Camera microphone on Nest Hub?

[Yippee]

Hi!

I’m not seeing a mic icon or am able to speak through the new Google Nest cameras when I’m looking at the feed on the Nest Hub Max. I can do it perfectly through the Home app on my phone, but not on the Hub—which is a pity since being able to monitor and speak through the microphone is the primary reason I got the device.

[Brad]

Hello there, Yippee.

I am afraid I do not understand your question. Would you mind clarifying your question for me? That way, I can better assist you.

Best Regards,

Brad.

[NWMIUplander]

How do you not understand? He is asking to utilize the microphone on the nest hub while using camera app. We too bought the hub to act like a baby monitor. Y’all should update software to utilize microphone for the hub and cameras. Shouldn’t just be a cell phone app thing. 

[Yippee]

Yes, exactly NWMIUplander. 

I have the latest camera by my front door and I have the hub by my desk. If someone is at my door I want to: A) to get a notification on the hub that a person was seen and B) to be able to talk to them. 

These are things I can do on the Google Home app on my phone, so my assumption was that I would be able to do the same thing on Google Hub. Are there any settings I can adjust or is this a software update coming in the future? 

[NWMIUplander]

I don’t think so. 2 years ago they stated that the hub apparently doesn’t support microphone use with the cameras (found that in a thread somewhere yesterday) But I just bought the new cameras and newer gen hub so I would expect that they updated the software from two years ago as I was under the assumption that the hub would support all functions of the cameras… it didn’t say otherwise in description on google website. 

[Brad]

Hi all,

I understand that you may understand the initial question, but I did not. Lets try to keep these thread posts positive, and supportive if we can please. 

In the meantime, I have looked into this issue more extensively, and found that this is an ongoing bug. I can record your feedback, or you can provide it over the app, but there is no current fix for this issue. Thank you for your patience.

Best Regards,

Brad. 

[NWMIUplander]

Roger that brad. So how long will it take to fix the bug and get the microphone to be compatible for use with the nest hub and nest cameras (not doorbell) I am aware that that does work as far as I know. Is that correct? 

[Brad]

@NWMIUplander

Unfortunately, I do not have any ETA at this time. If I get one, I would be more than happy to post it here. Thank you for your patience.

Best Regards,

Brad.

[sachadon]

Any ETA yet? Its been a month. I got new nest hub and still cant speak on the camera.

[sachadon]

The advertisement on google store shows that this feature is available then why cant we see it on our device?

[Lakeshac]

Wow such false advertising.  Crappy move Google.  

[KacyRay]

Actually, the button is there for the doorbell cam. 

But not for any other kind. Lame, for sure. 

[Charlyenz]

Hi Brad, any news on that "bug" that's preventing users from being able to speak via the Hubs? I bought this on the sole basis that family members could use any of the hubs we have in the house to talk to people at the Nest Cam at the end of our drive. I kind of was expecting more from Google to be perfectly honest.

[Lakeshac]

I as well just bought 5 to communicate throughout my household.  The mic is awesome on video calls.  But sucks when talking on it while viewing from your cellphone. At level 10, the highest setting, my family have to still put their ear to the screen to hear....embarrassing.  Also, it's stupid to not have a mic option to talk hub to hub. Like wth do we pay over 200 bucks for?! Update this or I'm packing these babies back up an returning to the store. Waste of money.

[GarrettDS]

Hi there, 

Unfortunately there is not ETA on a fix for this issue. I definitely apologize for the issues around this and I appreciate your patience on this. If you can, I would suggest providing feedback through the device itself so that our engineering team can review the individual reports as well. 

Best regards, 
Garrett DS

[Charlyenz]

Hi Garrett, could you let me have the contact email of the person who would be in a position to help me with our non speaking hubs. I bought 2 hubs for this precise feature of speaking through the hubs to the cameras. I have 4 children who don’t have smart phones to talk through. The ad displayed this feature and that was the sole reason I bought the hubs, as  advertised, showing the speaker capability. I don’t know why it’s not working or if it was never meant to work. If you wouldn’t mind sending me a contact email so may understand what I need to do to get the speakers setup. Thanks you so much.

[GarrettDS]

Hey there, 
I appreciate you taking your time to let us know about this feedback. Feedback like this helps us constantly improve our products and services by knowing what we are doing right and what we can work on. 

Please let us know if you have any other questions. 

Best regards, 
Garrett DS

[GarrettDS]

Hey folks, 
It looks like we haven't heard back from the OP so I'm going to go ahead and lock the thread. If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to create a new thread. 

Have a great day,
Garrett DS
 

[DaniaMarriah]

There’s no “bug” preventing this functionality. This functionality simply doesn’t exist and stating that would mean and admission that would render the Hub as a poorly designed device and useless to anyone who would purchases it to use specifically for the purpose of speaking with anyone on their doorstep through the Nest Cam. Huge disappointment! Nest was so much better before Google. 

[KacyRay]

Agreed. Calling it a "bug" is dishonest. 

I've been considering starting a vlog dedicated to all of the absurd issues I have with my "smart home". It's amazing how a company that creates technology as cutting-edge as this can blow the basics. 

[bchutro]

Actually, I used this functionally with the Nest Max using a standard Nest cam in mid 2020. It worked at some point but disappeared a few months after.  I don't know if it was a firmware update to the cam or hub that broke the functionally but it's pretty ridiculous that it hasn't been fixed by now. It still works with the nest hello door bell.

[Edugolr]

Whats the status here ? 

[bchutro]

The feature is still not appearing and no details from Google on when it might reappear. 

[Lakeshac]

Exactly google is simply ignoring us at this point

[Edugolr]

Its a shame. Loving the product otherwise but badly need the microphone function 🤷

[Matt10L]

Definitely a big miss from Google not to have this implemented for all devices. It seems to be only accessible on the Nest Hello. In what world of UI/UX design does a top tier like Google not think about interaction in this scenario? Pair that up with no gallery view of all the cameras in the Nest Hub, and it just continues to be illogical decision making. 

[kari454]

I just purchased 2 nest cameras and a hub max, for the a while the microphone icon was on the screen of my hub max for the camera's, I tried them out several times for several days, talked to and heard family members then suddenly I opened the camera and the microphone icon is gone. I have the feature turned on in the nest app as well as the home app yet suddenly no microphone icon. I also verified everything is updated

[bchutro]

Is it possible since you just purchased the equipment it was running an older firmware initially and was upgraded over time causing it to lose this functionality? I know mine worked when I first got (years back) and then disappeared. 

[kari454]

If that is the case that would mean Google intentionally put out a firmware update removing a feature they are still advertising as being available. The main reason I purchased the Hub was the ability to talk and listen with my nest outdoor cameras. I can talk and listen from my android phone with my cameras and doorbell but on the hub I can only talk from the doorbell

[John-Raymond]

I was about to purchase 4 google indoor cams and 2 hubs for the exact purpose which is currently an untackled issue here. I'm glad I searched for this before buying.

[KacyRay]

As of today, 9 Apr 2022, here's what you can do:

The wired cameras can be seen on the phone, hub, or browser (Google Nest).

They all have a mic button you can use to speak through on your pixel or on a browser (Google Nest), but not on your hub or hub max. 

The wireless cameras can be seen through your hub, but there is no mic function. 

The wireless camera can be seen from your pixel with a mic function using Google Home. 

The wireless camera cannot be seen through any version of Google Nest (phone or browser). This means there is no way to monitor your wireless cameras from a PC. 

The doorbell can be seen though Google Home (pixel) or the Hub Max. Both include a microphone button. 

The wireless doorbell cannot be seen on Google Nest from any platform. I think the wired version can, but someone else would need to confirm that. 

I believe that's a full list of the limitations. I find it pretty disappointing, to be honest, but there are a lot of things I find disappointing about my Google Smart Home. But after sinking all this money into it, I'm pretty committed to just waiting for them to improve it. I'm sure not getting rid of all this now.