"Upgraded" subscription - now no 24 hour recordings

[MethylOrange]

Hello,

For the last few years when I login to my doorbell cam on the web, I've been nagged to upgrade my subscription. I've resisted as the 5 days/24 hours per day was fine for my needs. 

Last week I saw the price of my old original sub was going up so I relented and upgraded to Nest Aware (Home) subscription, which comes with 30 days of recordings.

Where has my 24 hour recording gone? It only now seems to store recordings when it's  triggered an alert - so huge gaps like below:

This is no good for me, and certainly not worth paying extra money to get a lower service level. Is there an option I need to switch on to enable permanent recording?

thanks in advance

[MplsCustomer]

@MethylOrange 

In addition to the original 1st gen Nest Aware subscription that you had, there is a Nest Aware subscription (30 days of event video history) and a Nest Aware Plus subscription (10 days of 24/7 video history and 60 days of event video history). See this topic for what you get for each subscription:

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9681538

It sounds like you probably enrolled in the Nest Aware subscription, which only gives you event video history.

You can't go back to your 1st gen Nest Aware subscription ("As of July 13, 2023, Google will no longer sell new subscriptions of 1st gen Nest Aware. Any 1st gen subscriptions that you currently have will continue to renew." - https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9233159), so you're only option may be to get the Nest Aware Plus subscription; that subscription is not bad if you have multiple cameras (as we do), but is expensive (just went to $150/year) if you have just one camera or doorbell.

You could try the "Contact us" link under "Nest Aware Premier Care" on the post below to "Get 24/7 access to Nest Aware Experts on the Nest Customer Care team. They’re available to answer questions, help you access features, and manage your subscription."

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9233159

[MethylOrange]

Thanks for the reply. Not only did it go up in price anyway, the service for me is downgraded (24/7 is more important than 30 days vs 5 days). And from what you're saying, to get 24/7 I have to upgrade ie. pay even more.

To Google I say: Boo.

To Google I also say: "Don't be Evil". Seems to have been forgotten somewhere. 

[MplsCustomer]

@MethylOrange 

Where Google Nest falls down--aside from the price increases--is that, by phasing out the 1st gen Nest Aware subscriptions, Google Nest no longer a lower-cost video history option for customers who have just one camera or doorbell. Both Ring and Arlo, for example, offer single-camera subscription options.

[MethylOrange]

Could be giving up on Nest when it's time for replacement. Feels like we're just chatting into a vast echo chamber here.

[twittel]

I replaced my 1st gen doorbell wired cam with a Reolink w/256g micro card.  No more subscriptions for me.

[MethylOrange]

Still no response from Google themselves?  Doubtless I'll be asked to close this thread due to lack of response. Well....the lack isn't emanating from myself. 

[EdmondB]

Hello everyone,

@MethylOrange, i can honestly appreciate how annoying that must be. No worries; we'll check this out. In order to continue delivering the best customer service and features, we're adjusting our pricing for both new and existing Nest Aware Subscribers. To have a continuous video recording for up to 10 days, you need to get Nest Aware Plus and once you cancel your 1st Generation Nest Aware subscription, you can no longer renew it since Google stopped selling 1st Generation Nest Aware on July 23, 2023. 
 

Here is a link to learn what you get with a Nest Aware subscription. 

Thanks for the help, @MplsCustomer. 

Best,
Edmond

[MethylOrange]

What you're actually saying is that not only am I forced to take out a more expensive subscription anyway, but to get similar features to my previous one, I need to go to an even more expensive subscription.

This is way beyond the original ethos of Google as I said above. You do many things very well. This is really not one of them.

Is there a workaround - for example setting a zone that's always active?

[EdmondB]

Hi there, 

For 2nd Generation Nest Aware Subscription, Nest Aware Plus is the only subscription that offers 24/7 video recordings and covers all your Nest cameras, unlike the 1st Generation Nest Aware Subscription, where you have to pay an additional fee if you’re going to another Nest camera. For setting activity zones, it will only notify you and create a video clip if there is motion in the activity zone. 

Let me know if you have additional questions.

Best,
Edmond