Nest Hub Max Camera Not Streaming to Apps

[Kira]

I have 4 Hub Maxes in my home and for 3 of them the camera is not working so I can see what is being viewed in the Google Home or Nest apps. The green camera light is on, showing that they are currently active/filming, but nothing is streaming through to the apps. The other Hub Max is working properly, as well as my Nest Doorbell and exterior Google camera. In the apps, the view of what they are seeing is just black and they can't connect. All 4 Hub Maxes are running Fuchsia Version 9.20221010.3.176

For troubleshooting, I have already done the following:

1. Unplugged the Hubs and left them for a few minutes before plugging them back in and letting them reboot. The camera then works in the apps, but after a bit they go back off.
2. Unplugged the Google Fiber Wifi router from everything, let it reboot and reconnect. Once the Hubs are active again, the camera then works in the apps, but after a bit they go back off.
3. Deleted the Google Home app from my iPhone and re-downloaded the app. Deleted the Hubs from the Google Home app, reset each Hub to factory settings, and set them up as New Devices in the Google Home app. Again, the camera then works in the apps, but after a bit they go back off.
4. Updated the DNS of my Google Fiber Wifi router to Primary Server 8.8.8.8 and Secondary Server to 8.8.4.4

I have now spent about 5 hours troubleshooting and communicating directly with Google Help. They have not been able to provide me with any ideas of what to try besides what I have already done on my own, so I have just been doing the same things with them and nothing is working to get these cameras back working.

Has anyone else had this issue and gotten your cameras working again???

[l_bucknall]

My original nest aware subscription came renewed every November. In June, whilst following some instructions on this thread to try and get the nest hub max camera working for the millionth time, my subscription was cancelled. I had to subscribe again, losing around 5months worth of nest aware from the original subscription. Yesterday I received an email stating that my renewal is due in November. So it looks like the original subscription was never actually cancelled. When I go to my subscriptions on the Google store, I can only see the one from June. I spoke with someone via online chat yesterday who have apparently escalated the matter to their higher tier of support. I'm not holding my breath. 

[wsamaroo]

I have the same issue. Only 1 Hub Max at home. The camera will work for a Google Hangouts/Duo call but when attempting to view a live stream via the app, it says the camera is offline. I have a Nest thermostat and Doorbell and they work fine. 

Google Home App version: 3.7.1.4

Fuchsia Version: 12.20230611.1.67

[Bobby1013]

Try this. I have a couple of days ago and is working perfectly. I found this somewhere.

1. Factory reset the hub max

2. Remove the hub max from Google home app

(rebooted the phone with the home app, probably not needed)

3. Click + to add new device in the Google home app.

When It detects the hub max, I selected that, but also noticed there was also an extra option to 'set up as a new device', so I selected that.

Follow through the setup screens, and when it's complete select the hub max in the Google home app. Then select the "setup nest cam" option. Follow those instructions, and then it, finally, worked!

So the only thing I did differently was to select the 'setup as a new device' option on the home app after it detected the hub max (despite having done a factory reset)

[itm]

I just tried this, and it finally resolved the camera problem (!), but....the device is no longer recognising my face when I look at it (i.e. it doesn't display the flashing dots in the top left hand corner, or respond in any other way). It also no longer responds when I hold up my hand in front of the display to stop media playback. This was working fine before I did the factory reset.

Any idea how I can restore face recognition and hand gestures?

[HeyneHideaway]

I was able to Get it to connect reliably be following what Wench said... I deleted our other home from the Home app... and it has not stopped streaming since!  🙂  If you have multiple homes set up, delete and set-up separate email accounts then NEST accounts if you want it to work.    Otherwise, just one home per account.  

[PetroUA]

Ok, so I just tried to reset the device and start setup from the scratch one more time to see how things going with the camera. As a result it became update over and over again. Looks like an infinite updates loop )

I can't reset it anymore. It just updates and resets and then starts over. 

So now my hub max isn't working anymore ) be careful, don't reset it while it working )

Upd: pressing the two buttons during rebut will help to reset it anyway 

Upd2: now it just shows the white screen after reboot 

Upd3: it is finally work. But cam offline as always. I have only one home in nest app.

Waiting for the fix another year )

[gswet]

Guys,

I had the same issue with my new Google HUB Max and I did the following one

1) I had my GTH3 added to two homes so I have deleted it from one home

2) After that I restarted my GTH3 and set the camera 

All working after that. Looks like the issue is related to adding your Google HUB max to multiple homes I think Google guys need to work on why adding two home camera is not working.

[KeithOwen]

"Looks like the issue is related to adding your Google HUB max to multiple homes"

Possibly for you. My hubs are (and always have been) defined to one home only

[ybnice]

Same here one Home and 1 Google Hub Max and still have the Camera problem like everybody else does.  The Hub Max wsorks great exceot for the Camera.  Google do not sell it any more; they just do not care about our problem.  I paid for a Nest Subscription for 12 months, which 9 months of that was useless as no recordings were happening through no fault of mine.  They refused me a refund on something that did not work because of their firmware issue (which I think is the bottom line problem).  I have since cancelled my Nest subsciption.

[Nan008]

My Hub Max camera stopped working after a factory reset which was needed as Meet calls stopped calling my parents hub max, I made the call other devices were ignoring it, now after reset camera is not running - green light on, communication between my phone and hub max is on as the info bar is appearing but camera is not working 

Technical information

System firmware version: 12.20230611.1.67

Cast firmware: 1.70.377722a

software version: 53.110.0549404370

Language: en-GB

[Whosurdanny]

Fixed it! Hit remove camera from the nest app and it opened the Google home and I removed the device from my home app and it found the Hub max and just reconnected it to the room I wanted. Then it wanted to proceed with the camera set up and had me scan the QR code and set it up and started working again.

[Captain565]

Likely won’t last sadly.

everyone has “a way”. They all end up failing.

[RaresM87]

It is unbelievable that this issue is still pending after +1 year of users feedback/logs etc. When will this be solved? 

[MMMinteresting]

I have the solution everyone. Vote with your feet and go back to Ring. It's quicker to answer as well so less calls missed. My nest subscription was ending and I didn't bother to renew. I also now have faulty home hub max, which keeps becoming a wifi access point!? Brand loyalty is reciprocal so now begins the slow movement away from Google products....

[Captain565]

I couldn’t agree more.

i have even given up on trying to sell the last bits of google garbage I have.

i have fully moved over to Alexa without an ounce of regret. Google does not care, and that stupid hub max is still for sale!

as soon as my 1st Gen Hello door bells fail…it’s all over for google.

i bought a Lorex POE system for the house and was amazed at the price and the functionality via Alexa. They also make a great 4k door bell camera with zero subscriptions!

not a fan of ring either but support is miles better. Google is to big to succeed and it seems.

[KeithOwen]

Except Ring is not even close to being an alternative to Nest Hub. They are two completely different products

[MMMinteresting]

I think the threads, because there are so many people complaining, may be overlapping in terms of disappointing customer service from Google. 

The main point irrespective of device is Google's inability to fix problems they caused with mandatory updates. 

These updates effectively separated devices from paid for subscription services resulting in money being paid for services no longer provided. Ie nest aware for my hub and my doorbell. No refund given for no service.

I'll give you an example: my nest hub max used to record to nest aware. Post update the camera no longer worked either for nest aware or for any apps which used the camera. Faulty camera I suspect as it kept connecting then disconnecting repeatedly. Then finally giving up the ghost. Now here's where google let us down they kept promising they would fix it. They can't either because they don't know how or they have no interest in supporting the device in this environment - (when adding devices to nest aware they have removed nest hub max from the list of devices - coincidence?) 

Here is the kicker it developed this fault within the 2 year UK & EU warranty period. They are refusing to admit they have a problem in order to get out of replacing the faulty device. 

Your point is therefore moot and irrelevant for those of us with faulty devices.

[Captain565]

Wow

A little rough don’t you think?

Your garner little to zero respect with your communication skills.

berating comments of others is quite moot as well.

[MMMinteresting]

Not really, it's just an opinion, it wasn't done in anger and it certainly wasn't done at length. 

[MMMinteresting]

And please don't suggest I reboot, reset, factory reset, disconnect, delete app from phone, reinstall and repeat. I have done this countless times. With customer disservice on the phone live and get the same error message "oops there is a problem" 

[ybnice]

I had exactly the same problem.  Paid my Nest subscription for nearly 10 months (paid for a full year) re my  Google Hub MAX Camera not working.  This was 100% a fault caused by Google re not updating and fixing Firmware updating issues.  They REFUSED me a refund.  After about 50 times of deleting the Home app, reinstalling and fully resetting the Google Hub MAX.... FINALLY, a couple of days ago I did it again;  UNREAL it is now working and I watched the Google Hub MAX do a full new Firmware update.  This took about 5 minutes.  The Camera HAS BEEN WORKING well since and not missed a beat. 
I have their Google Pixel 8 Pro Phone - had their Phones since they were first released.  Wish they would get their A into G and look after their other devices for Customers like their Phone.

I cannot believe the sites, the heaps of pages across the internet, reporting this as a huge problem since the beginning of this year.  It took them 11 months to fix it.

[KeithOwen]

"Your point is therefore moot and irrelevant for those of us with faulty devices"

No, you're wrong, my point is extremely relevant - Ring is NOT an alternative to the Nest Hub. There is NO Ring device that would replace the functions for which I use my Nest Hub.

I agree 100% with the other points you make, especially those concerning Google's inability to deliver a service for which it has charged a subscription, and Google's refusal to offer refunds. This is theft.

But the solution is NOT to move to Ring

[itm]

I finally got mine to work a few weeks ago by removing it from the app, doing a factory reset, then adding it as  a new device. I had tried this many times before, when I first bought it about 6 months ago, and it didn't help, but this time it finally resolved it. My NH Max is now online and streaming the camera as it should.

[bananamedic]

I tentatively think I may have found a solution:

1. If possible (it wasn't for me for some reason) remove your display from your home (don't worry if you can't remove it, for some reason I couldn't either). 

2. Reset your display by holding the up and down volume buttons. Allow the device to completely reset until the screen says "download the Google home app". 

3. Unplug your device for a MINIMUM of 48 hours.

4. After 48 hours, plug your device in and add it back into your home. 

5. Add your device back on again.

If you were unable to remove your device before resetting it, add it to the same room and give it the same name you had before (it will accept it). It may knock the old device off, if it does you may need to reset again but you won't have to unplug for 48 hours. 

6. Come out of the app and close it down completely. 

7. Open the app, go into the device and set up the camera (it should bring up a QR code on the screen to scan). 

It should now work. Mine has been working for over a week now. I didn't want to post until it worked for more than a few hours. 

Good luck everyone, let me know if this works for you. 

[bananamedic]

Has anyone else tried the above fix? I've done it on both of my home hub Max's and both cameras are working now - one has been working for 3 weeks now. 

If you're going to try it, please keep it unplugged for minimum of 48 hours. Good luck. Keep me posted. 

[KeithOwen]

The Google Hubs are really nothing more than expensive paperweights now. I have two Nest Hub Max in my home. One works perfectly (apart from the camera) but shows as Offline in the Home app so I can't control it. The other one is connected, but the Home app says it's not connected to the same wifi (despite me only having one wifi) so I can't control that one either. Oh, and the camera doesn't work...obviously.

All this stuff used to work, and my network hasn't changed, so I can only assume Google has **bleep**ed them up. Thanks

[KeithOwen]

I just did a factory reset on one of my hubs, in a vain attempt to fix this crap. Now it says the hub belongs to another account and I must get the account holder to remove it before I can add it. What a pile of **bleep**.

[bananamedic]

I had this issue and this is how I accidentally seemed to have found a fix - reset it by pressing down and holding the volume buttons, once it has rest, unplug it for a minimum of 48 hours and try adding it again. I did this and now both working as they should and cameras online. Let me know if this works for you. 

[KeithOwen]

It didn't work...but thanks for the suggestion

If I followed all the "solutions" in this thread (some of which come from Google), I would

• Factory reset my Hub Max (which I've done about 30 times now)
• Factory reset my Hub max and leave it unplugged for 24 hours
• Factory reset my Hub max and leave it unplugged for 48 hours
• Delete my Home and recreate it again (thereby forcing me to reinstall all my other devices, all of which are working perfectly)
• Create a new Home in Google (which I don't own) and move my Hub Max to that one (thereby forcing me to reinstall all my other devices, all of which are working perfectly)
• Reboot my router (thereby forcing all my other devices off the network)
• Create a new WiFi network (thereby forcing me to reinstall all my other devices, all of which are working perfectly)
• Switch the language on my Hub Max to Dutch (or was it French?) 😉
• Switch to a Ring device (which doesn't havethe same functions at all)
• Update the DNS on my router

I'm sure there are many others that I've missed

The point is, that NONE of this should be necessary. I just expect the products I buy to work in the way that was promised. That's not too much too ask

[Peener]

It's been almost 2 months now that my Nest Hub is working with internal camera again. As i wrote back then, I applied the same techniques as before (removed the Nest Hub out of my Google Home app and then did a factory reset on the hub. Then added the Nest Hub again in the app) and all of a sudden, the camera was again showing up in the google home app. It has been working since then. I haven't risked to try that again. But I have no idea why it started working. The only thing that I can see that is different from before is: when I purchased the device (about 2 years ago) I had set it up in Dutch language. All system information was showing in Dutch. Since that date in September, the system is showing most system information in French. Not everything though. And the spoken language is Dutch as well. No idea if this has anything to with it. Anyway,  it works, and I hope it will continue to do so.

[Captain565]

You summed it up well. That’s pretty much what led me to abandon Google. They abandoned me, and others. They left us tapping our had and rubbing our stomachs. It has to be environmental, as I have now sold both my Hub Max units and nobody has said a word. It could be the 2 homes issue. It could be more than 1 Hub Max issue. It could be device “history” issue like the phantom devices that never seem to go away. It could be many of the issues that desperate, determined folks from here have tried. 
It could very well be that Google is not as desperate, and determined to fix it at all. Either way…I gave up and rebuilt the house with Alexa products, and have never had such issues.

Bye Bye expensive, useless nest subscriptions. Bye bye YouTube premium. Bye bye GOOGLE!

[ybnice]

Google have FAILED big time with this.  Hundreds with problems - some posting temporary fixes by doing this and that.... NONE of these should have to be necessary.
You buy a oroduct, turn it on and it should work without going deep into settings/resetting, fiddling with your modem/router (when all other devices work in your home).  The only way mine works is by hitting "Reboot" within the Settings of Google Hub Max every 24 hours - this is plain crazy!!!
A BIG FAIL BY GOOGLE re Google Hub Max and Nest. grrrr.

[essco]

I have 2 Max and 2 mini hubs, Gen2 in 2 houses. With one Max I experienced the same problem. Recently, I change the router with a powerfull one and since then, no problems. First, my roter was Asus RT-N18U. Now is Asus RT-86U, with 5GHz band. Google Max is on 5GHz band now, and is feeling just good. The other Max other house) is also on 5GHz band (Asus GT-AX6000) and just fine! I am curious about the routers you use.

[KeithOwen]

I have a Unifi UDM Pro SE with several APs throughout the house. I've had it for about 3 years. Trust me, it's not my router

[essco]

Is that a router or a switch?

[KeithOwen]

Its a gateway

https://uk.store.ui.com/uk/en/products/udm-se

[essco]

OK, but do you connect Max on wifi directly at this gateway? Or with a separate AP ?

[KeithOwen]

Different hubs on different APs

[essco]

So, a complex situation in your case.

Others?

[KeithOwen]

Not really. The hub cameras used to work, and now they don’t. Everything else is the same. The rest of the hub functions OK.