Nest cameras--one suddenly in color, the other suddenly more grainy

[davidmeiland]

I have two Nest cameras that are about 4 months old. I believe they are the "Nest Cam (Battery)" product.  They are installed with long cables connected to USB power. They are outdoors in Portland OR. 

When I first got these they displayed black and white regardless of time or day or night. Yesterday I noticed that one of them was suddenly displaying in color (regardless of app/browser) and was significantly pixellated although working. Today I checked again and the other one is in color with excellent resolution, and the first one has reverted to B/W and the contrast seems reduced.

It has been fairly cold here, down to about 13F a few days ago and now around 18F. That's the only thing I can think of as a cause. Any ideas?

[MplsCustomer]

@davidmeiland 

Under Settings | Video for your battery cameras in the Google Home app, is "Night vision" set to "Auto (default)"? We've had a battery camera since Sept. 2021, plugged in with the optional 10-meter power cable, and that's been our setting since we got the camera, and we get color video during the day and black and white at night. This is true during Minnesota winters with temperatures as cold as -20 degrees Fahrenheit.

[davidmeiland]

That is the setting for both of my cameras. I've never changed any setting on these aside from giving them names. They've been black and white regardless of whether it's day or night... until today... and now they are both color and the one that was low-res is now fine.

[MplsCustomer]

@davidmeiland 

I just remembered that when we first got our battery camera, we had to turn the "Night vision" setting off and then back on again to get it to work correctly.

I hope yours continue to work.

[EmersonB]

Hello everyone,

@davidmeiland, thanks for reaching out here in the Community. How's it going? Is it still working fine now? You may try restarting it for better calibration.

To restart:

1. Plug your Nest Camera into a power source.
2. Locate the reset button on the back of it.
   
   
   
   Tip: The reset button on the Nest Cam (battery) is located on the back of it.
3. Press and hold for 5 seconds.
4. Your Nest Camera will restart, and the status light will be steady, solid white.

To learn more about reset and restart, you may visit our public article about “Restart or factory reset Nest camera or doorbell”.

I appreciate the help, MplsCustomer.

Regards,

Emerson