Nest doorbell losing ability to recognise people

[Cloudtales]

On top of speakers making more mistakes in understanding what I say, the Nest doorbell is more frequently not recognizing people (it's Bob but Nest doesn't recognize him as a known person), and making mistakes by recognizing strangers as  people I already know (eg, Stranger is Bob), or categorizing people already known as different people . (e.g,  Bob identified as Ted.)

This is a recent occurence in the last month of so and I'm pretty much getting sick of it. Particularly with all the other mistakes the entire system is making.

I can't help thinking that Google is reallocating resources to other projects, leading to all kinds of deficiencies in legacy processes.

[listairee]

Hello @Cloudtales,

Thanks for reaching out. Did you check to make sure that the Familiar Face Detection feature is still turned on? I've provided a link to help you check that if you are unsure.

Hope that helps! 🙂

[Cloudtales]

Of course it's switched on.

And it is taking from three to five minutes for the notification of someone being seen to arrive on my phone, even when I am at home on the same network as the doorbell.

[Cloudtales]

So now I'm asked to select the response that is the best answer. I will when I get one. Time to start looking for  replacements 

[zoeuvre]

Hi folks,
 

@Cloudtales, thanks for posting here in the Community forum, and I'm sorry to hear about the situation. 
 

Do you have an active Nest Aware subscription? If your familiar faces library is missing, your Nest Aware subscription may have expired. Check the status of your subscription and make sure it's active.
 

I appreciate your help, @listairee. 

Best,

Zoe

[Cloudtales]

Yes I have an active subscription - renewed on the 13th of June. , Yes my familiar faces library all there and is not missing.  Yes I have a 1gb always on connection, Yes I have a perfectly operational network.

The problem is with Google. , I've seen the numerous other complaints from other subscribers about the very same problem posted here, reddit and elsewhere on the internet.

Google must show some backbone and integrity and fix their unreliable service. Surely you can afford it. Stop wasting my time with pointless, mundane questions.

[Lance_L]

Hi Cloudtales,

I’m sorry for the delay. Thanks for getting back to us and for sharing what you’ve done to have your concern resolved. I apologize that the feature isn’t working correctly.

While the Nest cameras are designed to be as accurate as possible, they may still misidentify certain things, like distinguishing between close relatives.

Here are some tips to help your camera detect faces better:

• Position your camera so it can see faces easily. Familiar face detection works best when the subject is directly approaching the camera.
  • Place your camera roughly 6–8 ft (18–244 cm) above ground, and place your doorbell about 4ft (122cm) above ground.
  • Place the camera where people would naturally walk towards it, such as facing a path or down a driveway.
  • For best results, the camera should be placed within 10 feet of where people will walk towards it.
• Check the lighting around your camera. Check your camera’s view at different times during the day to make sure that there’s no glare from the sun or other light sources.
• Review your familiar faces library on a regular basis during the first few weeks, especially after you add a new person.

Additional steps are given here on how to Troubleshoot familiar face detection.

Keep me posted.

Thanks for the help, listairee and zoeuvre.

Regards,

Lance

[EmersonB]

Hello everybody,

@Cloudtales, I'm dropping by to ensure that everything is covered here. How's it going with your Nest Doorbell? Were you able to perform the steps we're suggesting? We'd be glad to hear from you.

I appreciate the help, listairee, Lance and Zoe.

Thanks, 

Emerson

[EdmondB]

Hi there,

Just one quick final check in here since activity has slowed down. We'll be locking the thread in the next 24 hours, but if you still need help, I would be happy to keep it open. If there's more we can do, just let me know.

Regards,
Edmond

[Cloudtales]

Hi.

I've seen only a slight improvement in that the 10-15 minute delay is now sporadic rather than persistent.

As for activity slowing down here, it's because regretfully, I've lost confidence in Google's ability or intention to take responsibility for the problem and sort it out. Can't say I'm happy about explanations for the cause being thrown in my direction.

Thanks for the response though.

[EmersonB]

Hey folks,

@Cloudtales, thanks for your update. It's good to know that there's an improvement. We know where you're coming from and this is not the experience we want you to have. To further isolate this issue, we would recommend you to perform a simple restart on your Nest Doorbell and Wi-Fi router to refresh their connection. Try signing out/in your app. Also, in case you have a Wi-Fi extender you might want to place it near your Nest Doorbell for a better internet connection. Let us know your update here.

I appreciate your response, Edmond.

Best,

Emerson

[EmersonB]

Hi Cloudtales,

I wanted to follow up and see if you are still in need of any help. Please let me know if you are still having any concerns or questions from here, as I would be happy to take a closer look and assist you further.
 
Regards,
Emerson

[Cloudtales]

Hi.

There's still a few minutes delay from the doorbell ringing and a notification on my Samsung S10+ on the same 1gb wifi. Longer delay on 4G when I'm just across the road. My guess is there's a helluva lot more users and your server/bandwidth/processor capacity isn't keeping up.

[EmersonB]

Hello Cloudtales,

We appreciate your response. In case you have a spare phone, try troubleshooting it with the same steps and check if there's a difference in the delay. Don't forget to restart the devices involved in this issue. Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,

Emerson

[EmersonB]

Hey Cloudtales, 

It's me again. I wanted to make sure that everything is covered here. Were you able to follow the same steps? Also, do you have additional questions or concerns? In case you do, you know where to find us.

Best,
Emerson