Nest Learning Thermostat Turning Itself Off / Rebooting

[maby11]

I just got a new Nest and have it all installed. Heating works but the Nest keeps turning off/rebooting itself. Sometimes the heat comes back on the same setpoint after, and sometimes it has reset the temperature down to a different temp. 

I have a C wire and the battery on the nest is reading 3.9V, so it seems to be getting power and keeping charge.

Any ideas? Bad firmware? Faulty unit? 

[zoeuvre]

Hi maby11, 

Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that your new Nest Thermostat keeps turning off or rebooting itself intermittently. Kindly follow these steps: 

1. Make sure that your HVAC system and the Nest Thermostat are connected securely at all wiring points. Check that all of the wires, including the C wire connection, are securely fastened to the appropriate terminals on both ends. The thermostat may restart due to power outages brought on by loose or erratic connections.
2. Turn off your heating system at the main power switch or circuit breaker to try power cycling it. Turn it back on after a few minutes of being off.
3. Verify that the Nest Thermostat you have installed is compatible with your HVAC system. You may use our Compatibility Checker to determine if a Nest thermostat is compatible with your heating and cooling system or kindly send us a photo of your previous thermostat wiring configuration and a photo of how you exactly wired it to the Nest Thermostat.
4. Verify whether your Nest Thermostat has any firmware upgrades available. If there is:
   • From the Quick view menu on your thermostat, select Settings.
   • Choose Software Update.
5. If the issue persists, reset the device to its default settings. To perform a factory reset, go to the Nest app, select your thermostat, go to the settings menu, and choose "Reset." Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

Let us know how it goes.

Best,

Zoe

[maby11]

Hi Zoe, 

I tried all of those things but no luck :(. It just seems to randomly turn off (quite often), and then reboot eventually. I can also force it to come back on by taking the unit off of the wall/backplate, which will make it come back on immediately. It does look like a full reboot (google logo comes up, animations, etc.)... is there some sort of deep power saving mode it goes into? Or is it just turning off?

I ordered a second one but haven't opened it yet.. my next step is to try that and see if that one works better. 

Thanks,

Maddy

[zoeuvre]

Hi Maddy, 

Thanks for keeping us in the loop, and I appreciate you taking the time to follow the steps I provided above. I want to make sure everything is taken care of. I'll keep this thread open and will wait for your update after you install your other thermostat so we can determine if the situation is isolated to thermostat software or hardware.

Keep us posted. We're happy to help.

Regards,

Zoe 

[maby11]

I left the wall plate in and just replaced the thermostat itself and the new one seems to be working. I noticed some irregularities in the pins on connector of the thermostat that was rebooting - some are sticking out further than the others and one is much shorter. Potentially that might have been causing poor contact? I can get a photo and add here too.

My plan is to return the bad one to Amazon where I bought it and mark it as defective, unless there is a different preferred way to return broken ones for failure analysis? I already bought the new one through Amazon though too, so would be looking for a refund rather than exchange. 

Thanks!

Maddy

[zoeuvre]

Hi there,

Thanks for the update. The faulty thermostat's connector pin irregularities may have caused poor contact, leading to rebooting. Documenting these pins can support your claim of defectiveness. I'd suggest reaching out to the third-party seller where you bought the thermostat to file a claim. They will provide guidance on additional information or a specific process for handling defective items for analysis.

Kind regards,

Zoe