How to reset Nest thermostat remotely

[Doug_Nystrom]

I’m in Chicago using the Google Home iPhone app;  the Nest thermostat (model 1.4, software version 1.1-9) is on Cape Cod. After two recent Cape Cod power failures (due to storms) during which the the furnance lost power, the Comcast service on Cape Cod went down, the Cape house’s wifi went down, I am unable to control the temperature setting on the Nest thermostat, even though I have wifi connectivity to the thermostat. The thermostat is turning the furnance on when the temperature drops to 45, but the furnance shuts off when the temp reaches 46 or 47. Normally, I keep the temperature at 55, which is the current setting shown on my iPhone; I can increase/change the temperature setting, but the furnace doesn’t respond. I’ve tried everything…to no avail.  Help!!

[CBFox]

It sounds like your Nest is stuck in "Safety Temperature" mode.  Exactly the same thing just happened to our Cape Cod house.  During the outage the house temperature dropped below our Safety Temperature, so that feature kicked in . . . and completely took over the Nest's tiny mind.  To wrest control back, go into Settings and set your Safety Temperature to be well above or well below the current house temperature.  Somehow that seems to get the Nest out of its funk, so that it will obey your schedule or your manual commands.  I learned about this bug and workaround from a thread on this forum; search for "Safety Temperature".

[Doug_Nystrom · Accepted solution]

CB, thank you, thank you…your advice worked!  I wasn’t able to raise the safety temperature beyond 45, but I was able to lower it (which made me a be nervous), and after doing that and releasing the hold, I was able get things back to normal…which is a real relief. There’s nothing intuitive about this software…and the problem we’ve had seems like a design flaw or programming error. I hope Nest takes a look. I had my CC neighbor take a hands-on look at the thermostat a couple of days ago, and he was flummoxed. I had shut off the water, but not drained the pipes…and 45 degrees seemed to low for comfort. Thanks again for the help. 

[MelbaDT]

Hey folks, 

Thanks for your answer and suggestion, CBFox. 

@Doug_Nystrom, glad to hear it worked for you. Let us know if you need more help, we'll just be here. 

Best, 

Melba

[CBFox]

The kudos should all go to the folks on this thread:  https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Nest-Thermostats/Nest-not-calling-for-heat/m-p/63257/highligh... , who found the workaround by tinkering or by pure thought, and who spent thankless hours trying to engage Customer Support.

Does anyone know how to persuade Google to fix this bug?  It's causing quite a bit of consternation and misery.

[Ryan_G]

Hey folks,

Thanks for visiting the Google Nest Community. 

Since this thread hasn't had activity in a while, we're going to close it to keep content fresh.

@CBFox, you could send your feedback to us by checking out this link.

If you have additional questions, feel free to submit another post and provide as many details as possible so that others can lend a hand. 

Hope this helps!

Kind regards,

Ryan