Outdoor cameras stay on and do not idle.

[Rojadre]

We have 2 outdoor nest cams that until a couple days ago we would be able to leave the cameras on and they would idle until it detected motion. You could click live feed to see live video and once you closed the app it would idle again.

Now, it appears that both outdoor cameras, on battery, stay always on streaming live and do not idle. I have not changed any settings, the android home app had a major update but I don't see any settings either to change that status. How do I get the outdoor cameras to idle?

[MplsCustomer]

@Rojadre 

That's interesting!

We've had a battery camera for almost 22 months, plugged in with the optional power cable. If we unplugged it, it's always been in "Idle" mode when we accessed it in the Google Home app. I just tried unplugging it now, and the camera NOW shows as "Live" in the Google Home app.  It's never done that before!

Perhaps--this is just a guess--the new Google Home app update has changed things so the camera, when running on battery power, automatically switches to a "Live" view when it is accessed in the Google Home app. That's just a guess, but it would make sense from a usability perspective. But having it run "Live" all the time when on battery power would quickly deplete the battery.

[Rojadre]

I think we figured it out with some experimentation and it has to do with the updated home app. Went outside and watched the lights on the camera and apparently it is going idle. The app looks like it automatically initiates a live stream as soon as it opens instead of having you press the button that used to be there. Without knowing their was a change it appeared that the cameras never went idle but the indicator lights on the camera say they are.

[Anonymous]

Yep i thought the same. Apparently its only when viewing through the camera window or icon or whatever its called. A complete waste of data and energy in my opinion. That would equate to millions of gigabytes of data and thousands upon thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gasses when calculated as each user has that activated now. No idea why google would implement such a thing. Its a complete pain i have to remember not to view in that window and to only use the "devices view" only. 

I cant use my cameras to view recorded events the app just stops working when i try its been like this for over 5 weeks now. My cameras are completely unusable to view events.

[EmersonB]

Hi everyone,

@Rojadre, thanks for reaching out here in the Community and for sharing here the steps you've done about your concern. Let us know if you have more questions or queries.

We appreciate your posting here, MplsCustomer and Fraa.

Regards,

Emerson

[Jenelyn_O]

Hi folks,

I wanted to follow up if you still need help. Please let me know if you’re still having any concerns or questions from here, as I would be happy to take a closer look and assist you further.

I appreciate your help, @MplsCustomer, @Anonymous, and Emerson.

Best,

Jenelyn

[EmersonB]

Hello Rojadre,

Just one final check in here since activity has slowed down. We'll be locking the thread in the next 24 hours, but if you still need help, we would be happy to keep it open. If there's more we can do, just let us know.

Thanks for answering, Jenelyn.

Regards,
Emerson