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Nest Security Camera - Presence Sensing Not Working

bsshung
Community Member

The presence sensing function worked quite well since December 2021. However, I noticed that about a week ago (i.e. April 8), my nest camera did not switch on when I left home. I also noticed that my Google Home app did not change to Away when I left home. I already tried deleting and adding the camera to my home, reinstalling Google Home, turning presence sensing on and off, etc, but nothing helped to resolve the issue. 

I changed the "main phone" from my mobile to my tablet, and it did not solve the issue either. 

Right now, I have to manually switch between Home and Away. 

What other settings should I check? 

26 REPLIES 26

Krutsch
Community Member

Just a thought... if you have a Nest thermostat, try disabling the Activity Sensor. For my home and setup, my wife and I have our phones setup for Presence Sensing, but I started noticing that our home was always set to Home and not Away. When we disabled the Nest Thermostat Activity Sensor (in the Google Home App under Settings / Presence sensing), then everything worked as expected.

bsshung
Community Member

Thanks for your suggestion. Unfortunately, I also tried that and my issue still has not been resolved. 

kristofarnaldo
Community Member

I also have this problem. I have only just bought the 2nd generation nest camera.

Interesting. FYI, I spent an hour with two Google tech agents online explaining this issue, and it is still not resolved. They kept thinking it is not the Google Home app that is not working, despite me explaining all possible troubleshooting I have done on my part. 

 

I suggest if you can also submit your review for Google Home app in Google Play, perhaps the developer team may recognize it is indeed a software issue that needs to be fixed. 

 

In the meantime, if I hear anything from Google, I will update it here. 

How did you manage to communicate with a human in the first place? The support email address given on Play for the Home app replies to say it's no longer monitored.

I left a bad review on Google Play for the Google Home app, and a developer left a note suggesting I take a few steps to resolve the issue (which obviously did not work). The developer also left a link for me to connect with tech support. Once I got through that link, I had the open to have a phone conversation or live chat. 

It has been 48 hours, however, I have yet to hear back from their senior support. 

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi there, 

 

I apologize for my late response and thank you for all of your patience while waiting for a reply. I definitely understand how frustrating your situation must be, and I wanted to make sure that your concern was acknowledged. Do you still need help with this issue? I know that there's been a delay in response since you posted.

 

Best Regards, 

Brad.

bsshung
Community Member

Yes. The issue still has not been resolved. 

russr1123
Community Member

I have the same issue.  The Google Home App with one of it's recent updates appears to have broken this feature.  It no longer detects when you're home and when you're not using your phone's location and therefore does not automatically update to the Home or Away routine based on your location.  Very frustrating as I have to manually open the app and switch it.

Do summit a report to Google Support, because one of the tech support personnels said they have not received any report other than mine. 😞

I posted a 2 star review for the app complaining about the broken feature.  Is there a link to something else where I can submit an issue?

I suppose someone from Google Home app will get to your review and will share a few suggestions and weblink with you. 

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey folks.

 

Have you tried to Restart or Factory Reset your Cams? If so, have you seen any changes? Looking to determine if this is a bug.

 

Best regards,

Brad.

bsshung
Community Member

I tried restarting and reinstalling my camera several times already. The presence sensing function is still not working. 

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey folks,

 

Restarting and factory resetting your Google Nest camera or doorbell will have different results. You can read about them in the articles below:

 

Restart: Keeps all your settings, and it should reconnect to the same Wi-Fi network. This is helpful if it ever becomes frozen, has trouble reconnecting to the internet, or isn't working normally.

 

Factory reset: Erases all your settings and options, and restores its factory default settings. It will not automatically reconnect to Wi-Fi and you'll need to set it up again.

 

You can find this information, plus additional information on this process here. Please let me know if you have further questions.

Best Regards,

Brad.

bsshung
Community Member

Hi Brad, 

 

I tried the two options you mentioned multiple times over the last few weeks and presence sensing is still NOT working. 

I even reinstalled all of my Google home devices, changed the name of my home, checked my home address, etc. Presence sensing is NOT triggering. As noted by many other users who submitted their reviews on Google Play, the cause of the issue is likely due to be the most recent update of the app itself. 

 

It appears that Google is not acknowledging it to be a software issue on your side, but keeps suggesting the user to restart and reinstall hardware.  

 

I sincerely invite you to take a look at the review on Google Play on Google Home app, and you will find out what users are saying. 

MegaJorg
Community Member

Hi bsshung,

Any updates from your side?
I re-installed everything yesterday, still no change.
I have also noticed that when you tell the assistant to start the routine "away" then it is acknowledged but it does not start.

MegaJorg
Community Member

Hej Brad, 

 

Thank you for amswering, but I have tried both options. But as bsshung says it is most likely is a software error in the app itself.

Or atleast I hope so

 

/Jörgen 

Hi Brad, I uninstalled and reinstalled the Home app and now I get "Internal error occurred" when I agree to the Supplemental Nest terms.  Therefore I can't access my Nest Cam through my phone at all any more. I was able to accept these terms before.  Do you have any ideas about what to do here? Thanks.

Hello Brad, I have had another go.  I did a factory reset using the button the camera, restarted my WiFi hub and reinstalled the Home app, but now when I add a device and scan the QR code, the message after trying to connect the camera is that I should move closer to the Nest Cam.  Well, I can't move any closer because I put the camera (connected to power for avoidance of doubt) and phone 3 inches away from the WiFi hub.  So I think the time has come to stop wasting time on trying to set this up.  Can you recommend an alternative product please?  Thank you.

I don't know how to restart or factory reset my 2nd gen Nest Cam.  Is there a button?  I can't find any options for that in the Home App.  Thanks for your help.

I have just added my one star review.

I got a reply and it included a link to support.  I opened a chat with an assistant.  The first half an hour was them very slowly taking me through the steps to set up the camera, which when I pointed out it was already set up, they got confused and made me go back the start and do this again!  Then the next half an hour was them telling me they are replicating my issue with someone more senior and I had to wait.  Finally I was told that I would get an email if they could figure out what the problem was.  The support assistant seemed to be absent for periods of 5 minutes at a time, e.g. after saying that we were done, which I assume was because she was hoping I would hang up and thus not fill in the satisfaction survey.  Eventually she gave up and closed the chat and I filled in the survey, giving the lowest rating possible.  I plan to return the camera.

MegaJorg
Community Member

I too have the same issue, and it started at the same date as yours.
The Google Home does not want to acknowledge that you are leaving or coming home.

It is really frustrating, and the two cameras and doorbell was just purchased...

I have tried reinstalling the cameras, the Google Home app, I have placed Google Home, Assistant and Maps in "always on mode" on my phone - but still no change.

Regards from Sweden

I have the same problem.  Has anyone at Google an idea or are they working on a solution?

 

Who knows? I spent a long time on a web chat with "Divine" a week ago, who basically had no idea but kept stringing the conversation out anyway. The follow-up to that was being sent some links to general troubleshooting and then the ticket being closed. My main problem now is trying to get DPD to pick up the return parcel. I've never known such an abysmal after-sales service.