Zones for a nest doorbell

[Goglesux]

I used to have the ability to create zones but lost it somehow. I'm suspecting it was the forced migration to home from nest.

The nest aware subscription is under my husband's account. 

Support insists this is the problem and each person needs their own subscription to create zones but I don't believe them. I see 30 days history and have familiar faces.

Any idea?

[MplsCustomer]

@Goglesux 

In the Google Home app, activity zones are configured under Settings | Events | Seen events for each camera.  If you have "migrated" your Nest Account to a Google Account (which we did in 2020), you still configure activity zones and everything else for 1st gen cameras and doorbells in the Google Nest app, UNLESS you have also chosen (this is voluntary) to "transfer" your 1st gen cameras and doorbells to the beta "Public Preview" version of the Google Home app.  

Nest Aware subscriptions are set up on a Google Account, but apply to all Google Nest cameras and doorbells in the same Google Nest "home/structure" and all members of that Google Nest home can configure activity zones.

[Goglesux]

I don't have public preview enabled yet everything migrated. Perhaps a family member has it enabled?

There is an option to move it back to Nest, maybe I'll try that.

My app is simply missing the option for zones.

Thank you 

[MplsCustomer]

@Goglesux 

I'm not sure what you mean by "everything migrated".  Using Google Nest's terminology, you can "migrate" from a  Google Account to a Nest Account, and you can "transfer" individual 1st gen cameras and doorbells from the Google Nest app to the "Public Preview" version of the Google Home app.  If you have "migrated" but not "transferred", then you can see all of your 1st gen cameras and doorbells in the Google Home app, but, as I mentioned earlier, you still configure them in the Google Nest app; that's what we do, since we're not using the "Public Preview" version and have not "transferred" any of our 1st gen cameras and doorbells.

I think you would have to be using the beta "Public Preview" version of the Google Home app in order to even have an option to transfer a camera or doorbell back to the Google Nest app.

If your doorbell has NOT been "transferred" to the "Public Preview" version of the Google Home app, and the options to configure activity zones have suddenly disappeared from the Google Nest app, it might be worth deleting and reinstalling your Google Nest app.

[Goglesux]

In the past couple of weeks, I would receive a notification that a device was being moved to google home.  Now, in NEST, three devices say "Transferred to the Google Home app.  Use the Home app to see events for your camera after the transfer.  Open the Home ..."

I do not have public preview enabled - why in the world would I want to be a test subject?

I have removed and reinstalled Home.

This process of moving the doorbells to Home has disabled Zones, how can I get this feature back? Per support, each person must subscribe to NestAware if they want the zone feature but I have no faith this answer is true.

I appreciate your help very much.

[MplsCustomer]

@Goglesux 

I would be very surprised if Google Nest were transferring any Google Nest cameras or doorbells entirely on its own. I believe that the customer has to initiate each transfer individually, as described here: https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/13038234?hl=en&sjid=14087645251863703787-NC#zippy=%2Ctr....

Your posts indicate that other family members are members of your Google Nest home. If any of them have the beta "Public Preview" version of the Google Home app installed, perhaps one of them initiated the transfers. If that is the case, I don't think YOU will have full access to those cameras' functionality (such as activity zones) if, as you say, you yourself are NOT on the "Public Preview" version of the Google Home app.

I would suggest checking with other family members to see if they are on the beta "Public Preview" version of the Google Home app and transferred your three cameras.  If any of you are on the "Public Preview" version, you should ALL get on that version or things will not work correctly.

Nest Aware subscriptions are set up on a Google Account, but apply to all Google Nest cameras and doorbells in the same Google Nest "home/structure", and all members of that Google Nest "home/structure" have access to the history provided by Nest Aware.

I don't think a Nest Aware subscription is required to configure activity zones.

[Goglesux]

Turns out one family member did have public preview enabled.  We disabled it and waited a couple of days.  There is still no option for Zones in my Google Home for the cameras.

I'll wait a few days to see if it starts working, if not, we'll all enable public preview.

It's infuriating how useless Google support is via chat.  Taking his advise would have cost me a monthly subscription.

[MplsCustomer]

@Goglesux 

I don't think you're going to get an option for administering activity zones for your transferred 1st gen cameras unless you're on the "Public Preview" version of the Google Home app, since the ability to transfer is only present in the "Public Preview" version.  My guess is that your other family member may have now lost the ability to administer zones since they disabled the "Public Preview" version.

I suspect things won't work right if you disable the "Public Preview" version if you have transferred cameras.  And I suspect everyone in the same Google Nest "home" should be on the "Public Preview" version if any of them are.

By the way it is possible to transfer cameras back to the Google Nest app from the "Public Preview" version of the Google Home app.