Can't communicate with Google during Home App setup of device.

[DickP]

I've had my Nest Learning Thermostat since last August and it was working fine up until about two weeks ago when the Home App dropped the device. I have been trying for a few days to add the device and I get through the installation, up to successfully connecting to the Wi-Fi. I then get a message that it can't communicate with Google and to go back and retry. When I do this the thermostat is immediately disconnected from the Wi-Fi and when I to go back and retry, it fails at the same place. I have tried this over multiple days and even rebooted my router, Factory Reset the thermostat and reinstalled current versions of Nest and Home Apps and it still fails every time. What am I missing?

[David_K]

You can't add that model of thermostat to the Home app in that manner. If it's already setup and you can see it in the Nest app, the thermostat should automatically appear in the Home app if you’re using the same account in both apps, using the same home structure, and have assigned the thermostat to a room in the Nest app. If any of that isn’t true, you’ll need to go ahead and fix those issues to see if you need to try the steps below at all.

Assuming all of the above is true. try these steps:

1. Open the Nest app and follow the “Create another home in the Nest app” steps linked below to create a new temporary home structure:
   Manage homes and products with the Nest app - Google Nest Help
2. Open the Google Home app, find and delete the home structure you just created by following the “Delete a home” steps linked below:
   Share a home and devices in the Google Home app - Google Nest Help

This forces the two apps to sync and your thermostat should now appear in the Google Home app.

[Markjosephp]

Hello everyone,

I wanted to ensure that everything was covered here.

Thanks for the information, @David_K.

@DickP, I hope you've found the answer you're looking for. Please check your thermostat's battery level. Usually, due to low battery power, the thermostat will disable its internet connection in order to save power. Please let us know how it goes.

Regards,
Mark

[Markjosephp]

Hi DickP,

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 trouble from here, as I would be happy to take a closer look and assist you further.

Thanks,

Mark

[Markjosephp]

Hello DickP,

I'm checking in to make sure that you've seen our response. Please let us know if you have any additional questions or concerns before we close this thread in 24 hours.

Best,

Mark

[DickP]

Will try suggested solutions early next week. Thank you.

[Markjosephp]

Hey there,

Sounds like a plan! Thanks for getting back to us, DickP. I'll leave the thread open for it and keep us posted on how it goes.

Best,
Mark

[Dan_A]

Hello again,

I'm chiming in to ensure you've got the answer you're looking for. Feel free to let us know if you have more questions about this.

Kind regards,

Dan

[Jenelyn_O]

Hi DickP,

Just one 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. 

Best,

Jenelyn

[DickP]

Jenelyn, Sorry this is taking so long but I was away from home for about 2 weeks.  I will try to resolve the issues by the end of this week.

Thanks,

**bleep** Pierce

[Jenelyn_O]

Hey DickP,

Thanks for the update! I'll keep this thread open to ensure that everything will be taken care of. Please keep me posted.

Kind regards,

Jenelyn

[DickP]

I have tried multiple times to step through the process David suggested but with no success.  I did not find a link to "delete a home" but I was able to locate the process in the Home AP.  I did as he said adding a 2nd home entry in Nest and then deleted the structure In Home that I had just created.  The results are always the same.  The Home AP goes through the steps of connecting the thermostat to my Wi-Fi and then after responding "finishing up, this could take a while" I get a message that Google was unable to respond, try again.

One thing he did mention that I could not do, was assign the thermostat to a room.  There is no way to do it in the NEST Ap I have on my Samsung android phone.  I have reloaded the AP multiple times over the past few days, so I assume I have the latest version.

Any thoughts on how I should proceed?

[Markjosephp]

Hello there DickP,

Great troubleshooting so far. It's me again, and I wanted to ensure that everything was covered here.

Since you have your Nest Learning Thermostat already installed, you no longer need to add it as a new product in the Google Home app, as long as you're signed in with the email address associated with your thermostat in the Nest app. With this, if the setup fails in the Nest app, could you please check the thermostat's battery level in its Technical Info settings? If it drops to 3.7 volts, pull the display from its base and charge it for an hour before attempting to reconnect. Then, check the network and ensure that it's reconnected to your Wi-Fi network. If so, go back to Settings > Nest App and let me know the status.

I'll look forward to your response.

Regards,
Mark

[dickpierce]

Mark, something doesn't sound right.  I checked the battery level and it read GOOD and then with a voltage level of 3.056 V. I removed it from the base and 50 minutes later it read 2.915 V.  How does disconnecting it from the base charge the battery?  I put in brand new batteries, and it then read 3.016 V.  I'm puzzled how I can even get the 3.7 volts you mentioned.

[Jenelyn_O]

Hi folks,

@dickpierce, for systems that don't use a C wire, the average battery life is about 3 to 6 months. However, depending on the Wi-Fi activity on the Nest Thermostat, the battery life might last longer or shorter. Try to put back the old batteries and check your thermostat battery impedance.

Impedance is an indicator that the batteries need replacement. To do this, on the thermostat display, please go to Settings Battery Battery Status.

If impedance is still higher than 1500 mΩ, put back the new batteries. 

I appreciate the help, Mark.

Kind regards,

Jenelyn