Using external setup guides for advanced Nest automations best practice?

[carolineharper]

Hi everyone,

I’m setting up a few custom home automation routines with Google Nest and noticed that the official docs cover the basics well, but for some advanced use cases (step-by-step visuals, troubleshooting edge cases, etc.) I sometimes rely on third-party guides to understand the flow better.

For example, I recently followed a general walkthrough from a tech tutorial site to compare setup steps and common mistakes: aethersx2 
(link shared only as a reference, not affiliated)

I wanted to ask the community:

• Do you also cross-check external guides when configuring more complex automations?

• Any best practices to make sure these setups stay aligned with Google Nest’s recommended approach?

• Are there specific things you avoid when following non-official tutorials?

Would appreciate hearing how others handle this, especially for more customized home automation scenarios.

Thanks in advance.

[mahadansari · Accepted solution]

This is a pretty common approach, especially once you move past basic routines.

A lot of users check third-party guides for visuals or edge cases, but the key is to treat them as reference material, not a source of truth. As long as the steps still align with what the Nest app and official docs allow, it’s usually fine.

A few things that tend to help:

• Always confirm final settings inside the Nest app itself, even if the guide shows a slightly different flow

• Avoid tutorials that rely on unofficial APIs or workarounds that could break after updates

• Stick to guides that explain why a step is needed, not just what to click

Using an external walkthrough just to understand the logic or common mistakes doesn’t really cause issues. Problems usually start when people blindly follow outdated or overly hacky setups.

Overall, external guides can be useful for learning, as long as the official Nest behavior is the final checkpoint.

Hope that helps.

[carolineharper]

Thank you for your help.