely offline.

I don't see the chime theme option anymore - maybe its been removed by the system (software version is still 4110054). So I am not sure how to test this out...

Has replacing the battery helped anyone? I can try that if Google is being completely apathetic about this as usual.

Hopefully, considering the number of complaints here, a more formal complaint and action can be taken - since a non-serviceable battery replacement should not be the reason for throwing away the entire unit!

Thanks for all the advice!

 

TomS
Community Member

I use the NextDoor app in two cities, Indianapolis and Phoenix. I just posted this and suggest you do it as well. :

 

Do not buy the Google Nest Doorbell Security Camera. I have had mine for two years and it failed. Hundreds of others are having the same issue and are actively in dialogue on the Google Nest User Community Forum. The problem is an internal battery that has failed. Google knows this, and will not replace any of devices due to their one year warrantee. This is a design failure. When someone presses the doorbell, nothing rings, and camera reboots itself. You are not made aware that someone is at your door. You cannot see or speak to the person at your door, which is the purpose for the device!

Flurbeman
Community Member

Wow such a long thread. Recently new owner of nest hello wired doorbell in uk. Worked fine for 24hours now dead. I’ve removed it from my account as I thought it needed setting up again. Now if I plug doorbell into power, the blue ring lights up for few seconds then  there’s a momentary flash of the  green light and all power dies.After 30  seconds it reboots and does the same thing.  I don’t need to press the button for this cycle to happen. 

Replaced transformer and cabling still happens. Am waiting for new unit from nest. 

After 2 year warranty is over they will tell you to go buy a new one. They have very poor customer service. You would think with all these verified failures they would send all of us a new unit!

DMoss84
Community Member

My unit is wired and I'm having this issue.

PSJames
Community Member

I'm having the same issue here. It started 2 weeks ago. 

Zeddie
Community Member

After having 2 Ring Pros and replacing them with a Nest doorbell, the same issues keep happening after about 1-2 years of ownership.

I think its the same issue for both the Ring and Nest. Even though they are "wired" doorbells, they have an internal battery. When you use a physical chime, it shorts the 2 wires like a real doorbell switch to activate the chime. When it does that, it temporarily removes power to the Nest/Ring doorbell. This is where the internal battery helps keep the device alive during this short period.

When the internal battery is dead, it can't keep the device alive while it tries to ring the physical chime. It just dies for a second as power is resumed and it boots back up.

This is the flaw of these wired doorbells. For Ring, they have WIFI electronic chimes that works around this issue. With Nest, it looks like we need to rely on Google Homes and Google Hubs around the house as the "electronic chimes".

Of course, the Nest/Ring app on your phone and tablets will also act as chimes, as well as your Google TV if you have the Nest/Google Home app installed on it I guess...

I was hoping the Nest would solve the problem that Ring didn't. But it seems they both have the same issue. sigh... I guess I'll just have to live with it and work around it.

Rlind8
Community Member

Same issues on mine. Purchased Dec 7 2019. Issues started around 1-2 weeks ago.

yukoncornelius
Community Member

Even when the battery is dead, it supposedly works on electronic chime or whatever setting to just ring a google device like the google mini. Can anyone confirm?

 

I can't speak to "battery dead" but I know my is going out, I guess, and crashes with the chimes enabled. If I disable the chime, it works fine and is working via Google Assistant on our google speakers/hubs. 

I wonder, is there anyone on here in a warm climate with issues?  I wonder if the batteries were weakening and then when the cold got here, it zapped them.  Just seems odd that so many people have the same issue at the same time so either an update issue or the cold weather killed the weak batteries.

SuperAdam
Community Member

This is exactly what I have been telling people,it works fine when it's warm but once it gets cold it shuts off when someone rings the doorbell,the cold is what killed the battery.

I have found something that may assist in finding a fix. When I get a notification that someone is at my door, if I click through the notification, the camera is black. However, If I ignore the notification but go directly to the Nest app, the camera is live and works as it should. Hmmm….

It was 65° yesterday when I was on the chat with tech support and the unit reset every time I rang the doorbell.   THAT isn’t a heat/cold issue.  

It is though,the battery will eventually die but at the beginning it will work when it's warm and shuts off when cold,other people had it like me but eventually the battery stopped working all together so yours probably died and now it doesn't matter what the weather is like it will shut off when someone rings your doorbell. 

As long as you turn off the chime then it should work just fine,to get your speakers to announce when someone is at the door then turn on visitor announcement.

That is only a fix if you have Google speakers.  Our house is a 3-floor townhouse.  We rely on the electrical chime to notify us since the phones are sometimes set on DND.  

If Google’s solution is to disable half of the function of my doorbell then that’s not a solution. 

frustrated_jake
Community Member

My doorbell was giving issues last winter as well, but at that time (at that time it would have been 2.5 yrs old), it would restart and then come back up after a minute or two. Still useless since the inside chime won't work the first time, so guests would not be sure if it's working. This winter it started the same way, but 2 weeks ago, it just shut down.

 

I can confirm that on turning the chime off and then restarting the unit (press that hole with a pin for 10s without pressing anything else restarts it) has gotten it back online, but, as mentioned above, you do need a nest speaker connected to it to receive doorbell alerts. Not done Google, especially considering how many have been facing the same issue and no way to address it! 

RetXpres
Community Member

Google recommends to go buy a new one. They are closing their eyes to this design flaw. The support member actually hung up on me after pressing him for a new unit. 

Rlind8
Community Member

Currently on Chat with Google Nest Support. They basically act like they have no clue about this issue. They go through there 20 troubleshooting steps first to make sure there is no issue with "your" connection. Never once mention this have been an ongoing issue with thousands of people. 

carlk
Community Member

Make sure to provide them the link to this chat. That is what I did in the same session....that did nothing and resulted in "Go buy a new doorbell"....after over an hour of chatting.

Rlind8
Community Member

yep exactly that. They don't even discuss this issue at all, that's the tell tale sign in my mind that they truly know this is an issue and have been instructed to ignore and dismiss it for anyone that is out of warranty.

RetXpres
Community Member

Yes they will act like you are the first call. They except no responsibility. Very irresponsible on their part. They should give all of us a new improved door bell. I spent $250 for a door bell that lasted 2 years. It is time for them to get their act together and do the right thing for all of us. 

Rlind8
Community Member

If your doorbell is past 1 year warranty period, Google will do nothing and waste your time on chat with things that they know won't help. Then they will tell you to post feedback here. I still think it may be worth contact chat support, more people that can chat in and overwhelm them the better. Maybe they will finally address it if too many people are calling/chatting. 

Here is the link they give you at the end of the chat: Share feedback about Google Nest - Android - Google Nest Help

 

PSJames
Community Member

I contacted google support via chat and the following happened: 

1. The rep asked me to disconnect the doorbell, bring it inside and let it warm to room temperature. Then connect it to a computer via USB and let it 'charge' for 10 minutes. Then see if it works. 

2. It did work after all these steps. 

3. The guy answers: 

Perfect. So, it's isolate the issue is not with Nest Doorbell.
Aaron · 12:41 PM
 
Can you believe this? They clearly know the issue is the cold temperature + battery as otherwise the steps above don't make sense. And then they say that somehow proves that the issue is not with the doorbell? Surreal. 
 

carlk
Community Member

Well, at least they have recognized that it is battery issue but since they used the battery in their doorbell, then they need to recognize that it is their responsibility to address it.

carlk
Community Member

Let us know how long the "charge" lasts before it goes back to the same issue.

arjunmenon
Community Member

I cut the power on the breaker for about 10 mins, turned it back on, and still had the issue. It was showcasing some issues a month ago, but did not notice it till this week when it turns off when pressed. Mine is hardwired. It goes off 2-3 times a day i think, at least that's how many notices I seem to be getting that its offline. Quite disappointed after paying a bundle for this + all the other cameras to have a singular eco system Wondering if I should consider an alternative. Help us .... Google.

Spoke to customer support yesterday. Initially not so great an acknowledgement of the problem, then a pivot to check your voltage (of course I have to go buy a meter for that), then a dive into mystery logs they have access to and its hops around between ############v which has somehow been stable for 3 years. All in all, S.O.O.L on the warrant +moMoney after those initial large Nest Aware payments before the newer reasonable plans. The newer model seems to have a lower voltage requirement. .... Trying out the suggestion this morning from Tigdave to turn off the chime

Tgidave
Community Member

This issue started when Google took over nest. Disabling the chime in settings fixes the problem. I tried disconnecting the chime entirely but that cuts the camera off all together, that must have power going to it. So the simple fix is just turning off the time, should not have this issue this long without them fixing it

carlk
Community Member

I would suggest that folks on here forward this thread and comments about your experience with the device and google support to tech review outlets.  It could make a nice article on  how the Nest Hello device is failing and the lack of google support to address it.  The more publicity it gets may force google to actually address it.

TomS
Community Member
I sent this to the New York Times “On Tech” department. Google is scrubbing the email addresses. 

From:
Tom Schaefer <#########>
Date: January 14, 2022 at 11:11:59 AM MST
To: #########
Subject: On Tech Feedback

Google Nest Doorbell Security Cameras are failing for hundreds of people after about two years. The warrantee is one year. The evidence is clear that the issue is an internal backup battery fails, rendering the device useless for its primary purpose is seeing and Speaking to the person that has pressed the doorbell. The doorbell reboots when someone presses the button. It also does not ring the chimes inside the house. 
 
Here is a link to the active conversation that has been going on for a couple months. 
 
We would appreciate any help to cause Google Nest to acknowledge the design flaw and to rectify it. 
 
I personally bought a new one, and repurposed the old one as a very expensive baby monitor. 
 

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Nest-Hello-Doorbell-cuts-out-when-butto...

 


Regards,
Tom Schaefer
#########
Grammar and spelling errors are due to this iPad

BigThunder
Community Member

Just replaced the battery and the issue is fixed for me. Not ideal, but everything works as expected now.

Yes, please share details!  How hard was it to open up the unit etc?

I followed the steps here and also see my comments in that post for the replacement part I used: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Nest+Hello+Battery+Replacement/131729

You only need to follow Steps 1 - 3 and then you can swap the battery out. 

Mine began working again last week after failing since October. I did nothing. Been using it since 2018. While the battery thing may work,  I'm not 100% convinced there is not something else behind it. Dead batteries don't magically fix themselves. 

I have been testing it by pressing it multiple times over a long period and works just as expected. 

Don't know,  but it doesn't pass the smell test to me with Google. Something is up and they don't want to say.