Nest thermostat replacement issues - reincarnating closed thread

[thefu]

Had an OG Nest for 10 years. Worked great. Remodeled. Decided to get the latest. Installed them. Worked fine for two or three months and then the WiFi on one of them would not find any networks. Called up. Very helpful. Then when it came to sending me another they had to charge my card. OK. Whatever. So the "new" replacement came. Would not light up - LED would blink only. Another 30 min on the phone. Support agent told me I had to now send the replacement back and wait to get another.  That they would know that they need to send me another. So much for advance replacement now. So I do. About 10 days go by. I hear nothing. Crickets. Call up. Evidently they closed the original RMA. Time to do it all over again. So now waiting for the second replacement. 

How many others have received faulty - likely "reconditioned used" replacements like me?

Now my Nest Cam (and all others) is going to be put down by them in April and the replacement deal only applies if you subscribe to their service. So my perfectly good camera will be killed so that they can harvest more subscribers. No thank you. Know this - Google is no Apple. More like Ghoulgle.  We shall see if this post gets censored.

[SeriouslyWhy]

Hi

I have had this issue, the w5 error where it can’t find a Wi-Fi network. 

I opted to pay the price if the new display unit so it was sent immediately and I got refunded when I posted the old one back. The replacement process was very smooth.

The new unit suffered the same w5 error after a few summer months and zero use, so another replacement display unit.

Somewhere along the way, my base plate, the one with the blue bubble went missing. I suspect it was returned with the original unit and it’s impossible to buy a replacement. So, personally, I am quite negative toward Google/Nest.

If I were you, and it’s feasible, I would walk away from Google.

[Markjosephp]

Hello everyone,

Thank you for sharing your experience with Nest Thermostats. We appreciate your loyalty over the years and are sorry to hear about the challenges you've faced with the recent replacements. Your feedback is valuable, shedding light on potential concerns that others might face.

To get things in motion, can you share with us any of your support ID numbers?

I'll look forward to your response.

Regards,
Mark

[thefu]

For Nest Thermostat:

1st time:  0-4646000035038

2nd time:  7-9937000034931

For Nest camera the support rep first that they would replace it 100% free, then changed that mid call to "up to 100%" to finally saying the "engineering team" would make the determination if I would get 100%, 50%, or 10% discount off the cost of a replacement camera based on use and whether or not I was a paying nest aware subscriber. Which I am not. Not only this, but the cool nest app is going away too - so I will no longer have one cool live dashboard with my two thermostats, two external sensors, and the camera all on one screen - google home requires you to drill down on each device to monitor or control it. grrr. Still have not heard back from the "engineering team" on that discount disposition for a replacement cam.

Two products, two different issues, two horrible customer experiences still yet to be resolved. 

[thefu]

So the story gets even better - just received my 2nd replacement - in a brown box - obviously a refurb. Comes up with a low battery warning - shutting down - then restart - then blank. Plug it into a USB it will come online and then tell you to plug it onto the wall. Called support - walked through all the steps with them - including video for them to take screenshots and see that my original unit works just fine on the wall (except no wifi). So, now I have to send this one back and wait some more. Once again, assurances from support staff that this will not happen with the replacement as they will be testing it before it goes out - just like they told me on the last one. So in the end, assuming the next one works, it will be four trips to FedEx at Walgreens and nearly two months just to get this resolved. Apple would have just sent me another and had it to me tomorrow without needing to get this second faulty replacement back. That is the difference between these two companies when it comes to how they treat customers. Sad.

[thefu]

Researching this more I think I found a clue. Seems as if Google is sending out older "Nest" branded replacements for newer "G" branded units and the base connectors may not be compatible.  Sure enough, my most recent replacement says "Nest" on the top and back and my recently purchased original unit (with defective wifi) has no brand on the front and a "G" on the back. I cannot confirm that these displays and bases are not interchangeable, but it is what I read in more than one place. Strange that a support tech would not know that. Especially since we did a video link on the call. So I am sending it back anyways and we will see what the 3rd replacement looks like. crossing fingers.

[thefu]

Here are some photos of the two models. The Google one is the one I bought 6 months ago. The Nest one is the 2nd replacement unit from Google. The back of the devices and the connection plates are shown correspondingly. 

Google Nest and Nest Thermostats - differences

[Markjosephp]

Hi thefu,

I know it has been a while, but I wanted to ensure that everything was covered here. I'm sorry to hear about the frustrating experiences you've had with the replacements and the overall customer support. 

The recurrent issue with faulty replacements, including receiving a refurbished unit in suboptimal condition, further compounds the challenges you've faced. I truly hope that your new replacement proves to be satisfactory and resolves the issues you've been facing. Please keep us updated, or feel free to reach out if you need any further assistance or information.

Best,
Mark