nest thermostat drains battery even with C wire

[hobobot]

Same issue as this thread which was locked without a solution https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Nest-Thermostats/Nest-thermostat-with-power-connector-still-e...

Nest thermostat has C wire, I verified using a multimeter that it has 24V. It still eats batteries every 2 weeks and gives a really annoying notification on the screen and on my phone. I'm about to throw it away because it seems lots of people have the same issue but Google can't/won't fix it.

Some more info: yes I restarted everything. Yes I did a factory reset. Yes it has 24VAC. Yes they were new batteries when I put them in. Yes the batteries read over 1.5V each when they were new. Yes this has been going on for a long time. Yes it used to work but started doing this earlier this year. Around early March.

[zoeuvre]

Hi hobobot, 

Thanks for reaching out to us, and I'm sorry to hear about the situation. Let's sort this out.  

Please help us with the current power reading of your Nest Thermostat by going to Settings > Equipment > Power Info and gathering its VOC, VIN, and lIN. 

I'll look forward to your response. 

Best,

Zoe

[zoeuvre]

Hi there, 

I want to check and see if you are still in need of any help. Please let me know, as I would be happy to assist and answer any questions you may have.
 

Thanks,

Zoe

[hobobot]

Hi there,

VOC is not listed on that screen.

VIN is 28V

IIN is 385

[hobobot]

replying to the main thread since there has been no update. It seems google knows of this issue and just doesn't care?

[hobobot]

@zoeuvrethe lack of response is concerning. It seems google just doesn't care about the nest product line anymore?

If you can't fix my issue can you help me figure out if my device is still under warranty? How would I look that up?

[Markjosephp]

Hello there,

I appreciate your help here, Zoe.

@hobobot, I'm sorry for the late response; we're trying to be as responsive as we can. But I wanted to ensure that everything was covered here.

How's it going? Have you had a chance to replace your thermostat's batteries with AAA 1.5 V alkaline batteries, such as the Energizer AAA 1.5 V Alkaline Battery? Was there any progress?

Please let us know so we can move forward.

Regards,
Mark

[hobobot]

Battery replacement did not help. It seems my thermostat is permanently stuck on a low battery alarm even after factory reset.

[Markjosephp]

Hey there,

I'm sorry to hear the issue still persists even after replacing the batteries. We'd love to take a deeper look into this. Could you please fill out this form with the needed information? A member of our senior support team will be in touch over email to discuss additional options. Let me know once you're done.

Best,
Mark

[Markjosephp]

Hello hobobot,

Checking back in — how's it going? Have you managed to fill out the form? Please let me know so we can move forward.

Thanks,

Mark

[hobobot]

Filled it out just now thanks.

[Markjosephp]

Hi hobobot,

Thanks for completing the form; we have received it. Soon, a member of our senior support team will contact you via email. So please continue the conversation there and feel free to start a new thread if you have future questions or concerns.

Best regards,
Mark

[hobobot · Accepted solution]

Hello I would like to update everyone:

Hello I have updates now that google support has contacted me directly via email.

There is no solution and google isn't interested in figuring out why a software update around early March 2023 caused this problem. They are claiming my perfectly good Nest Thermostat suddenly had "hardware issues" after a firmware update and they refuse to investigate further.

This is an unacceptable result and I will be replacing my Nest and all my google home devices since it's clear that support does not care about customers.

[zoeuvre]

Hello hobobot, 

Don't give up on us yet. We'd like to further check on this. Do you have the Case ID from your conversation with support? If you can provide that here, I'll look it up and see how I can continue to help. 
 

Best,

Zoe 

[EttaR]

Please keep us posted. I have the same issue. Electrician installed c wire and still low battery. It’s cost 2x as much for electrician than the **bleep** nest itself. I’m ready to back to old. Did you find a support # to call? 

[hobobot]

After filling out that form @Markjosephp posted I was contacted by Google who told me they could not fix the issue and would not replace the Nest. I have moved on and actually built my own thermostat from parts I got on adafruit.com

[Markjosephp]

Hello folks,

I know it has been a while, but I wanted to ensure that everything was covered here.

@hobobot, I see how the conversation went with our senior support. Our Hardware Warranty Center policy is designed to protect our customers from unexpected costs, and we understand that it can be frustrating when a device breaks down outside of the warranty period. However, we're unable to replace devices that are out of warranty. Please consider your network connection, which might consume too much power. Here's an article to update Wi-Fi network and router settings that are compatible with Nest devices.

@EttaR, I appreciate you posting here about the same issue you're having. Could you please tell us more about what happened? Which Nest Thermostat do you have? Can you post your thermostat's power readings? You can find them in the Equipment settings or in the Technical Info settings. Also, let us know if it shows any wiring reports, which could help identify the issue.

Regards,
Mark

[hobobot]

As stated before and re-iterated during my conversation with support, this issue happened after a firmware update. This is a software issue that Google has refused to acknowledge.

But that doesn't matter as I have trashed all my nest products and moved on. I just wanted to make sure all future visitors to this thread see that Google is not interested in real support. They are only interested in planned obsolescence

[zoeuvre]

Hi all,

@hobobot, we're sad to see you go. We're always here to help if you ever change your mind. We'll also take your feedback as an opportunity to learn and to be able to provide a better experience in the future. Feel free to create a new thread if you have more questions or other concerns, and we'll be happy to help.

I appreciate your help, Mark.

Cheers,

Zoe