Fan schedule is not working as expected

[Batjaa]

Many of us already complained that the fan schedule is not working as we expected and configured.

Exhibit 1

I've set mine to run between 10PM - 5AM every hour for 30 minutes. I wake up with a stuffy noise during the night and clearly the fan hasn't been running for a while that night. I check at the hour to see if it's working and it's not.

Please do not repeatedly ask questions back that can be answered from the reading the thread.

In the past I've seen people's comment that the tickets kept closing without any resolutions.

To help with that and investigation I've pre-answered these questions:

• What type of Nest thermostat do you have?
  • See labels
• When did the issue start?
  • Since I purchased the product Oct 15, 2022
• What other strange symptoms have you experienced since the problem started?
  • Nothing strange but just unintuitive software with how sensors work & schedules - it's very strictive and annoying to use. Thinking even switching brands now.
• Are there any error messages? If so, what are they exactly?
  • No error messages. It's sad that the history only shows heating/cooling cycles but no logs of when things turned on & off.
• What kind of HVAC system do you have? (Heat pump, conventional system, etc.)
  • Heat pump
• Do you notice any intervals or specific patterns between these strange behaviors?
  • No, just random so far
• When was the last maintenance check for your HVAC system?
  • Its' a completely new building with a new HVAC that's 2 months old now
• Has there been any recent changes or upgrades to your HVAC system?
  • No
• Does the issue happen on heating only, cooling only, or both?
  • Not that I've noticed
• Have you checked the power readouts on the Nest thermostat?
  • Yes
• Do you have a common ground wire or C wire?
  • Yes
• Have you experienced any power outages within the last few days or weeks?
  • No

Tried many things including restarting the issue keeps coming back.

[Markjosephp]

Hello Batjaa,

I'm sorry to hear that you're having issues with your Nest Thermostat's fan schedule settings. Let's see what's going on.

Additional question to isolate: could you tell us specifically which Nest Thermostat version you have? Here's your reference. Aside from creating the fan schedule, did you notice if your thermostat's temperature mode switched to off during the course of the fan schedule? If the thermostat is set to off, the fan will not operate.

I'll look forward to your response.

Best regards,

Mark

[Batjaa]

Mine is: Nest Learning Thermostat, 3rd Generation, Black
Since I placed the thermostat I put the mode to Heat and it's never been switched off nor was it off when the fan wasn't working.

[Markjosephp]

Hi there,

I'm sorry if you have to go through this. We'd like you to have a better experience.

I'd love to know more about this. Could you share a photo of your current thermostat's wiring? Also, please tell us the power readouts (battery level, voc, vin, and lin) on your thermostat's technical info settings, and I'll wait for your response.

Thanks.
Mark

[Batjaa]

I think I've got some better "proof" I guess. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night because, again, the room got very stuffy and uncomfortable. Obv this kicked me off my sleep and I put my hand above the vent, nothing...

So I started taking bunch of screenshots of the application status:

But while I was browsing these settings and taking screenshots, the fan started working:

Then again, the same night about an hour later, similar story. First, the fan was not working when I opened the app:

And then it started working:

My expectation is, that the start time would always be at the 0th minute for each hour. But even if that's not the case, the start time for these 2 instance 1 hour apart are not at the same time.

[Markjosephp]

Hi there,

Thanks for sharing the screenshots, @Batjaa. Big help!

Since you can run the fan independently and only when your thermostat is in a temperature mode (such as Heat, as shown in the screenshot). I'd suggest disabling the Home/Away Assist and turning off the Eco temperatures so it won't automatically change into Eco mode.

Please observe and keep us posted on how it goes.

Thanks,

Mark

[Batjaa]

I'll do that for now. But don't you think that's just a workaround and this is a bug? Are you all taking actions on your end to fix it?

[Markjosephp]

Hi Batjaa,

I'm checking back in — how's it going with your thermostat? Still need our help? Please let me know if the steps helped, or if the issue still persists.

Regards,

Mark

[Batjaa]

Yeah, I still need the home away assistant need to work. It wouldn't be ideal to manually turn on/off everytime I leave/arrive home. I asked:

> But don't you think that's just a workaround and this is a bug? Are you all taking actions on your end to fix it?

[Markjosephp]

Hello there,

I'm sorry for the delayed response, Batjaa. If the thermostat switches to Eco, it ignores all the scheduled temperatures until you manually switch back to heating or cooling mode. How's your thermostat going?

Thanks,

Mark

[Batjaa]

Yes, I understand that. But why is it switching to eco mode? My assumption is, as the name suggest, home/away assistant is supposed to turn on eco mode only when we leave the home. Not during the night, randomly.

[Markjosephp]

Hi there,

This might also be a presence-sensing concern. If you have the Google Home app on your phone, try checking the Home/Away Routines; make sure that there are no routines being created. Also, try toggling your phone's location with the Home/Away settings in the Nest app. Here's your guide to its settings.

At the moment, let's observe your thermostat's behavior and keep us posted on how it goes.

Thanks,

Mark

[Markjosephp]

Hi Batjaa,

I know it has been a while, but I wanted to ensure that everything is covered here. How's your thermostat? Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Regards,

Mark

[Batjaa]

The issue still persists.

I woke up last night, again very stuffy and checked my phone. It was 4am, I waited couple minutes to see if the fan would start running but it didn't.

After taking these screenshots I manually run the fan 😕

 This is becoming very annoying.

[Markjosephp]

Hello there,

I'm sorry for the trouble this may have caused you, and I appreciate all your efforts in doing all these steps with me. We'd be happy to take a further look into this for you.

Please fill out this form with the needed information and let us know once you're done.

Thanks,

Mark

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey there Batjaa, 
 
We got your form — thanks for filling it out. Keep your lines open as our team will reach out to you via email anytime soon. 

Also, please continue the conversation there as this thread will be locked after 24 hours.

Cheers, 
Mel