Nest Outdoor IQ Cam - Blue Ring disappears a couple seconds after plugging the camera in

[thood1234]

Hello,

I'm having a problem with my Nest Outdoor IQ Cam.

It seems to have the same symptoms as the person reported in community thread "Nest Indoor IQ Cam - Blue Ring then Turns Off?"

I've been using it fine since 2018.  It was unplugged for an extended period of time due to a home remodel.  Now when I plug it in (different outlet that originally plugged in), the blue ring lights up, but then fades away a couple seconds later never to return until I power cycle it again.

I've tried a different outlet.  Same symptoms.

I cannot factory reset it.  I think the blue light is turning off too fast.  I've held the paper clip in the reset button on the front of the camera below the nest logo for at least 30 seconds immediately after plugging it in.

I've removed the camera from the android app on my phone, nest app.

The power cord is brand new as it's from a new nest outdoor IQ cam I haven't installed yet which was bought in a 2 pack in 2020.  The original power cord from the 2018 camera is run through my attic, but I cannot use it right now as the outlet it's plugged into will require an electrician to fix.  That outlet no longer has power.

Please help.

Thank you,

-- Tom

[MplsCustomer]

@thood1234 

Have you tried just attempting to re-install it in the Google Nest app, in case the extended outage ended up resetting everything in the camera?

[thood1234]

Yes.  I tried unsuccessfully re-installing the camera with the nest app, but when my android phone attempts to connect to the camera, it times out with error NC023.  However, the camera doesn't appear to be on at all.  There is no blue ring or status light.  No light at all.  The blue ring just appear briefly when I plug in the camera.

[thood1234]

I just now tried a different camera (one of the ones I bought in 2020, but never installed).  I unplugged the camera with the problem, plugged in the new one to the same cable, and it stayed on.  I successfully added it to my nest app.  So the power cord is fine.  The problem symptoms occur with my 2018 camera.  Both cameras are the same type (i.e. nest outdoor IQ).

[MplsCustomer]

@thood1234 

That doesn't sound very promising for the camera that's failing. I don't know what else to suggest.

[thood1234]

@MplsCustomeryes, I'm not feeling very optimistic about it at the moment.   I saw in another thread you thought there might be an out of date firmware issue for cameras that have been turned off for a long time.  I think I probably shut the camera down 8/2022 and it's been off until 2024.  I'm wondering if the camera skipped a few updates and now it's a brick.  Given that the blue light turns on briefly, it seems like it's not completely dead.  Sigh.  Well, if you or anyone else has an idea, please let me know.  Thanks for trying to help.

[MplsCustomer]

@thood1234 

That is a long time for the camera to be off.  You could try leaving it plugged in for a few days just to see if it picks up any firmware updates, or somehow resurrects itself, but that's probably a long shot.

[thood1234]

@MplsCustomerIt's a good idea and can't hurt.  I'll give it a try.  If it comes back to life, I'll let you know.  Thanks.

[EmptyNester · Accepted solution]

In the lasts 8 years or so I have had (2) IQ cams fail.  I just cut my losses and bought used ones from Ebay and all is good with them.   You can spend hours just wasting time trying to fix a camera that isn't fixable. This might just be the least pain for you as a solution.   Also, in one case I realized the area I was viewing didn't really need the IQ camera.  So I saved money and replaced it with a regular Gen1 Outdoor camera.

[thood1234]

@EmptyNesterYep.  I've come to the same conclusion.   Frustrating, but not worth wasting anymore time on.  The ebay route might be the way to go, but in my case, I still have 3 new outdoor IQ cams bought in 2020 that have never been plugged in.  As long as the new ones work, I think that's probably all I need.