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Rapid battery drain on nest doorbell (battery) despite being hardwired

knoxhammer
Community Member

Installed the battery doorbell two weeks ago, connecting to existing wired doorbell system.  Technician said existing transformer may not be strong enough to keep it charged, so install a 24V transformer.  (The Google Home app showed it was plugged in, so thought i'd try it and hope for the best, mainly, because i have an old house and can't find the transformer which i think is inside the wall).  Despite being hard wired, it took less than 72 hours to fully drain.  Yanked the device off the wall, charged it again, same thing happened....fully drained within 72 hours.

Decided to buy standalone 24V plug in transformer and get power directly from electric outlet just inside front door.  Install that, Google Home app tells me device is plugged.  Now 24 hours later, battery is down to 75% charge.

The doorbell camera points at a busy street, with lots of passersby, so it gets triggered a lot.  It's also been cold recently, with nights dipping into 30s and 40s.  

If the system is hardwired, why is it draining?  I was under impression that would keep the battery topped up, and battery would only be necessary if power went out.

So far, very unimpressed with the technology.  Do i need a replacement?  or do i need to try a wired model?

 

7 REPLIES 7

MplsCustomer
Bronze
Bronze

@knoxhammer 

About 10 days ago, Google Nest Support finally disclosed that its new battery cameras and doorbells cannot charge at all at temperatures below freezing: https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/11830989?hl=en

They also disclosed that the battery doorbell ALWAYS runs on battery power even when it is wired, and the battery is trickle-charged at a level low enough to avoid triggering your doorbell chime. As a result, even at temperatures above freezing, it can be challenging to keep the battery doorbell charged, especially if it is detecting frequent events. See this thread: https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Nest-Doorbell-Battery-draining-while-ha....

So does that mean you essentially can't hardwire the doorbell? I'm having the same problem. The doorbell battery drains MORE now that it's hardwired.

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi there.

 

I am sorry to hear that you are having trouble with the colder weather and your device! Here is a help article that will explain things better. 

 

Best regards,

Brad.

knoxhammer
Community Member

I ended up giving up on the battery version, and bought the hardwired version.  Problems all went away immediately.  Horrible, horrible design on the battery version.  In the 6 weeks that i had it installed, i had to disconnect and recharge it every 2-3 days.  What were the designers possibly thinking, that this is acceptable?

I wish there was some way to get a refund. The design is terrible. Are you happy with the wired version though?

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi there,

 

This issue should become less and less of an issue if you are living in a colder area, you may still experience this issue but with weather warming up around the country, you should see this issue less and less. Please look over the link I posted above if you have questions. 

 

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.

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.