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Nest Thermostat never switches automatically to ECO mode and instead continues to follow schedule

MarcelloS
Community Member

‎03-28-2025 12:03 AM

Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd Generation) - Issue with Home/Away Assist


We have been using a Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd generation) for about two years. However, it consistently follows its scheduled temperatures and does not automatically switch to ECO mode when no one is home, also not when the absence is for days or weeks in a row.

 

Summary of the Issue:

  • Thermostat Model: Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd Generation)
  • Issue Duration: Present since the initial installation in March 2023
  • Initial Setup:
    • Originally installed the Nest app on an iPhone 11 Pro, but the issue was immediately noticeable.
    • After trying every possible setting, we thought that possibly an apple-google incompatibility was the issue. We then uninstalled the Nest app from the iPhone and installed it on an Android phone A54 using a different Google account for further isolation.

 

Current Setup & Settings:

  • Home Address: Accurately set in the Nest app.
  • Home/Away Assist: Phone location is enabled in the Nest app for Home/Away Assist.
  • Location Permissions: The Nest app has full permissions to always access location.
  • Look for What decides if you’re home: My Phone
  • Animal interference: We do not have pets. No risk of pets moving around in front of Thermostat
  • Proximity sensor: The display of the Nest Thermostat does lit up when seeing movement of people in the proximity.
  • Device Usage:
    • The Nest app is installed only on one phone (mine). A Samsung Galaxy A54 phone
    • The Google Home app is not installed on this phone. So no interference possible between Nest and Google Home app. 
    • There are two other phones using the same Google account, but neither has the Nest app nor Google Home app installed.
    • No other Nest devices are contributing to Home/Away Assist.
  • Warning Message shown in Nest app:
    • When checking the phone’s “Use location for phone” setting, an exclamation mark appears with the message:
      " It's been a few days since we've heard from your phone. For now it's not being used for Home/Away Assist. Please check the location settings of your device.”
      => I get this message even though the Nest app has full permissions to always access location

 

Request for Assistance:

Despite all troubleshooting efforts, the Nest Thermostat does not switch to ECO mode when no one is home and instead continues to follow its scheduled temperatures.

Any suggestions to help us resolve this issue?

 

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Gizbug
Community Member

‎03-28-2025 05:33 AM

Not sure if this helps but was told by support “Regarding Home/Away Assist, it can be interrupted if you have any active schedules in the app, even if there's no one at home. This is because your Google Nest Thermostat prioritizes the schedules. Therefore, we'd like to try deleting all your schedules in the app and monitoring your Google Nest Thermostat with Home/Away Assist to verify if this process helps maintain your Eco Mode when no one is home.”

 

I inquired why when I went on vacation for a week, nest initially went into eco when I left but then started heating later in the day and throughout the week when I wasn’t home. Definitely not a “smart” device 

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