Automations not working - previously OK for years

[RC519]

When my doorbell cameras see a person, the home display shows that doorbell for a few minutes.

Worked perfectly for years, not working at all now and I can't seem to find out where to even see the "program". I DO see Home Automations, but can't open it to edit of ensure it's even ON.  That said there IS an arrow there that says "starting automation" when I click it .. but it doesn't really .. for any of the doorbells.       

[DeboraJ]

Hi @RC519

Thanks for reaching out to the Community! I understand that you were having some issues with your Nest Doorbell and the automations. I know how frustrating this situation can be, but don't worry! Let me help you with that.

Before we continue, I need to know some information about your issue to provide you with more accurate information:

• When did the issue start?
• How many devices do you have?
• If you have more than one device, is this issue happening with all of them?
• What type of doorbell do you have?
• Did you try using a different device, like a computer or another phone?
• What is the automation or action that you want to activate?
• Are you able to see the live video or the video history?

Once you have this information, please let me know! I would be more than happy to assist you with this!

Best Regards,

Debora

[RC519]

Thanks ! I have 3 Nest Hello doorbells, one of which is currently removed and the automation for that one is off. The other 2 work fine and I can say okgoogle, show me the back door (or front door) & I see live video on my Google Display. Not sure when it stopped working, just noticed a week or so ago. I have tried initiating the automation manually but no luck. Interestingly, if currently displaying back door (for instance) and I initiate the automation, it does the 3 min time delay and returns to clock which is the later part of the automation. Also, if I initiate the one that is currently removed, my display will respond with "something went wrong" (have since turned off that one). I wish I could attach scree shots of the metadata automation or standard, older Google mini display. Not sure if this can be related but my newer FireStick does not show live video of these doors when I ask Alexa as in the past. We rarely used it for that anyway tho.

[RC519]

 

[RC519]

Apparently there isn't any help here, for Automation issues nor is there any from Google Nest Customer Care Team or their Higher Internal Support team. 

[DeboraJ]

Hi @RC519

Thanks for the information provided! I was checking some information here:

• Create advanced home automations with the script editor 

With this link, you can check how to create and edit automations with a script editor. I also recommend that you erase the automation in your script program and redo it, just to check if the device can work that way.

Also, I found some steps for you because I noticed that you have some issues trying to run the automations. So, let me send you some troubleshooting steps for that:

• Check the Activity feed in your Home app to understand when and how your Routines ran.
• Open the Home app and then tap Activity, and then find “Routine started” events.
• The details should include the time the Routine ran, the name of the Routine, and what caused the Routine to start.
• If the details don’t match how you want the Routine to run, edit your Routine’s starters and actions.
• If the starters and actions are correct, check if the Routine is activated.
• Open the Home app and then tap Automations, and then select the Routine you want to check.
• The Activate Routine toggle must be in the on position for the Routine to start. If it's grayed out, tap to activate the toggle.

Let me know if those steps work for you! If not, don’t worry, you can let me know, and I will check more steps for you.

Best regards,

Debora

[sabrina27]

We've been having the same issue for a few weeks (maybe into months now). Any automation related to displaying a camera feed simply does not work. (We have indoor and outdoor Nest cams, and a Nest doorbell)

To turn on a live feed, I need to manually go to cameras on the Google Hub and select one to be shown. REALLY frustrating.

[RC519]

I changed my automation to make a broadcast "someone's near the back door" which comes on the Nest Mini (not the Nest Hub/Display). It gets to be a bit annoying for wife if I'm out & triggering it frequently but it's something. I also tried a broadcast "show me the back door" which also came on Mini, but Nest Hub obeyed that verbal command and began streaming driveway. So, my point is you are right, it won't obey the written command (in the automation) and it seems Google folks either don't get it or refuse to reinstate this functionality 😞

[Phanikumar]

After all of this—  now they increased their nest aware subscription cost without any additional benefits. https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Home-Automation/Automation-to-display-Nest-Camera-feed-on-Nes... It looks like we are not alone and they are many other threads going on the same issue 

[Phanikumar]

Thanks for reaching out to the Google Nest Customer Care Team.

Thank you for sharing the details of your script and setup. I can see you’ve put together a thoughtful automation using your three Nest Hub displays and Nest camera, and I understand how valuable this workflow was for your home monitoring.

Based on the automation you've described, the issue is most likely related to changes that were rolled out roughly six months ago across the Google Home ecosystem. Specifically:

• Commands like assistant.command.OkGooglethat trigger visual actions (such as opening a camera feed) via automation or third-party scripts have seen reduced support or complete deprecation.
• These restrictions are typically driven by platform-level updates related to privacy, user consent, and interaction expectations, especially when it involves triggering actions on shared or communal displays.

Unfortunately, at this time, automated casting of live camera feeds through scripts or routines is no longer supported, even if the devices remain linked and functional through manual voice commands.

Here’s what you can still do:

• Manual Control: You can continue to use voice commands such as “Hey Google, show Backyard Camera” on any of your displays to view the feed.
• Broadcasts Still Work: Your use of assistant.command.Broadcast should continue working as expected to alert household members, that part of your script remains valid.
• Home Assistant Forums: If you're using Home Assistant or another third-party platform, you might find community-developed workarounds or UI-based triggers that don’t rely on deprecated Google APIs.

I understand this change may be disappointing, especially if the automation was working smoothly before. While this behavior is now expected, I’ll make sure your feedback is noted for our product team, as automation flexibility remains a top request among advanced users.