Nest thermostat won't connect to app

[Bob3]

My 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat won't connect to the app. Everything else is good, including Wi-Fi. I tried both the QR code and the entry key. The QR code tries to connect then goes to an error. The entry key hangs and does nothing.

[Clim8ank]

I just had my Thermostat connected (Android Phone) and tried adding my wife (iPhone) and got stuck in a loop of hell after disconnecting the Thermostat from my phone (Android) 

Solution:
Go to the thermostat and lightly spin clockwise until you see the screen change
Next find anything that mentions "Account" 
Lightly tap your index finger on the thermostat to "click" into your account information, on the device

Continue spinning and tapping until you delete your account 

Now try again to scan QR code ... etc 

[wsomeral]

Yesterday, I spent about 1 hour 45 minutes with a very helpful Google technician. After deleting and re-downloading the app,  I was told to add a NEW HOME to my Nest App. I disconnected from my internet and used the phone hotspot. Not sure what happened next but when I scanned the thermostat, it was finally recognized and was recognized by my phone app. I have to switch back and forth from HOME to NEW HOME but at least both thermostats are now functional from my phone app.

[FrustratdGooglr]

Thx! I’ll try. Where is the QR code??? I pulled off the face & mine has no 4 digit code on the back like some trouble shooting has said

[bigpapa_ta]

Nest software version 6.2.27 on the Nest Learning Thermostat 

My fix was to:

1) reset the reset the Nest thermostat to factory default. Reset -> All Settings

2) connect to your wi-fi network within setup wizard

3) At setup wizard, configure Nest App

4) Use entry code (serial number)

5) Select 4 letter number code on app that matches what is being displayed on Nest thermostat. 

6) The app will display 2 thermostats in the app, but it should quickly try the first Nest thermostat then connect to the one label Nest Learning thermostat.

Note: I had issues resetting the WWN setting. I kept getting an entry code given from nest.com, but that didn’t work. If you get prompt with the Nest entry code that does not match your Nest serial number then I would try going through factory reset and setup the nest app via the wizard.

[Bertbertbert]

Okay. Thanks to all who’ve confirmed it worked, I too am successfully up and running.

1. my 1st gen worked fine and connected immediately. 
2. 3rd gen was a pain in the butt.  WWN reset followed by removing thermostat and grabbing QR code from the back , scanning during the “+” add product. The enter key has a “-“ but the keyboard on the iPhone doesn’t allow a hyphen during the enter key setup. Enter the the code without hyphen and it instantly connected. 

[pedroespecial]

Just to add to Steve's solution - this worked great for me however I still could not get the Google Home app or Hub to recognise it.  So I reset the Thermostat network settings again and then added the Thermostat to the Google Home App BEFORE I added it to the Nest App.  Once I then added it to the Nest app, it appeared on both 🙂

I still don't seem to be able to control the Hot Water from Google Home but that's maybe a battle for another day!

[0328]

Hi all, if you have a 2020 or later version you don't need the Nest app (that's why you can't find the entry key) because the Nest App is obsolete as Google Home has all the Nest App features! Found that on Youtube after wasting 3 hours!1 cheers

[moonlitaria]

Short Answer: Try removing your Google Home location before reconnecting it on Nest.

Long Answer: I was racking my brains for the longest time as to why mine was not connecting as my 1st floor is connected to another Google learning thermostat just fine.  My 2nd floor has been giving me problems for the longest time.  This was because I took advantage of a deal and got the 2022 Nest (with battery, but requires a C-cable).  Long story short, it is crappy so I bought another Learning thermostat instead.  The issue was that the 2022 one installs via Google Home and NOT the Nest App.  After I removed the Google Home location I was able to redo all the necessary tasks via the Nest App.

[penswordsman]

I have the same problem not able to connect to the App.  After reading this thread, I realized that I was trying to connect using the Google Home app.  You should use the Nest Home app.  I was able to connect using the Nest Home app to connect the thermostat right the way without any issue.

[1Greg]

My Nest Gen 3 thermostat will not connect to my WIFI. I upgraded my WIFI and the NEST Thermostat was the only issue I had (of numerous devices). I spent about 1.5 hours on the phone with Tech support. I did the steps above, etc. I am extremally disappointed with Google and with Nest. Last week my Google Hub stopped working mysteriously. I am not sure what is going on.

I have 5 Home Protect Smoke and CO2 devices I was going to install, but I am considering returning them. Worst of all, I cannot get any knowledgeable help.

[MSSK84]

Sadly, you are not alone Greg. It has been an entire year of trying to get mine to connect and I have never received the proper help to make it work. I am finally sending it back based on warranty - lucky to be within the year still otherwise I would have been screwed. This has to be Google's biggest f-up and I don't blame you for wanting to take these items back, especially when they are emergency devices that need to be relied upon.

[Loriann1]

If you bought the Nest 3rd gen second hand or it’s a return, reset the WWN and start wifi setup again. I setup my Nests through the Nest app first before bring them through to Google Home app. I just think it’s easier. 

[1Greg]

I have done that several times Loriann1. I have not tried to use the Google Home App to connect. Sadly, Google has created a complex monster by forcing the apps to create a "nest network". When I initially purchased my thermostat, Nest was a standalone company. Googler has not added value in its acquisition and integration as far as I can determine.

[1Greg]

Just retried your recommendation Loriann1 with exactitude. Nest.com could not create an "Entry Key". This at least is a new development. Perhaps the problem is being addressed.

[VicAtHome]

I ran into this problem recently.  This nest thermostat I had set up before  but I had to factory reset recently.  I tried some of the advice here with no luck.  I had the gut feeling to try and turn off wifi on my mobile phone and it worked!  Im not familiar with the inner workings of the protocol used during setup of these devices but this worked for me.  I hope this helps some of you out there.

[adamant112]

This does not work!  I can connect my thermostat to the nest app. As a matter of fact it has been working.  But it used to allow me to control it with google assistant.  Now it keeps saying its not set up in assistant.  I see it in the Home app.  But I can not use voice assistant.  This is very frustrating!!

[Isaacdimm]

Worked for me thanks!!! It solved the TD030 error 

[mumado]

I tried this and it did not work.  App wants an entry code, which thermostat will not produce.  I have been trying to get this connected for several days, and nothing seems to work!!!

[MiNiX]

2023 UPDATE:  I want to put this up here for anyone having this issue as I have just found a solution that worked for me!

Problem: Nest Learning Thermostat 3rd gen won't connect to nest account.

Situation: Lots of troubleshooting.  Error codes included TD005, TD006, TD007, and M15. Did a factory reset on the thermostat and removed the thermostat from both my Nest and Home app. Tried setting it up again from scratch. Trying to connect the nest app on initial setup fails. I have been able to skip the nest app setup process on the thermostat and set it up without the app.  Thermostat works fine but doesn't connect to the Nest or Google Home app. It even connects to the internet on my home wifi when I manually set up wifi in the thermostat settings.  When I try to connect the nest app, the app tries to set up a wifi connection again (even though it is already connected via the thermostat settings) with the thermostat and I select the same home network, but this causes the above error codes and is unable to connect the thermostat to my account.  My home Wifi network is the ASUS ZENWIFI AX mesh network.  I've got two nodes.  

Solution:

Need two phones.

1. Use phone A to create a hotspot. 

2. Use phone B to connect to the hotspot.  

3. Open nest app on phone B and add device

4. When the app asks for which wifi network to connect to, use the hotspot so that both the phone and thermostat are on the hotspot.

5. Successful connection of thermostat to nest app account.

6. Open Google Home App and confirm that you can change the temperature on the device while both are still connected to the hotspot.

7. Now that the thermostat is linked to your account, you can connect your phone back to your wifi and manually connect your thermostat back to your home wifi in the settings. Hopefully this works for you.

8. Additional step for me I believe due to the nature of zenwifi's mesh network:

8.A. I had to establish a dedicated 2.4GHz guest network in my router settings.

8.B. I connected the thermostat to the guest network. 

8.C My phone is on the standard home network which hops between 2.4 and 5GHz

8.D Successful use of thermostat in the Google Home App.

Analysis:

I believe all of this could also be solved by just connecting your phone and thermostat to a 2.4GHz wifi network.  The problem I had is that my mesh network utilizes both the 2.4 and 5GHz bands on the same SSID and seamlessly transitions devices between either band at any time in order to best utilize network bandwidth. Furthermore, the 5GHz band breaks down into two channels utilizing 1 of the channels as the mesh backend transfer which may have been conflicting with the thermostat's connection.  Oddly, putting both my phone and the thermostat on the dedicated 2.4GHz guest network did not allow me to establish the account connection in the nest app, but hot-spotting from the other phone did. I think this has something to do with the mesh network backend that is transferring data on part of the 5Ghz band.

Other Details:

Both phones were iPhone 14.

I am using a PiHole for adblock and somewhere in my troubleshooting, I assigned a manual IP to the thermostat so that I could direct it specifically to the 8.8.8.8 google DNS just in case my PiHole DNS was the cause of problems.

[Fredsie]

Thanks for posting this. I think the key aspect of your findings is the 2.4 / 5 GHz factor. I'd not considered that before but it could well be the source of many of these problems. I had similar issues with setting up a Fitbit weight scale, the solution to which also involved setting up an interim guest 2.4 G band. 

[Swordy068]

I searched on every forum on internet and eventually end up fixing this by choosing the correct network mode.