Nest Protect Smoke Alarms going off for no reason

[lizzyandgagan]

We have a Gen 2 Nest Protect throughout the house (7 in total). A few weeks ago, they started going off without warning at very odd times. First it was just one of them and so we removed it and took out the batteries. Now, another one is going off and we're worried this is just a malfunction of the Nest Protect system.

Additional information:

We have read the help articles about distance from stoves and also cleaned the Nest Protect. No improvement.

Spitballing here: we occasionally light candles in the house and noticed that at least 2 of the times, the smoke detectors went off the same night as the candles were blown out. We can't tell if this is related, because it happened many many hours after the candle was blown out, the candles were not in the same room as these smoke detectors (though one of the times it was a smoke detector one room over) and there is no visible smoke from the candles.

Is it possible for the smoke from a candle or from cooking to linger in the house for 5-7 hours and travel slowly but surely over to the smoke detector and then set them off long after the fire is gone?

Our current hypothesis is that we simply have faulty smoke detectors and need to try replacing them, but after reading the article below I'm wondering if this is a known issue and if so maybe we should simply return the products.

P.S. 

This article sums up our problem but it is discontinued so I'm resurfacing it: https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Nest-Protect/Nest-Protect-Gen-2-false-smoke-alarm-repeatedly-...

[Lance_L]

Hello lizzyandgagan,

Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that happened to the Nest Protect. Don’t worry; help’s here. Let’s check it out.

The duration of smoke lingering in a room after the source is extinguished is influenced by various factors, such as ventilation. Although we don't have specific data on its longevity, there are several potential reasons why a Google Nest Protect might sound a smoke alarm even in the absence of visible smoke.

• Dust got into the smoke chamber. All photoelectric smoke alarms can be impacted by dust. So, it’s important to keep your Nest Protect free of dust during the installation process and to clean it if dust is building up. For detailed cleaning instructions, refer to How to keep your Nest products clean. 
• Steam has set it off. Steam can also trigger false alarms in many smoke alarms. Common household sources of steam include showers and humidifiers. So if you’ve experienced a false alarm and your Nest Protect is placed near a source of steam, this may be the cause. To help lower the number of false alarms caused by steam, find out how to perform a Steam Check. But, the best way to eliminate steam-related false alarms completely is to move Nest Protect away from sources of steam like bathrooms and home humidifiers.

Let me know if you have any questions.

All the best,

Lance

[lizzyandgagan]

Thanks Lance. As I mentioned in my original message, we have read these articles and there is no source of steam near these smoke alarms + even if there was, these alarms went off in the middle of the night when there would be no steam present. In terms of ventilation, they are in a fairly well ventilated area. Furthermore, as mentioned, we have already tried cleaning the alarm. That did not work.

I think the alarms are faulty and based on the link I shared, I'm not the only one with faulty Nest Protects. What do you do when these two issues (steam and cleanliness) are resolved and a customer still has issues?

Thanks,

Gagan

[Lance_L]

Hey Gagan,

Thanks for getting back to me. Since the steps didn’t work on your end, I’d be happy to dig deeper into this. 

I need additional information from you that would be best shared privately. I’m sharing a link to a form for you to fill out so we can look into this further. This form is only meant for you to use, so let me know once you’re done.

Regards,

Lance

[Lance_L]

Hi Gagan,

We haven’t seen your form submission come through — were you able to access it alright? Let us know if you’re running into trouble or still need our help.

Best,

Lance

[lizzyandgagan]

Just submitted - sorry was just out of town!

[Jenelyn_O]

Hi everyone,

@lizzyandgagan, I received your form. I'll hand it over to our team. Please keep an eye on your inbox or messages as they will get in touch with you soon.

I appreciate your help, Lance.

Cheers,

Jenelyn