I wanted to post this here because I know a lot of people in the Google Nest community use the Nest × Yale lock, and I want to make others aware of what happened to me.
Last night, after four years of flawless use, my Nest × Yale lock stopped accepting my codes right after a routine battery replacement earlier in the day. I assumed everything was fine and did not check the app. When I got home around 9:30 PM, I was completely locked out in pouring rain. At the same time, the Nest Connect bridge was offline and would not reconnect, even though I was standing right outside connected to my home wifi. Even the external 9V battery jumpstart did not unlock the door. I ended up having to call an emergency locksmith, and what should have been a 15 minute job turned into a two hour ordeal because he had to drill through solid metal plates and destroy the lock entirely.
The only silver lining is that it proved how hard this lock is to break into. But the bigger issue is this: how do both the lock and Nest Connect fail at the exact same time? That is the part I am trying to understand. I am not posting this just to vent. I genuinely want to know whether this points to a Google issue, a Yale issue, or something else that users should be aware of.
For anyone using this setup, please do not assume a battery replacement went fine just because the lock powers on. Check the app, test the code, and confirm the Nest Connect is online before closing the door behind you. I learned that the hard way.
If anyone from Google or the community has seen this before, I would really appreciate insight into the possible root cause.
