Nest Sensor Can't connect after replacing battery

[rhfeenan]

Have used a Sensor for over a year.  Got message that the battery needs to be replaced.  Replaced the battery, and now it continues to fail the connection test.  Deleted Sensor from account, re-added without any issue, then try the Connection as part of the setup, and it just fails.  Even had the sensor 1 foot away from the thermostat.  What are my next steps?  I've read a fix that basically removes everything Nest in your house/phone/etc.  But I find this to be sensless.  I just replace a battery.

[SethNewton]

Similar problem. Sensor stopped updating. Changed battery. Worked briefly for one day. Now sensor no longer connects. What to do next?

[Art]

Started having issues today.  Got a notification that the sensor cannot connect.  Tried  reconnecting, failed 3 times. Deleted the sensor completely, and added it again, still unable to connect. 

[Wayne_D]

I too have had this happen.  I have THREE sensors connected to my stat.  ALL of them show offline.  Tried remove/reinstall in app, no change. Doesn't CONNECT to the stat. Batteries are GOOD, distance is within reach. I think its the stat, not the sensors.  SERIOUSLY considering returning it all to Amazon and going with a diff company.

[Wayne_D]

Just got off phone with support.  RESTARTing the T-stat resolved the issue.  I've had this stat and 3 sensors less than a month.  If this happens again in the next 2 weeks, back to Amazon it all goes.

[rhfeenan]

I also did a Thermostat Restart and the Sensor connected right up.  Glad I didn't have to remove all my nest from my life and add them back in again.

[mr_T]

Thanks, that fixed it. I had tried everything else on the support site, but nothing worked.

[Sanaya88]

How did you restart stat

[CoolDad]

Push the thermostat dial towards the wall twice.

Then, choose the gear icon (settings) by rotating the dial.

The last option is restart.

However, that didn't work for me.  Ready my sensor reset instructions on this thread.  Those worked.

[rhfeenan]

I did a simple RESTART on the Nest Thermostat itself and the sensor connected right up.

[Marc7]

Tried restarting the thermostat after battery replacement and it still says offline. This is a simple issue that should resolve itself without hours spent troubleshooting. Is my only choice buying a new sensor?

[MC51]

Per another forum, removing the battery from the sensor for 10 minutes worked for me as well

[CoolDad]

Trying the Thermostat Restart didn't work for me.  However, what worked for me was removing the sensor battery and shorting the sensor battery terminals for a few seconds to discharge any caps inside the sensor. Then, put the sensor battery back in.  Check the connection with the app and it connected right away.

[JADrisko]

Thanks for this tip! This totally fixed the problem using a paperclip to discharge the capacitor! I was getting ready to throw the Sensors against the wall after trying to reconnect them for weeks.

[SulleyBoo7271]

This worked great for me... I have been fighting not resetting the thermostat. As soon as I saw this, I tried it and it instantly connected. Brilliant! Thank you!

[capitalheel]

well done! dug around for a fix and found this thread, the paper clip tricked did the job. same as others i was simply replacing the temp sensor battery and could not get the thing to connect - tried battery removal, removing it from my nest, etc. thanks.

[Haacksta]

Worked for me too! Had tried several other things to no avail. Thanks.

[Swooshbb]

This is amazing it worked perfectly and instantly. Not just once but then i had a sensor that hasn't connected for YEARS that i spent weeks going back and forth with the google help team and they couldn’t do anything helpful and wanted me to start a whole new nest account and set up all my cameras and thermostats again. I said no thanks and gave up. I tried this on that sensor and it worked too! Unreal. Google please adopt this step as part of your formal troubleshooting because it is way quicker and more effective than having the user reset everything in site just to try again in vain.

[Giac]

Totally worked for me. Insane!!!!

[Krea92916]

Can you share how to do this for someone with zero knowledge of what this means? 🤣 

[Giac]

Take a knife or a fork or a metal pin then make it touch both pins where the battery sits at the same time

[RLjohnson]

Thanks, That instantly made 2 of my sensors that I couldnt get online come right back.

[Jenelyn_O]

Hi RLjohnson,

Thanks for letting us know. We're glad to hear that. Please let us know if you still have questions or concerns, as we'll be willing to assist you further. Otherwise, we'll be locking this thread after 24 hours.

Best,

Jenelyn

[E-Ramone]

Thanks for the tip! I just had this exact problem after changing the battery in my Nest Temperature Sensor. I took the battery out, and I bent a small paperclip to connect the two terminals for about 5-seconds. The sensor connected right away once I re-installed the new battery. Worked like a charm!

[DocJoeBrown]

I can confirm, as of Jan. 16 -2023, this still works. Place the paper clip where the battery goes for 5-10 seconds. Then, reinstall the battery.

[Cac2244]

Restating the nest thermostat worked for me. Sensor reconnected right away.

[misstheoldnest]

Thank you so much for the paper clip trick! I've had a "dead" sensor for months and I've worked with support multiple times with no help from them. I was about ready to break down and buy an Ecobee since Google wanted me to remove all my devices and set everything up everything up again to fix the sensor. Why are they not recommending this step? It fixed my problem instantly, and you don't get shocked or anything. 

[SpencerDR]

Similar problem. In my case sensor, now acts like a brick.