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Nestcam battery - "extreme" temperature

Elvenavatar
Community Member

I purchased a new nestcam outdoor/battery.

I am sad to report that I have never been so disappointed by a Google product ever. This device is installed outside and it's completely useless to me.

 

To start: I live in northern Canada. For the past week, the camera is reporting that "the device is offline due to extreme cold". Specs state -20°C to 40°C (-4°F to 104°F) - usually these specifications can vary a little and devices can run down to -30-35 before issues arise. No warning of this is given in specs. This product can't work reliably in most of Canada. - period. It escapes me why Google would have the camera proactively shutdown when it gets cold, even while running on external power. 

Second: totally different app - no browser access at all. And there's no way to delegate access to a single camera. I have to give everyone access to all the devices in the "home".  

I have several nestcam IQ - and nestcam outdoor, these are amazing, work great and are highly recommended. 

 

 

 

13 REPLIES 13

joshepea
Community Member

I think the morale to this story is don't get bought by Google. 

MplsCustomer
Bronze
Bronze

@Elvenavatar 

We have had one of the new Google Nest Battery Cameras since September. Our is plugged in with the optional power cable (because we wanted 24/7 streaming) and is mounted under a camera shade. We live in Minnesota, where the temperatures this fall have been relatively mild, with a couple of spells down to 3 degrees Fahrenheit (-16.1 celsius); it's in the teens today. If we unplug the camera to check the battery percentage, it's at 100%.  Like you, we're hoping and expecting that it performs like our previous outdoor wired Google Nest cameras and doorbells, which--with the same stated operating temperature specs as the new battery camera--have functioned just fine through the last two Minnesota winters, with temperatures down to -20 degrees Fahrenheit (-29.8 celsius). We'll see.

(Like you, we're not happy that the new cameras and doorbells only work with the Google Home app.)

There's a very long thread with customer reports on the Google Nest Battery Doorbell that also includes a few comments on the Google Nest Battery Camera here: https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Cold-weather-concerns-with-Nest-Doorbel...

Gravymaker
Community Member

Same issue here in Winnipeg, MB.    Temperatures have been sitting around -15c to -20c overnight the past week and two of my Google Nest battery cameras are offline.  one with the warning of "extreme temperature."  total garbage - I wish I hadn't invested in this ecosystem that doesn't even integrate with the existing nest app or platform.    probably time to sell them and cut my losses.

@Brad 

This thread is for the Google Nest Camera Battery, NOT for the Google Nest Doorbell Battery. But if we had a Battery Doorbell, I would be astonished to be told we should turn off the indoor chime when the weather is within the doorbell's specified operating temperature, or being asked to do a factory reset due to cold weather when the doorbell is within specified operating temperatures.


With temperatures today ranging from 11 to 19 degrees Fahrenheit (-11.7 to -7 Celsius) our Google Nest Camera Battery stays at "Plugged In" when it is plugged in and at 100% battery charge when its power is turned off. This has been consistent all month with temperatures down to 3 degrees Fahrenheit (-16 Celsius). Our camera has a camera shade so it is somewhat sheltered from the weather. We have never received an "extreme temperature" warning with our plugged-in camera.

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hello there, @MplsCustomer 

Thank you for pointing out my mistake on my last post. That was meant for a different thread, I apologize. Thank you for your understanding, and I apologize I wrote the wrong response to this issue. Thank you for sharing your expertise with your fellow Community Members. 

Best regards,

Brad.

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi there,

 

Just checking in to see if you still need assistance with this issue.

 

Please let me know if you need further assistance. 

Best Regards,

Brad.

Sarahing
Community Member

Hi Brad

realistically the best case scenario for me would be returning this product. If it freezes, it doesn’t come back online till it’s less than -20C, sometimes -10. Where I live in Alberta, this item will be useless for many months of the year. 

Sarah

Same here, Sarah.  Completely useless in Manitoba cottage country.   My experience is identical to yours - sometimes it comes back at -15c, sometimes not.   Usually at -10c its stable.   

I'll probably try to sell these to someone in a warmer climate and buy the old Nest Cameras, of which I have 3 operating flawlessly throughout our -40c overnight lows last week.

I tried to find the old style when I bought these and couldn’t. 

im legitimately going to try to find a used old style one. Those were amazing 

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey Folks.

 

At this time, I'll go ahead and lock this thread. If you're still experiencing problems, feel free to start a new thread and we'll be happy to help.

 

Best Regards,

Brad.

Sarahing
Community Member

Purchased the Nest Camera (battery) in October and it’s been running since. Until we had -20. 
turns out it doesn’t even come back on when the temperature gets better again. It just continues reading ‘extreme temperature’. 

I’ve been a neat person for many years and have fully outfitted 4 houses with a variety of products. I hated that this one needed Google home. And after this crap with the weather I will never be buying nest again. 

@Sarahing 

Is that -20 Fahrenheit or Celsius? If it's Celsius, then that's the low edge of the camera's operating temperature, which is the same as the previous Google Nest Outdoor Cameras and Doorbells (wired), which have worked fine here in the last two Minnesota winters with temperatures down to -20 degrees Fahrenheit.  (I'm one customer who thinks that, with the same operating temperature range, these new cameras should function the same as the previous cameras.)

So far (knock on wood) our Google Nest Camera Battery, which is plugged in with the optional cable, has been doing fine with temperatures as low as 3 degrees Fahrenheit (-16 Celsius).

-20 c. 
I’ve had 2 prior wired cameras and they never once failed 

It’s now -16 c here and the camera still hasn’t woken up