Why can't I connect my new Nest cam with the Nest app?

[JohnF]

Disclaimer: This thread was migrated from our previous version of the Google Nest Community. You can continue to receive updates on your thread issue here or simply ask, browse or more in the new Google Nest Community.

 Original poster: Stephen 7791 

I have the newest Nest cam (outdoor with battery) and the only option to connect is with Google Home, not the Nest app.

[Torres86]

I got sucked into Google's deceptive advertising,  too! Returning the new camera today! F-google!!!!!

[Martynyc]

I totally agree that this is an issue. Google Home is not as good as the Nest app in my opinion. In the Nest app I am able to see all of my cameras, fire alarms and thermostats. I don’t need to click on anything. They are just there. It’s unfortunate that Google has gone in this direction. Frustrating. 

[Globetrotter]

Can anyone tell me WHY it doesn't work?  I'm not sure I understand why they did this.  I get that they want people to convert over to Google Home but why force people?  There are so many of us loyal Nest lovers and users of many years.   Is it because if they don't FORCE people to convert over they never will?  I'm just curious on Google's thinking here.   

They are going to get people cancelling or returning their locks.  The actual lock works great.  The only issue I see is forcing people to convert over to Google Home.

[Cees1]

Unbelievable, here i also bought a second cam version 2.. But cant use them together in the nest app with my other cameras version 1... what a crap!

[RedPondRanch]

I have a wired Nest outdoor camera, and a wired Nest indoor camera, that I have had for quite some time.  They worked great in the Nest app on both my Android phone AND my Windows 10/11 PC.  Now I have purchased two new indoor/outdoor battery Nest cameras, and can't add them to the Nest app on my PC.  When I go to "add device", the new indoor/outdoor battery cameras are not offered as an option.  Nor can I find a Google-developed Google Home app for my PC.  The only apps I've found require me to download an Android simulator.  AND on my Google Home app for my Android phone, the cameras are treated differently as far as being able to view History.  It's cumbersome and annoying, and you'll never convince me that Google doesn't have the capability to fix this problem.

[dangal]

so dissapointing. just bought 4 cameras, a doorbell and a max display. Just short of $1,000. well they may burn me for the restocking fee but they are going to pay some storage and disposal fees for all the junk they get back and when you factor in the refunds, storage and revenue loss, they will still have made a huge profit. it all means nothing unless the public is made aware and they can't sell any of these to savw their life. then they might look at this. until then we all got burned for our loyalty, trust and misguided view of the importance of good customer service, honest marketing and loyalty retention. we don't mean crap. $ does all the talking. f it I am reboxing it all

[dangal]

I'm sure they have closed the books for FY 2021, which makes us old news and the dumbfounded donators of their 2022 marketing campaign and product launches.

[me4]

HERE IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM  (for me anyway).  There is no "google home" access from a PC.  I cant make clips or store things in any meaningful way.  Trying to do all of this from a smart phone is a nightmare.  Once you've spent $1000 on nest, your stuck dealing with their terrible system.

[Jd123anon]

"Once you've spent $1000 on nest, your stuck dealing with *Google's* terrible system. Nest was great. Google home on the other hand... 

[Jd123anon]

Thoughts on the latest update? https://www.engadget.com/google-home-nest-device-events-controls-202049380.html

[gotozeus]

For those of you who are asking if Google is aware. Yes Google is aware because the issues reported here are the way they are, by design. Google wants to get rid of Nest and transition completely to Google Home. 

Also, the primary issue that most people are having is not that they can not use the Nest app, but rather the fact that they can not use their browser. There is no way to have the functionality of Google Home on the web, but we had Nest's functionality there. 

So, if they wanted to move everything to Google Home that is their decision, but they should do it by keeping the features intact. As it stands now moving to Google Home is a downgrade as with Nest you could use both the app (which is significantly better than what the google home app is right now for cameras) and way more importantly your huge monitor or tv through the web at home.nest.com. 

You could be working while having your door, or your baby's crib, or any camera in your house in picture in picture mode on your screen. Now you cannot. 

Furthermore, they SHOULD have the "does not work with Nest or home.nest.com" with BIG BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS on the product's front page, not as a side note in the specs. Who the hell checks the specs for compatibility with an ecosystem, when the product has the very same name as all other products who are compatible with a particular ecosystem? 

I got the floodlight camera which requires electrical installation if you are setting it somewhere from scratch. 
i.e. you need to buy wires and bring the electrical wires to the place you will install it, tapping from the appropriate place, with the appropriate load, you need to cut the siding, drill, pull, scrape, nail, screw stuff... it is a major installation because you are installing something new, not simply replacing something with existing infrastructure. 

After a couple of days, I was done and added the camera to google home. Then I opened the home.nest.com to see it and the camera was nowhere to be found. That is when a google search informed me that yeah it does not work with nest. When I contacted google, they could not find the place on the product's page where it clearly states that this particular Nest camera does not belong to the Nest ecosystem. Eventually they did find it in the specs and they directed me there. R I D I C U L O U S. 

Then they were telling me that I can return it. Well, if people had made all these expenses and put the effort into installing the camera with a total cost $500+ they lost that money and wasted their time even if they can return the camera itself. So, unlike many others here I was not so lucky as to be able to say, "whatever, I 'll return it", then put the old camera back and sending this useless camera to google. I was stuck with it. 

[Torres86]

I feel your frustration! It happened to me, too. I am so disappointed with the way Google packaged their new "Nest" products, it should be called "Google Home".  It's 100% deceitful. I ended up returning my new outdoor battery camera and bought a "Ring floodlight" instead. They have a better application.  Maybe we should start a class action suit!

[RedPondRanch]

I don't so much mind that Google took over Nest...such things happen all the time in the business world...but I do mind that they don't apply themselves to making ALL the equipment work seamlessly in the same application.  I am convinced they can do it...why they would not is a mystery to me!  If I have to replace perfectly good Nest cameras to be all on the same app, I won't do it!  I'll find another brand and another app!

[Huskyfargo]

Shame on you GOOGLE!!!

This cluster needs to be fixed ASAP!!!

I have at least $5000 worth of your Nest products at home and work, and I expect them all to work together seamlessly. 😡

[Pkenna11]

Yeah! Boooooo Google!! You suck!!!

[Calibass]

Wow, sure am glad I found this thread. I just bought a new battery "Nest" cam to go with the three "legacy" Nest cams I've been using for many years with no issues with the Nest app. I was just starting to try and set it up in the Nest app and thought..."this is weird, "add camera' does not find this new cam....". Relieved I found this thread before I went any further than that. I don't have a lot of patience for this sort of ineptitude from Google. Boxing it back up and returning it today. Ridiculous.

[Torres86]

Yeap! I returned my purchase the next day! It's infuriating the way Google took over Nest!

[Calibass]

Can you still buy a real Nest outdoor cam? Not this falsely labeled Google crap? 

[Calibass]

Ah.....this explains a lot. Looks like there's no reason to buy any new "Nest" anything at this point. Time to look for another platform: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/06/google-commits-to-supporting-nest-smart-home-devices-for-5-y...

[Torres86]

Very disappointing!

[Torres86]

Check ebay

[Jd123anon]

Yes, on ebay

[Shorrighs]

Complete and utter disappointment. We’ve monitored our house and babies since they were born. We’ve invested a lot of money in Nest products. Thankful to find this thread, just saddened by the fact I have to return the crap we just bought because google Home has zero functional use. Glad we got 5 years out of our existing cameras - now time to research what we’re switching to in the new house! BRUTAL… 

and I kept scrolling thru the pages thinking… at some point Google will fix this. Nope! Done with Google!

[Steve949]

That's the real shame of it, not a peep from Google. If they are sunsetting Nest or not planning to fix Home, just tell us so we can move on. Otherwise put some effort into fixing the issue please!

[Torres86]

The Nest app DOES NOT SUPPORT this battery powered camera.  Doesn't show up.  Forget about getting a desktop view of your cameras.

Furthermore, the camera DOES NOT SUPPORT 24/7 RECORDING AS ADVERTISED.  It goes "IDLE" even if connected to a power source.  You can also ONLY VIEW THIS CAMERA THROUGH THE HORRIBLE GOOGLE HOME APP.  That's right, if you have older Nest cameras and a newer battery powered model, you'll need TWO APPS.

[Trodder]

Hey John, how about getting us some sort of reply from google on this? 

[Kaleemsheikh]

Packed up my cameras, on the way to be returned in a couple of days. 

[Cmd111183]

Also incredibly annoyed.  Just got two Nest 2 cameras and have two Nest 1 cameras, all indoor.  The Nest 2 have to be controlled from and notifications come from the Home app.  No ability to set notifications from the Home app for Nest 1 cams, so now have to maintain two different apps to allow me to monitor my kids depending on the room they are in.  This is an egregious oversight by Google.  How can you possibly create such a klunky user experience?  Hope this is resolved soon.  I don't mind using the Home app (although Nest is better) but the notification problem is a big issue for me.  These may be getting returned.

[MurrayJimW]

FU google.

I use my macs to connect to all my Nest cams and thermostats and it's native in Safari or any other browser I choose. I just bought $400 worth of new cams to fit into this eco system and the new cams are not there. You are relegating me to a phone to look at the cameras I paid a subscription fee for and a premium to purchase. You are a giant, but I swear your days are numbered if you cannot honor the intent of the companies you purchase. Put the new cams in the nest app and eco system. There is a reason people chose Nest over Google to begin with...

[DS_863]

I just bought the Nest Cam Battery and can’t add it to the Nest app. I have a Nest Guard security system that I can’t operate it from the Home app. This is so frustrating. I now have to use one app for my cameras and another app for the security system. To make it even worse, Google is forcing away from the better app, Nest app. It is so much easier to use than the Home app!

[Erfernandez]

Anyone knows how we can formally get Google’s attention on this issue? I just got two cameras and this really sucks. How can you just decide to ruin something that works? There must be a way to fix this without me having to get rid of all my cameras, but if not done, I will do bc this really sucks. I hope they don’t really shut down the Nest app as I read they will because I would not even wait to get rid of it all.

[twelveleven]

It’s ridiculous that a new nest indoor cam won’t connect to nest app. I love having the nest app that shows live video of all my cameras. 

[GregK]

Yep - bull**bleep**, if you just want to use the Nest app for cameras. 

[Ramalamading]

What's unforgivable is that the new floodlight cam doesn't support live stream rewinding, even if you've paid for the 24/7 option. Did you just hear a noise outside and wonder what it is? Too bad. The live stream takes up to 12 hours to appear on your live video history.

Google used to be nimble. Now it's turned into IBM. 

[rossingi_45]

I haven’t seen any responses from Google on this thread so I assume they just don’t care and are just leaving us to get on with it and use inferior Google Home app. Had I known that I would be forced to use the Google Home app and not the Nest app I would never have bought my last camera. Very disappointing all round really fro Google !!!

[matlambo]

Vote with your feet people. I have. Nest used to be best of breed but now it sucks. Getting pretty fed up of the Google WiFi too. I can understand the need to keep things simple for the masses but unfortunately the world isn’t round. For example troubleshooting when your internet has gone down is a nightmare….troubleshooting when everything is working is fine but who does that?!? Taking my internet to Ubiquiti as google have seemingly focused on what makes their lives easy and forgotten about the most important thing …. The customer 

[Whocarestop]

Google has continuously ruined the nest and Google home experience.  Their developers are now looking like elementary school children trying to code with crayons and still can't stay in the lines.  Why would we not want to have access from a pc and the best app as well as Google home just like the nest home..  wtf Google.  You are seriously making me wish I went with Alexa at this point.  Just fix this already

[leftlung]

They have the Nest App code. Can they just not go copy and paste, update the references and publish?

[foldingpie]

In agreement with everyone here as I've just gone and installed my new camera only to find out it won't work with the nest app. Super frustrating and makes no sense. I've had a great experience with my doorbell and other camera so far and it never for a second crossed my mind that buying another cam for this system would have this problem. Hoping we see something change here asap.

[Torres86]

Google has left the home security market. ... With today's announcement, we now know that the Nest Secure will continue to work and get security updates until at least November 2022. Jeez, Google, you kill everything fun and niche, don't you?