How to move devices from nest to home if migration not supported

[schneiderj101]

This article https://bit.ly/3GxU8r4 describes a process to follow if an attempt to migrate a Nest account to Google fails due to a prior association with a nest device and that google account.  It describes "disconnecting your devices."  Does it really mean "disconnect?"  Or does it mean "Delete from the Nest App."  The devices in this case are thermostats and cameras.  Do I have to actually disconnect the thermostats from the heating system?  Seems excessive.

[schneiderj101]

Seen the section about "Error message: Google Account is already linked with another Nest account."

[MplsCustomer]

@schneiderj101 

In the Help topic you referenced (https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9297676), if the Google Account to which you are trying to migrate is already associated with a Google Nest device, they mean you have to go through the process of deleting all of your existing Google Nest devices from the Google Nest app, doing a factory reset if necessary, and then reinstalling in the Google Nest app (logging on with the "Sign on with Google" option, with the Google Account you want to use), and hoping you don't have any issues reinstalling.

I'm not sure how the reinstall process works for Nest thermostats because we don't have any.  You might have to check for Help topics on that.

[schneiderj101]

A factory reset of what?  The devices themselves?

[MplsCustomer · Accepted solution]

@schneiderj101 

The factory reset would be a reset of the Google Nest devices (such as cameras and doorbells), and would only be needed if you encountered an issue after removing them from the Google Nest app (while still signed on with the "Sign on with Nest" option) and then trying to reinstall them in the Google Nest app (while signed on with the "Sign on with Google" option).  I don't know if you'd encounter any issues (like an error message saying the device is still attached to another account).  And like I said, since we don't have any thermostats, I don't know whether the same thing applies to them, and I think factory reset works differently for thermostats.

I don't know why Google Nest's Help topic uses the words "disconnect" and "reconnect".