Outdoor camera

[MJ918]

I have 5 outdoor cameras and I just installed a new one on my porch and it is not detecting people. I can walk up to my front door and the camera does not register anything. I have power cycled the camera, created activity zones, and turned up the sensitivity. This is very frustrating.

[MplsCustomer]

@MJ918

Is your new camera by an chance a Google Nest Camera (Battery) running on battery power? We've had one for 14 months, plugged in with the optional power cable and it detects events as well as our older wired Google Nest cameras. (It's also recording 24/7 with a Nest Aware Plus subscription.) But if we unplug it and talk directly in front of the camera, it does not detect and record the event.

[MJ918]

Hi, all of mine are battery, but they are plugged into power 24/7. All of mine are working correctly except my new one.

[MplsCustomer]

@MJ918

If you go to Settings | Battery for your camera in the Google Home app, it should show as "Plugged in" with an infinity symbol.

You could double-check is whether you have configured any "People" events to be recorded, as in the example below where "People" events are being recorded (but no notifications sent). We have a Nest Aware Plus subscription, so in the example below "People" events show up in our event history and are flagged as "People" events in our 24/7 history.

I suppose you could also try turning on recording for "Motion" events to test whether your camera is detecting "Motion" but not "People".

If you have event recording turned on for "People" and your camera is not detecting anything, perhaps you need to contact Support (https://support.google.com/googlenest/gethelp) about whether that one camera is defective.

[MJ918]

I appreciate all your suggestions. This is my fifth camera on my property and I also pay for nest aware. I have done all of these things this morning. I did a hard reset and removed the device. I added it again so if it does not start working, I will just return the camera.

[MJ918]

I started chatting with customer service and the individual was very aloof and did not seem interested in helping me. Any ideas on how to provide feedback on those chats?

[MplsCustomer]

@MJ918

I've seen customer post all sorts of feedback in this forum about their interactions with customer service/support, including copies of chat sessions. Occasionally a Google Nest Community Specialist asks for specifics, but other than that I don't know if anyone at Google Nest heeds the feedback.

[MJ918]

Thank you. I’m just guessing I have a bad camera. There is an option in the settings to provide feedback and it does a screenshot, but every time I do that the screenshot is black and not of the paused video that I’m trying to get. I’m wanting to show that there is a person on my front porch, but the camera does not acknowledge it. Nothing seems to work.

[MplsCustomer]

@MJ918

I hope you're able to replace the camera (or that Support can tell you how to make it work). Do you have good Wi-Fi signal strength at that camera's location? You could try temporarily putting it in a different location to make sure it's not the Wi-Fi signal strength that's the problem. If you have a Nest Aware Plus subscription, are the unrecognized events still recorded?

[MJ918]

I do have a good signal, it’s right outside the door where the router is and 2 other cameras that cover the yard. I messed with the angle and it seems to be catching me now when I leave and come home. Here’s to hoping it all works out. Thank you for your suggestions.

[janthadeus]

Hi folks,

I’m sorry for the trouble here. Thanks for keeping us in the loop. Glad to hear that changing the angle of your camera made progress. Let’s observe it for now. Keep us posted.

I appreciate your help, MplsCustomer.

Thanks,

JT

[janthadeus]

Hey MJ918,

I just wanted to follow up to see if you still need our help. Please let us know as we would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Regards,

JT

[aatienza]

Hey there,

Just checking in to make sure that you've seen our responses. Please let me know if you have other questions or concerns as I will be locking this in 24 hours if I won't hear back from you again. Feel free to start a new thread and we'll be happy to help.

I appreciate the help, JT.

Thanks,
Archie