Hot water not working

[Sgrieves]

Hi - My hot water isn’t working on schedule. It says it’s “on” but the background in the app is still grey.  Also when I boost, again it says “on” but is grey still and there is absolutely no hot water. 

When the immersion is turned on on the hot water tank, and I switch the nest to boost, then and only then the “on” screen glows orange.  I know then that the hot water is working - I think the nest isn’t.  Have done a restart on the control - what more can I do please?  Thanks! 

[Wakey]

I’ve got the same issue now.  Heating working fine, no hot water.  App displays greyed out hot water icon even though it’s scheduled to be on (and on boost). It’s driving me crazy as I can’t get any hot water even with the heating drawing from the boiler.  Any help other than what’s been suggested is welcomed while I wait for the heating engineer to turn up. 

[Danbo]

I will be interested to hear what he says,  mine seems to not work for 14-24 hours then will start working again for another couple of weeks at least...   I have tried everything suggested on here with no luck and mine is all on the latest update.

[Wakey]

They’ve cancelled on me for today.  Hopefully I’ll get someone to look at it soon.  I will update as and when.  Also, nervous about how much this is going to cost me to rip out and replace.  I have 3 nest thermostats in the house and this has been an eye opener for me.  IoT and smart homes are not the future when Google can’t sort out basic program and roll out standards.

[Danbo]

Yes I agree.   I wish I had just gone with a traditional thermostat to be honest.   

[Wakey]

For the benefit of anyone else that’s having this issue.  I spoke to Google this morning and had no real joy.  What I’ve noticed with my setup however, which will keep me limping along until the engineer turns up, is by my hot water tank I’ve got a motorised value that is set to auto and connected to the nest heat link.  I’m presuming when operating normally it opens when there’s demand for hot water.  I’ve moved this switch to manual and open, which now pushes hot water into the tank only when the heating is on.  Note there still isn’t any demand seen at the boiler from the nest system and the orange light is off on the app even though it’s on or boosting.  Which leads me to believe it’s not the valve that’s faulty but the nest system itself, and I Can confirm There hasn’t been any power cuts, major changes etc since it was installed 3 years ago.  The only this that’s happened is the update.   I’m getting a full service on the boiler and general check up to triple check it.    So to conclude Google still really need to answer why their app is not showing the hot water icon as orange?  There’s a very real chance there’s a bug in the software which isn’t sending the command to the boiler for hot water which seems to be the case for me.

[LauraC]

Thanks so much for this- I’ve got a motorised valve between my HeatLink and tank too, sorely tempted to move it to manual and open (we’ve had no hot water since Tuesday night) but the engineer is coming out tomorrow so I might wait for fear of messing something up! We have 4 other motorised valves in the boiler room controlling various heating zones and one has already needed to be replaced so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was that. 
Spent a rather unhelpful 30 mins chatting with someone on Google support chat last night who asked if I had a multi meter handy to perform my own continuity test…er no!! He then said it’s likely a stuck relay switch within the HeatLink as I couldn’t hear a ‘click’ from the HeatLink when I boosted from the thermostat at the time of our chat- but then I don’t think it would click as the schedule was set to be heating water anyway at the time of our chat! I too have had the droplet icon on/off- seems to be no rhyme or reason when that appears on the display. 

[Stevepen]

I will be keeping an eye on this as I am having the exact same issue for the last 4 days. It says my nest had a software update on the 9th of November. Waiting for an engineer but until then I have to rely on turning the Immersion on and off.

[Steve59]

Too note my hot water icon/screen has only ever turned orange for 5 minutes after a hard reset of the thermostat but when it’s grey and says it’s on it still hears water

mow I have been around the houses with Google as I used to be a product expert and they admitted it was a problem but for the hot water it was only really an indicator and they “Google” were

not putting any resources it to fixing the bud 

so I suggest that everyone that has this grey icon/screen problem keeps logging and pestering Google and perhaps one day they will see it as important and get it resolved 

[Wakey]

Just reset the thermostat and got exactly this.  The orange light on water comes on for about 5mins… and then goes off.  I got excited for a moment and thought I’d cleared it, but still can’t see the demand for hot water on the boiler.  I’ll await the engineers verdict next week, but would love to hear what other peoples engineers say about the issue.

[Steve59]

If you have a hw tank then the water may be hot enough and a tank thermostat preventing the need for heat, you could test this by emptying the HW tank

the hw icon screen is only an indicator of status it does not mean when it’s on the boiler is on, it just means the boiler will fire if the water needs heating when it’s off it won’t 

[LauraC]

My problem now seems to be fixed- it was a faulty motorised valve in a box between the HeatLink and the water tank. So the signals were getting through from the thermostat fine (when boosting or when the schedule was activated) but the boiler wouldn’t call for heat. Valve replaced and everything (currently) working fine. 

[Basher]

I had the issue that the nest thermostat and app would not show orange when heating the water although the water was actually being heated. I have a separate motorised valve for the water and another for the heating. I had loads of calls with Google who to be honest were not that bothered about it. it. The thermostat had a software update a few days later and everything is working as it should again. I think it is definitely a bug in the software.

[Steve59]

Mine has never really turned orange

[Wakey]

I’ve been looking at the app setting for the thermostat.  Go >Select thermostat/ click on cog in the top left / then scroll down and select equipment.  Mine says heat source gas and heat type radiators only??.  If I go to the physical thermostat and navigate to the same equipment setting it states system boiler heat with on off and hot water with on off.  When I go to test only the heating is available?  Now I can’t say what these settings looked like before the update but I would have thought they should match?  The fact the app doesn’t recognise the thermostat as a hot water and the physical one does might be an issue?   Can anyone confirm they see the same?

[Steve59]

System Boiler is correct on the Thermostat from

what I recall, any other you may lose the Hot Water function 

[Wakey]

My issue is now fixed.  Again it was a faulty motorised value between the heat link and hot water tank.  It’s been replaced and the boiler now fires when there’s demand (under boost or schedule from the nest).  There’s still a bug with the app displaying the water icon as greyed out, but if this is just visual I can live with Google’s woeful app update and bug fixing process.  I still find it very strange that everyone had a similar issue after the update but hey… perhaps it’s just coincidence!?  Hope this helps someone in the future. 

[Steve59]

Glad your all sorted, unfortunately the grey app icon/screen will not get sorted as it’s not an indicator for when the boiler is fired I would rather they change tact and admit it should not turn orange 

[Danbo]

Yet again no hot water for me. Am finally going to call someone out and hope its the motorised valve

[Karl_]

Another chipping in, we noticed we had no hot water the last day or so, I guess my shower yesterday was underwhelming, I thought I had not turned the dial up from when the kids where in it, but was defo cold for the wife this morning. The nest clicks and changes to "on" in the app when the schedule kicks in or we manually boost but the boiler does not turn on, we can get it to turn on for heating but I don't actually know if this is heating the hot water too.

I have reset the schedules as recommended but given that the nest clicks and the app says its on it must be a problem with the boiler itself, hard to say if I have "motorised valve" as described by a few people, can barely find info on my boiler. Engineer on call, guess I will update with the outcome.

Nest has been installed for 2-3 years now with no issues.

[Wakey]

 this is the release value that was faulty.  It does two things.  When you hit boost or when the water is on the heating schedule this value (that’s wired into the nest heat link white box), should make a small sound and open the flow of hot water to your tank.  It also sends an electrical signal to your boiler to fire.  

[Wakey]

It’s not attached to your boiler so snoop around the hot water tank and nest heat link box.

i found as a work around if the lever on the silver box was moved to manual and the boiler was heating the rads, then the hot water tank would fill again.

[Karl_]

Thanks for this information! so I recognise that box, I had a look and the lever was not quite on Auto, it was about 60% of the way there so I have moved it to auto fully. I can turn on the hot water and increase the tanks temp and I can hear the little motor moving so it seems like it is working, however, the boiler does not appear to be initialising and now funnily, the app says its on but no longer is it orange it's just grey with moving bubbles when I have the tank temp set above 60 (its current temp) and the bubbles remain still when set below. 

I have hot water as I've had it in manual mode for the last hour to make sure it works, which it does, but I expect the boiler to kick on to heat the hot water when its triggered for boost or schedule. I guess all I can do is deplete the water with the daily activities and see if I wake up to cold water tomorrow.

[Wakey]

Glad it was of some help.  It sounds like you need to replace that silver box as in auto mode it should open the value and send a signal to the boiler to fire to heat the tank when the tank thermostat is lower than the set level or if the schedule is on or if you’ve boosted.  In manual mode mine opened the value but the boiler was not firing, so I only got hot water IF the central heating was on and the boiler was already firing from the demand of the rads.

[Wakey]

But I’m highly suspicious that the nest update didn’t do something to change something somewhere and there’s still the apparently benign bug with the app showing hot water as greyed out.

[LauraC]

This happened with our box for a while Wakey - temporarily worked in manual mode and the heating was on too - but then it packed up completely! Apparently the plumber said these motorised valves go all the time. It's the second we've had to replace in the last year, less than 3 years after installing them. Gap in the market I reckon!

[AnaM]

Hey everyone, I'm sorry to hear about your issues and I apologize for the late reply. I'd like to assist on this matter. First of all, I'd like to know 2 things:

• Is the display the one that doesn't show the orange screen or do you see that on the app as well?
• If you go to the Heat Link and boost the hot water, do you hear a click? Also, does the Heat Link click when you turn it off?

[emmalavaine]

Hello,

For me it mostly shows the Grey screen but sometimes it’s Orange (in the app). Very random ?  Ive done the full Google trouble shooting online Chat & the heat link works fine (it clicks etc).  My boiler & Nest system are new (august 21) & this issue only started to happen since the update it seams. Every few days it fails so I have to reset the thermostat, which then works for another few days. I’ve been doing this for weeks now. Each time I don’t hear the boiler fire up, I have to boost to get hot water then reset the system. I’m constantly wondering when it’s going to fail again. I invested into a Nest as I thought I was making my life easier. I was advised by Google chat to get an electrician in to check that the ‘continuity’ is wired correctly. 

I await your reply,

Thank you

Emma 

[JMarr]

Hello Thought I would chip in as Im having the same issues as above! My install is relatively new (September 21) so when I started waking up to no hot water I presumed it was an install issue. I had my heating engineers back 3 times since. First time we could not replicate the fault. Second time we could and my engineer agreed it was a mix of a “failed” valve and the nest system. 3rd visit they replaced the above and it worked for just over a week but the hot water demand to the boiler was on all the time, which i could live with for now. Yesterday the hot water finally turned off when scheduled but then Woke up this morning no hot water again, could not manually start it via the app or thermostat. Had to go into the loft and manually open the valves.

this is clearly a software problem that may even be damaging physical valves? 

Google need to sort this out you cant provide a service for such a crucial part of the home if your not going to fix it. 
And yes my wiring that was put in is all fine (I checked as an electrician!) and it did work for 2+ months then went wrong intermittently. 

Ive read several forums with complaints like the above now and installs that have been in for years are having these issues so it all points to software!!!! 

[AnaM]

Hey @emmalavaine,

Since you've had an electrician over and the continuity test results are fine, did you have him check the whole system? Also, based on what you're saying, does this issue happen intermittently?

Hey @JMarr,

When you start it from the app or from the thermostat, what did the display show? Did it look like it activated the boiler but it didn't? Or it didn't show anything?

[emmalavaine]

Hi,

Yes it does happen intermittently.  It can be 2 days up to 1 week or so.  The hole system (boiler etc) is brand new from Aug 21 & runs perfectly well (heating without any issues).  it does seam to have been effected since the last Google/Nest update.   

[bodas73]

Just started this week having intermittent heating problems with the boiler/ storage tank and NEST. everything was working fine until 1st December then one day the boiler would not fire. did a reset on this and it started for heating. No issue with water. Over the course of the next week and a bit the system has been very problematic, no heat, having to do multiple resets on the boiler and by chance it works. NEST is calling for both water and heat and the Heatlink clicks. Just had  my service and everything checked out fine including the valves on the megaflow storage tank. The storage tank does have a breaker switch fitted and when the NEST was installed this had tripped showing the water icon greyed out. When that was sorted the icon went orange and has been fine ever since (18 months) today however after a heatlink reset the icon stays grey. I did check the breaker also. If I put it in manual mode then it lights up orange. I do think there is a potential issue with the boiler however I also think that there is a potential firmware issue with the November update. I am waiting on an engineer tomorrow to check the system out fully as I fortunately have central heating cover..

I have not had any issues with NEST previously and while I dont think they are as intuitive as made out its been pretty reliable. I dare say though some new boilers with their own apps are probably just as good with a standard thermostat.

[emmalavaine]

Hello,

The more I read on here, the more I also agree that it is a firmware issue with Nest/Google.  I truly hope Google will get this fixed asap & do what it takes to do so.

[bodas73]

After a reset on the heatlink and thermostat the hot water fired when the shower was in use. The Icon was still grayed out but then came on after a while. Still on now after 30 mins as I have it set to constant and the water cylinder controls it. Will keep updating the forum to see if it settles down. Still think something is not quite right.

[bodas73]

Morning everyone.

Just wanted to post an update.

So after the Heatlink and Thermostat reset everything started working as I posted last night. I can confirm that the system is now working fully.

• Schedule works for both Hot water and Heating, tweaked my schedule to test.
• Manual works for both Hot water and Heating
• Boost works
• Water fires without issue when the storage tank demands it. This is my normal setting in the schedule for water basically on midnight to midnight 24x7 with storage tank calling the demand.
• The app - water was working but app had stayed grey, this resolved itself yesterday. What I have found now is as follows. Previously the app for water would be orange all the time, now it lights up orange when the demand is called and goes grey when not, the water is indicated as ON but this is because my schedule is set 24x7 midnight to midnight. If I change it then it says OFF when not on schedule.

So what did I do

Well this is the chain of events. Got the boiler inspected and serviced on the 8th on the 9th morning the boiler had not fired. Did a few resets on the boiler and it started. I then decided to power the boiler and heatlink of at the wall for an hour. I did this and then had the greyed out water icon in the app. I checked the trip on the storage tank. Mine is a Megaflow fitted in 2008 witha grey panel on the front. It can trip out when the power is switched off at the fuse box. but it was fine. Then I reset the Heatlink and then the thermostat. The heating worked but the app stayed grey for water. later that evening when the storage tank called for the water to be heated the app went orange. Everything is now working as it should.

Not saying this will work for everyone but might be worth a try if you are having problems still. Oh also I force stopped the Android app and cleared the cache earlier that day. 

It does appear that the system is sensitive to a number of factors. 

[Karl_]

Update on my issues.

boiler guy came around and came to the same conclusion as I did with the help from a few here, the valve was not functioning so it was replaced and its been working as intended since. 

Perhaps it was all just a coincidence that these issues occurred after an update to the nest.

[CristianC]

Hello everyone,

I'm happy to see that most of you have already found a fix. If you are still experiencing issues, please let me know if you hear a click sound coming from the Heat Link. Go to the Heat Link and boost your hot water from the app. Each time you boost or stop boosting, you should hear a click sound coming from the Heat Link. Same goes for the heating part. Let me know if you hear the click sound when you boost and stop boosting the hot water. 

[emmalavaine]

Hi Cristian,

Unfortunately my issue hasn't been resolved.  Well over a month on, I am going round in circles - when the thermostat fails, I re-set, then after a few days or so it fails again, I then repeat.  I have just tried 'boosting' via my app & my heat link clicks OK, and again when I stop booting.  Where do we go from here ?

[CristianC]

Hi there. If you hear a click sound coming from the Heat Link, then your thermostat and Heat Link are functioning correctly. It doesn't seem to be a Nest issue. Can you also give me the case number for your interaction with Google Nest support?

[emmalavaine]

Hi Cristian,

Hres my case number: 

Case ID [9-0444000032265

[CristianC]

Thanks for getting back to me. Can you check if the hot water schedule is enabled in the settings of the physical thermostat? Have you seen any error messages?