Nest Thermostat Lock Override

[KarateKid]

This has been posted many times in different ways but google either never responds or provides links to sites that don't address this issue and it's been going on for years now, ever since google took over the Nest line.

My question is this: Why, when I set a pin to lock the nest thermostat from being adjusted in any way does the Nest App, the Google Home App, Google devices, and Amazon Alexa devices override this lock? I have found no way around this after days and hours of searching on Google Search. When I set a lock NOTHING should be able to change the temperature, mode, range, or any other Nest Thermostat Setting from any app or device without first providing the pin.  I've read in very dated articles that the nest skill, before Google acquired the line, included a permission specifically to enforce the lock. It has been years, this needs to be fixed NOW! You have countless customers over the years posting on multiple forums across the web asking for this and the threads die because Google is refusing to do anything about it. If I don't get a decent response from a google representative on this forum on how to fix it or that it has been fast tracked to be added in. I will re-create this post over and over, I will contact support relentlessly until every representative and supervisor knows my name. It's a basic feature and a few simple lines of code. DO YOUR JOB GOOGLE! I have personally invested hundreds if not thousands of dollars on your devices, your apps, and your services and you are spitting in my face and millions of other customers over a bug with a simple fix. 

[CoolingWizard]

@KarateKid 

what you clearly do not understand is that the smart device that is attached to your thermostat has been authorized by you as a legitimate and authorized device. That is why you can make changes to your device thermostat using your smart devices which you’ve already authorized. 

The pin that you installed is primarily so that somebody cannot override the thermostat at the display when locked. 

Again, only the authorized phone or speaker device can change the systems temperature mode in settings. If you don’t want other family members to be able to use the smart devices, simply disable those devices and deauthorize ability to communicate with your nest display when you leave the house. 

AC Cooling Wizard

[KarateKid]

@CoolingWizard I understand that fully. It still makes no sense that the lock feature, which was recognized before google took it over and  they created the new skill, doesn’t recognize it anymore. It’s possible. I know it is. Google just chose not to add the same feature into their skill. If I could modify the skills code myself I would have done it yesterday but that’s not possible either. This should absolutely be a feature to keep family members from tampering with a range I set. There are multiple clients that need it for other reasons. Talking down to me is a waste of my time. If you don’t have a solution don’t respond.

[CoolingWizard]

@KarateKid 

Nobody is “talking down” to you.  You are simply asking for a feature that has value to only a limited set of potential customers; not enough to justify the development expenditure. 
Take a conventional thermostat, you leave the house and anyone in the house can change the system mode or temperature. Solution was to put a lockbox over the thermostat.  
The concept of a smart home is that members of that home can access and use them. The members of the home should be trusted members and they should respectful. 
Google is creating a world of interconnected smart devices to make our lives simpler to enjoy and to share.  There is no need to add an absolute lockout feature since this defeats the concept of of the Internet of Things working together; again, enriching our lives. 

AC Cooling Wizard

[KarateKid]

Ok, I may have overstepped when I said you were talking down to me. I understand what you are saying but what I don’t understand is if a lock feature is available and in the past before google took over Nest, I had the ability to lockdown the thermostat on all fronts and that’s been taken away from me simply because google decided to leave it out of the Amazon skill. The cost to add a few lines of code amounts to Penny’s on the dollar. This isn’t a limited group requesting it be added back in, its hundreds of thousands of people across multiple forums dating back to several years. Having a feature available but then allowing 3rd party applications/devices including 1st party devices such as  google devices just doesn’t make sense. Why keep the lock feature in at all if it can’t be enforced. As a smart home admin there should be the option to lockout users from making changes to ANY device with a voice command or using the app. The answer shouldn’t be to remove the skill from Amazon and/or uninstalll the app from all devices but one. I can’t put a lockbox on it (virtually speaking) because it’s not an option. What exactly do you think I’m missing here? I guess I’m just not following your logic.

[CoolingWizard]

@KarateKid ,

Your thought that it should only cost pennies to add a software feature code is off base.  Think about this. To simply add a “feature” requires several planning meetings each with several stakeholders.  Then there is the engineering review, product marketing input, preliminary design reviews. Product hardware and software impact reviews, 

All of these considerations must be undertaken just evaluate the basic feasibility of adding a feature.  

I can guarantee that there was internal discussion made when it was suggested that removing the hard lockout in favor of IoT trusted member control was made. 
Nothing is taken lightly.  

AC Cooling Wizard

[KarateKid]

@David_K  I see that you are marked as an expert for google nest. Since no one from the support team has reached out I thought I might try and tap you for a resolution to this. Any suggestions here? It’s been a week and no one other than a fellow member has responded and the response is useless as it’s just another human on the internet talking down to me. I have been playing with writing my own automation script but I have been unsuccessful in creating a script that passes. Can you help in response to my original inquiry? 

[David_K]

You're welcome to send this feedback directly to Google. However, other than that, I can only but confirm what CoolingWizard already mentioned in as much as that the feature is working as intended and there isn't a fault to diagnose here. This forum is predominately a user to user community (product experts are volunteer users that do not work for Google), therefore Google support (community specialists etc) do not respond to all posts.

[KarateKid]

Understood thanks @David_K 

[KarateKid]

So I'm pretty confident that if I can get the hang of YAML scripting I can write a scripted automation for Google Home that would at least come close to my goal. Wish me luck I guess as no one has touched this other than to tell me it's not possible and google never responded to my feedback. I'm still slightly irritated but I appreciate both of you for at least looking at and replying to my post @CoolingWizard and @David_K