Transferring 1st Gen Hello Doorbell from Nest App to Google Home App

[marksuniverse]

I'm trying to move my wired Nest Hello Doorbell cam (1st gen) from the iOS Nest app to my new main iOS app, Google Home.  Each time I initiate the transfer the video of the doorbell goes off, a popup of "Transferring" message comes up, but then within 30 seconds the video comes back on, and a popup of "an error occurred, restart transfer" advising of the transfer failure.  I've tried this may times over the course of a couple of days and it always fails.  I chatted with Google Support and they have not found a solution.  I have the public preview feature turned on, and all my other Nest cameras transferred over to Google Home without issue. 

Any help would be appreciated.

[Knebby]

I have exact same issue, and can't transfer my nest Hello.

[EmptyNester]

How Frustrating.   I transferred my HELLO about 2 months ago and all went well.    

If you figure it out please return here and let us know what the problem was.   I'd love to know.

[matiasb]

I’m having the same issue. I tried to transfer today and it keeps failing. I was able to transfer all of my outdoor nest cams correctly though

[Chucky44]

same issue for me, I got a new 1st gen doorbell because of an issue with mine in the mail today and when I attempt to transfer it over to Google Home it keeps asking me to restart the transfer because it failed.

[Tquist]

Having the same issues too

[travuslemon]

Same here. 

[Tquist]

I also spent an hour on the phone with Google today with no solution. They opened a ticket to a senior analyst.   I will update if I hear an answer

[SongMom8]

Having the exact same problem. All of my other cameras transferred over just fine.

[Syntakk]

Same issue here. Transferred 4 cameras and the hub successfully, but the doorbell keeps failing. Called Google Support and they can't figure it out either. I'm currently waiting on a senior analyst to get back to me.

[Syntakk]

Update - their senior team member told me to just leave it in the Nest app. Absolutely ridiculous. 

Edit: oh, it gets even better! After letting them know I would rather not use two different apps, this was their reply:

"I do understand the concern, however rarely, software updates during the device migration process might cause Nest cameras to become unusable. Since the device migration process failed, it would be best to have the device stay on the Nest app. It is not guaranteed as well that it will work perfectly fine on the Google Home app once transferred. It might cause the device to be totally unusable."

So now it sounds like they are just making up excuses to not have to troubleshoot any further, because they don't know why it's failing. You should be ashamed of this type of support, Google.

[MplsCustomer]

@Syntakk 

The reply you received is shocking.

We have avoided "transferring" our 1st gen Google Nest Hello Doorbells, our 1st gen Google Nest Outdoor Cameras, and our 1st gen Google Nest Indoor Camera from the Google Nest app to the Google Home app because there are so many Nest app functions that are missing in the Google Home app. In addition, there are all the other reports in this forum of 1st gen cameras and doorbells going offline once they are transferred.

Our cameras and doorbells are going to remain in the Google Nest app, and we will continue using two apps as we have for over four years now.

[SongMom8]

Ridiculous. Why do I need an app just for one camera? It would be nice to get rid of a duplicate app and free up space.

I have had some issues with cameras not wanting to connect in Google Home. I hope I didn’t make a huge mistake by transferring everything over. Whoever is working over there needs to get on the ball and make this work.

[mdr2]

I 100% agree with MplsCustomer,  It is shocking but not surprising given the last 4+ years.   Google has never said it but I have been using this forum for years and my gut tells me that every engineer both Hardware and Software that was part of the original nest products has been gone for years.   Everything that comes out of Google now feels like a complete new design team that has never actually used the old products for more than a few minutes.   It is very sad.  

On the good side after waiting for years I am now 100% into the new GOOGLE HOME app and everything is working mostly okay and in some ways better than before.  I only have a few things left over from the NEST app that I miss but they are not deal breakers.   But the product still has a ways to go.

Good luck to us all as this product moves forward.

[Tquist]

here is the repose I received from the senior analyst:

"Step 1: Factory Reset Please perform a full factory reset on the specific device that is having trouble migrating. Once reset, attempt the setup process again.

Step 2: Delete the Old Home Structure If the factory reset does not resolve the issue, the next step is to delete the home structure previously associated with that device in the Google Home app.

Important Note Before Proceeding: If you have other functional devices currently associated with the home structure you need to delete, you must first move those active devices to a new home structure.

Once you have ensured any other active devices are moved to a different home, please follow these steps to delete the problematic structure:

1.          Open the Google Home app.
2.          If you have more than one home set up, tap Favorites.
3.          At the top of the screen, tap the down arrow next to the home name.
4.          Select the specific home you want to delete.
5.          Tap Settings (the gear icon).
6.          Scroll to the bottom and select Delete this home.
7.          Tap Delete home to confirm.

After completing these steps, please attempt to add the device to your new home structure.

Please let me know if these steps resolve the issue or if you require further assistance."

I have (and don't laugh) 34 devices assigned to my Home, so needless to say I'm not doing this.  

[Syntakk]

Wow, yeah asking people to completely remove their home and re-add all the devices is just hilarious, especially when it's just a troubleshooting step and not an actual known solution! I just counted and I currently have 23 devices added - no way I'm setting all that up again.

[MplsCustomer]

If Google Nest has introduced some sort of defect or anomaly into a customer's Google Nest "home/structure" that prevents the transfer of a 1st gen Google Nest Hello Doorbell from the Google Nest app to the Google Home app, then it seems that it's Google Nest's responsibility to fix or resolve that defect or anomaly, rather than suggesting that the customer try removing all of their Google Nest devices from that Google Nest "home/structure" and reinstalling them in a new "home/structure" (and reconfiguring each device, and figuring out how to transfer their Nest Aware subscription, and hoping that nothing goes wrong while reinstalling all of their other devices) in the HOPE that this will resolve the problem.

[mdr2]

BIG BIG YES on what MplsCustomer wrote.  Google needs to take responsibility and fix this at their end.  Imaging the 1000's of people affected by this that can't migrate their cameras.  Shame on them.

[jascen1990]

Same here, only the doorbell kept failing. What’s funny is that I migrated it over before when it was still possible to transfer back to Nest. 
ps what stopped me from keeping the cameras in Google Home was the garbage level of preview. I was disappointed to find out today that no improvement had been made.

[Syntakk]

I've had several back and forth conversations with their "senior support specialist" since my last update, and they're basically telling me that there's nothing they can do and I have to keep using the Nest app. No promises that the issue has been escalated, is being tracked by development, etc. Only that they are aware it's a known issue. At this point it really seems like they are just trying to ignore it until they can push everybody off of the 1st gen devices. 

For the cameras that did migrate successfully, I actually like the Home app more so far. They seem to load slightly fast, the interface is cleaner, and the notifications are more detailed (and maybe slightly faster). And I can see the video previews in notifications on my Pixel Watch! I just wish I could get the Nest Hello on there...

[Chucky44]

I don’t understand why they wouldn’t fix the problem though. Because I previously had a first generation doorbell and it was migrated over to Google Home, but since I had it replaced because it was peeling now I can’t? Why was it working before and all of a sudden stopped working? You would think if it was working before and not now it’s obviously an issue and should be fixed.

I am also not deleting my home and re-activate all my devices again in the new home. That is ridiculous.