Sudden low battery chirp. Batteries too hot to touch.

[Wally26]

Everything was fine on the last report, so I was surprised when the alarm started chirping, and prompting me to change the batteries. A couple of the batteries were extremely hot, so hot that I put them outside incase they caught fire. So...Is this normal? Is this a protect issue, or a battery issue? I'm a little concerned about putting new batteries in this thing until I get some confirmation. 

[aatienza]

Hey Wally26,

Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that. Please fill out this form with all the needed information then let me know once done.

Thanks,
Archie

[Wally26]

The "form" has been filled out.

[Markjosephp]

Hello Wally26,

Thanks for completing the form; we have received it. Soon, a member of our upper team will contact you via email. Also, this thread will be locked within 24 hours.

Regards,

Mark

[Wally26]

The only email I have received has been one asking if.."Did it solve your problem?"..before anyone has reached out with any kind of solution, which of course had me scratching my head. Can I expect further communication with a resolution? Thanks.

[Wally26]

Still waiting for that contact by your "upper team member"... 

[DanCoco]

I don't mean to be rude, legit question here. Do the community specialists on this forum do anything other than lock threads and skip over customer concerns?  Is this a paid customer service role at Google? Or is it a volunteer moderator position?

[DanCoco]

Report this issue to the Consumer Product Safety Commission as it is a commonly reported issue that Google has failed to address or acknowledge internally. https://www.saferproducts.gov/IncidentReporting

[Wally26]

Just spoke with Google and was told that my issue was escalated to engineering, and that someone would be contacting me via email within 3-4 days..longer... Hopefully with a repose other than, "Did it solve your problem?"..with no solution. I'll update when I hear something. I'm hoping for a reassuring solution, as I've really enjoyed the product up until now. A smoke alarm, with boiling hot (manufacturer supplied) batteries, is NOT comforting.

[Wally26]

Update...After jumping through a few hoops, a replacement is on the way! Thanks Google Nest! But an answer as to why this happened, would have been reassuring. Even a "it's normal (which we hear way too often), and won't catch fire" would have been nice! Guess I'll just hope that they quietly addressed the issue, and it won't happen again, as I really like the product. 

[DanCoco]

Please be sure to report this safety issue to the Consumer Product Safety Commission anyways. Even if Google replaces it, it still happened.  https://www.saferproducts.gov/IncidentReporting

Check the expiration date on your replacement to be sure it is at least as long as your defective unit had.