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What does the Nest cam do when its Idle

AmIre88
Community Member

Hi,

I have recently purchased a two pack Google Nest Cam (battery) pack and installed the camera without the power cable. I don’t have a power outlet outside.

The camera show in Idle mode all the time. Is it supposed to do anything while it’s Idle? Is it supposed to give me an alert whenever someone walks up to my door and is in the activity zone which I have setup for motion events?

I am not able to find any official answers about what the product does when Idle. If it does nothing when Idle then I would have to return it and consider other options.

Thanks.

10 REPLIES 10

MetalGlacier
Silver Product Expert
Silver Product Expert

Hi there! Nest cam battery goes in to idle mode to save battery when there is nothing to record. When the camera detects that there is motion, it starts recording and sends you a notification. Once the motion event is over, it goes back into idle mode. Hope that helps!

This response is so vague. If I'm home or away and my battery nest cam is in idle, I don't need it to record! I want to see a live event triggered by motion! Give us a step by step procedure to accomplish this...please!

@jim48362

In my experience--and that of other customers in this forum--the battery camera is simply slow to wake up in order to detect and record an event when it is in "Idle" mode. If we unplug our battery camera so that it goes into "Idle" mode, and then walk directly in front of the camera, it does NOT wake up to detect or record an event.

I am not aware of any step-by-step procedure that will enable the camera to reliably detect and record events when it is on battery power. But when it is plugged in, it detects events reliably.

Hey jim48362,

Checking in — I hope that MplsCustomer's response answers your question. Let me know if there's anything else.

Thanks for your continued help, MplsCustomer.

Regards,

JT

I found my battery nest cam to be working fine. I have set it to high wake up sensitivity. whenver someone walks in the activity zone it sends me a notification and I can see the live view from my phone while it is detecting motion. It does need high wake up sensitivity though, with default sensitivity there were missed events in the night with low light

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

@AmIre88

 

That is a relief to hear that it is working better for you. Would you state that this has been resolved, or do you still need assistance?

 

Best regards,

Brad

Brad
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi there, 

 

Just checking in to see how the conversation is going. Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns. We'll leave this thread open for a little longer for follow-up questions and concerns. 

 

Best regards, 

Brad

EmersonB
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hello folks,

 

Just one quick 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, I would be happy to keep it open. If there's more we can do, just let me know.

 

Thanks for lending a hand, MetalGlacier, MplsCustomer, JT and Brad.

 

Regards,
Emerson

MplsCustomer
Bronze
Bronze

@AmIre88

If your camera is "Idle", it is supposed to wake up and record the events you've configured under Settings | Events | Seen events, and send notifications if you've turned on notifications for that event type. There are quite a few posts in this forum indicating that the battery cameras are slow to wake up when in "Idle" mode.

We've had a Google Nest Camera (Battery) for 14 months, plugged in with the optional power cable, so it is "Live" all the time, and does a great job of detecting events during the day, but not so good at night. However, if we turn off the electric circuit for that camera, so that it is in "Idle" mode, and then walk in front of the camera, it does NOT wake up and record that event.

janthadeus
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi folks,

Checking in — I hope you've got the answer you're looking for. Let me know if you have more questions in mind.

I appreciate the help here, MetalGlacier and MplsCustomer.

Thanks,

JT