Automation to display Nest Camera feed on Nest Display when Motion Detected (No Longer Working)

[nickbeaver]

Hello,

I've previously had an automation that worked flawlessly, but no longer works:

metadata:
name: Nest Cam Display on Motion
description: Show Side Door Nest Camera on Office Display when Motion detected
automations:
- starters:
- type: device.event.MotionDetection
device: Side door camera - Side door
actions:
- type: assistant.command.OkGoogle
devices:
- Office Display - Office
okGoogle: Display Side Door Camera on Office Display

The script is validating fine and no errors show. I've tried updating variations of "Display Side Door Camera" but nothing happens on my display from the automation. If I ask the display via the same ok google verbal command, the camera feed does show as expected.

When I change the assistant.command.OkGoogle to be a broadcast or do another action, it works.

There seems to be a specific issue when triggering an "OkGoogle" command to ask a display to show a camera feed by an automation script.

Hope someone can help or point me in the right direction!

[kcruzgonzalez]

Hi nickbeaver,

Thanks for reaching out to the community. I'm sorry to hear your previously working automation to display your Nest Cam feed on your Nest Display when motion is detected has stopped functioning. It's definitely frustrating when your smart home routines break down. Let's work together to get this resolved.

To help me understand the situation better and pinpoint the cause, could you please provide a bit more detail?

• Could you recall approximately when you first noticed this automation stopped working? Were there any updates to your Nest Cam, Office Display, or the Google Home app around that time?

• When you check the history of this automation in the Google Home app, does it show any record of running (even if the camera feed didn't appear on the display)? If it does show as running, what is the status indicated?

• Can you confirm that your 'side door camera' is still detecting and recording motion events correctly in the Nest app or Google Home app independently of the automation?

• To ensure the automation is referencing the correct devices, could you double-check that the device names used in your script ('Side door camera—Side door' and 'Office Display—Office') exactly match the names of these devices as they appear in your Google Home app?

• Do you have any other active automations that involve either your 'side door camera' or your 'office display'? If so, could any of them be running at the same time or potentially conflicting with this particular automation?

• Have you recently added any new smart home devices or linked any new services to your Google Home ecosystem?

• As a troubleshooting step, have you tried recreating this automation from scratch using the visual automation builder within the Google Home app, rather than directly editing the YAML code? If so, did that behave any differently?

Providing these details will give me a clearer picture of what might be going on. Thanks for your help, and I look forward to your response!

Regards,

Kevin

[nickbeaver]

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for the reply, see my responses and additional troubleshooting details below:

• Could you recall approximately when you first noticed this automation stopped working? Were there any updates to your Nest Cam, Office Display, or the Google Home app around that time?

  • I don't recall any updates that I performed. The office display was unplugged for a day or so, and to my recollection, around that time it stopped working with the automation (unsure if it's related). This was about a month ago. The device can however display the live-feed of the camera if I verbally ask it via "ok google, display side door camera" or "ok google, display side door camera on office display"
    - Current Office Display Software Version is 63.84.9.713430148.
    - Current Office Display Chromecast Version is 3.76.448685
    
    

• When you check the history of this automation in the Google Home app, does it show any record of running (even if the camera feed didn't appear on the display)? If it does show as running, what is the status indicated?

  • Yes, in my "Activity" feed in the Google Home app, I can see the automation running. ie: "Routine started · Nest Cam Display on Motion" - because a device changed state. 
    If I trigger the automation manually from the app, it also logs it in the activity feed, as "Routine Started · Nest Cam Display on Motion" "From the Google Home app" but nothing changes / shows on the display.
    
    

• Can you confirm that your 'side door camera' is still detecting and recording motion events correctly in the Nest app or Google Home app independently of the automation?

  • Yes, all motion, vehicle, pet, and person events are logging/saving in my Side Door Camera history. I am able to access and re-watch any of these events with my NEST Aware subscription as well. I can see all entries such as "Motion", "Vehicle", "Person · Vehicle", "Unfamiliar face · Activity or animal seen"
    

• To ensure the automation is referencing the correct devices, could you double-check that the device names used in your script ('Side door camera—Side door' and 'Office Display—Office') exactly match the names of these devices as they appear in your Google Home app?

  •  The names are exactly as in my google home app. They are also auto-populated as I type in the Google Home Automations Scripts editor, reducing the chance of a typo. I also have not changed the names of either devices.
    "Side door camera" is the exact name, located in the room "Side door"
    "Office Display" is the exact name, located in the room "Office"
    
    

• Do you have any other active automations that involve either your 'side door camera' or your 'office display'? If so, could any of them be running at the same time or potentially conflicting with this particular automation?

  •  No other automations use those 2 devices in my entire list of automations. One separate automation uses the "Floodlight" in the "Side door" room, but that is listed as a separate device within the Google Home app, even though the Side door camera and side door floodlight are 1 unit, the are and have always been listed as separate devices in the app. I've tried removing the floodlight from all automations as well, but it didn't change the results.

• Have you recently added any new smart home devices or linked any new services to your Google Home ecosystem?

  • The only new device I've added directly within google is a new Nest Speaker "Bathroom Speaker" in my "Bathroom" room. No automations for that device. I am also not sure the automation didn't work after adding in the new speaker. I feel like it still worked after adding as this was a few months ago. Since the issue, I've performed "Ok Google, Sync Devices" to a speaker and it said devices were synced. It did not change the result.
    
    

• As a troubleshooting step, have you tried recreating this automation from scratch using the visual automation builder within the Google Home app, rather than directly editing the YAML code? If so, did that behave any differently?

  • I just recreated (and disabled the original script version) the automation, using Google Automation Builder (I didn't do this initially as I wanted to have it only on certain types of motion events (person or animal, but not motion), but even with the limited version, after seeing motion, logging the motion event in the activity feed, and running the routine, nothing showed up on the office display.

For Context, I did some additional troubleshooting: I tried changing the original script automation to display on a different device, my Google Streamer 4K" tv device. This did work. On motion detection, the live feed showed up on my Living Room Tv.

This narrows it down that the issue is with my Office Display. 

I then did a factory reset (deleted the office display device from my account, then press and held both volume up and down for 10+ seconds). After it restarted, I added it back to my account. It started pulling in and performing an update automatically. Once updated, I deleted my original automation, and created a net new automation script, using the same values as above, ensuring I selected the correct devices (including the freshly added display). I was hopeful this would solve everything since there was an update, but no, it still doesn't work. The automation is seen in the activity feed, but the camera feed does not show on my office display.
- Update Software Version: 63.84.9.713430148
- Updated Chromecast Version: 3.76.448685
(even though the device said it updated, the versions didn't change - not sure if this is relevant)

please help! I'm not sure what to do next

[kcruzgonzalez]

Hi nickbeaver,

Thank you for your response and all the information provided. Let's work together for a solution.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer all those questions. That information is very helpful. As a next step on our end, it's a good idea for us to replicate the routine here with a Google TV Streamer (4K) to try and identify if the issue is within the automation service itself or if it might be something specific to your device or setup. We'll investigate this on our end and get back to you with any findings or further steps.

Our specialized team would like to know more about your case and recommend a solution. We would appreciate it if you would fill out this form to contact us and find an answer.

Feel free to reply to this post when you complete it. We are happy to help you.  

Best regards,

Kevin

[nickbeaver]

Hi Kevin,

I’ve submitted the form as requested.

Thanks