Nest Cam 1.69 Update ruined night vision even more

[SuperAdam]

So Google updated their nest cams AGAIN and further ruined Night vision, day time HDR got a bit better but nowhere near as good as it was with 1.65 software, I about had it with Google, look at these picture and tell me if I'm imagining things, the picture on top is the new 1.69 software and the one on the bottom is the 1.67 software just a few minutes before the update, look how fuzzy and grainy everything is with the update, it's like everything is out of focus, STOP MESSING WITH THE CAMERAS GOOGLE, we paid money for this, it's literally unusable at night now. 

 

[AZguy86]

at least they acknowledge that they’re aware of the situation the gentleman I’m talking to through email is not acknowledging it as a widespread issue. He still believes it’s an issue on my end I told him to please make sure the team you’re working with looks at this thread because it is a widespread issue Not just an issue tied to one person 

[SuperAdam]

It's par for the course for Google, always our fault and never theirs, this is a repeat of the 1.67 update when it ruined HDR and Google claimed that it made it better, we had a blog for that too and it only took them 3 months to release an update to fix it which now broke the night vision, God knows who they hire for these updates.

[JonD_ie]

I’ve had enough of these “updates” from Google destroying hardware which is quite frankly now land fill.

I’ve already replaced 2 of my 6 cameras with an alternative. My goodness the difference in quality and control I now have over MY cameras is unreal.

Google, you’ve lost a customer forever.

[Codog]

I have 6 cams. 3 old original nest cams and 3 new google nest cams. Guess which ones look like crap now during the night? That’s right - the new google cams after the recent update. I even called support and sent camera back. Well new camera is the same thing due to the firmware. Google is screwing us!!!!!! 

[AZguy86]

same exact thing happened to me I thought my outdoor cam was defective. They replaced it under warranty and it’s doing the same thing too. Apparently someone said that they posted on Twitter that Google is fully aware of the situation and they’re working on an update to fix it, don’t know when that updates gonna happen should be OK with the night vision on until they get this corrected 

[Kjimi]

All current problems with these cameras could be easily fixed by just rolling back to 1.65 version. I can not understand why they can not just do that but instead Google is spending time trying to fix a already **bleep**ty firmware version.

[Nestflood]

That seems to be more common sense in this forum than in the whole of Google technical department. How about Google sack all the current staff and contact us one by one for a position?

[JonD_ie]

I did some further tests on one camera. Normally, I have night vision set to OFF as my garden lights and street lights provide sufficient light for the cameras.

However, it now seems that the Google cameras cannot cope very well when there is an alternate light source. See attached examples. Garden lights are on in both examples. When I have night vision set to OFF, the scene is washed out and blurred.

[chaybee]

This is exactly how my Nest Battery Doorbell and battery outdoor cam look now with using my outdoor lighting.  Waxy, blurred, overexposed, unusable mess.

[chaybee]

That's exactly how mine look.  It's pathetic.  I posted screen shots over at the Google Home Users Facebook group of my Wyze V3 through an interior window compared to my Nest Battery Doorbell and it's abysmally clear how bad 1.69 broke these cameras.  I am advising everyone to not buy these cameras for their loved ones during the holidays, no matter the sales, until Google updates the firmware and it's confirmed fixed. 

[pebceb]

It's amazing that a company this big can really do such bone headed stuff. I have eight cameras and three google displays and it's a real piss off.

[RoddyDuterte]

Does anyone find it funny how they have downgraded the video quality of their security cameras massively (via 1.69 firmware) and Google shortly afterwards increased the monthly subscription price (literally a few weeks apart). Something tells me this was corporate (head office) decision to d_ck their own customers for more profits.

[DeathPickle]

Jumping on the bandwagon here to confirm the same issue on all of our cameras except for the original Nest wired doorbell.  Absolutely inexcusable from a giant tech company.  This makes me want to reconsider the Amazon ecosystem for home security and cameras.  (The ADT home security system is a huge downgrade from the Nest Aware system.)

[AZguy86]

I’m right there with you if I can sell all my Google nest products and that’s a lot. I definitely would jump on the Amazon ecosystem bandwagon it seems like more dedicated to home security than Google is 

[Okany83]

I have same problem with new update 1.67 and 1.69.

Please downgrade to 1.65. Video is blurry, night vision is not acceptable. 

If not, buyers will give them back to google. NOT ACCEPTABLE

[RavenManiac]

I think the competition has discovered Google's Nest Cam image problems, and it is trying to increase its market share. Check out this email I just received from Lowe's. Notice any missing smart home brands?

[AZguy86]

I would definitely switch back over to Amazon if I wasn’t so in deep with Google already 

[RavenManiac]

I totally agree. Unfortunately, I'm in too deep too. It sucks. I should have listed to my friend, who invested in the Ring platform. 

[arbynz]

Yeh I'm also in too deep and unfortunately cannot afford to switch now. My Dad's cheap Eufy system is looking pretty good right now.

[Murdoch]

Posting here to get visibility on when this is fixed. My camera is borderline pitch black which is affecting the spotlight. I was pegging the washing out in darkness which is what made me think something was wrong

[matt28]

Posting here as I have exactly the same problem and no response from Google as usual, they have ruined the Nest eco system. 😞

[AZguy86]

I’ve been in contact with them through email. They are currently aware of the situation and are working on a fix. They also posted this on their Twitter about a week and a half ago 

[sol103]

Did they give you an ETA for a fix? I already ordered my Ring equipment. Will not install it for a couple of weeks to see if Google has a fix

[SuperAdam]

Do not expect a fix anytime soon, their 1.67 update that ruined HDR was at the beginning of June and this update came in late September, so maybe at the end of this year if we are lucky and if google paid att nation to our complaints

[AZguy86]

There is no ETA 

[mrmagloo]

I have a work order in now and they are very vague on ETA. As a matter of fact, I'm getting the feeling from them that the issue is a new revelation.  Not too confident we will see anything soon.  When you factor in the crappy interface, the horrible web access, and the zones that do not work well, this is a total disaster.  Thank God I bought most of this from Costco as I have a cart full of stuff that is probably going back.  I just don't understand why Google even bothers in this space? They clearly have the talent to do great things when they want to. Sad.

[SFY]

Still waiting on that update....

[donaldscanlon]

I am having the same issue on my outdoor cam.  I thought the lens needed to be clean even though the camera is pretty much covered above, but that was not it.  I went back through my history and saw a noticeable difference in mid Sept. when the quality at night was good, but now blurry.  

[AZguy86]

yeah that’s what I thought too so I got on a ladder cleaned the lens and it was still terrible so then I thought maybe it was the extreme heat in this lovely hell of Arizona so Google replaced it same thing so I thought it was maybe something with my Internet until I found this community page and learned it was something on Google’s end because when you talk to Support, they will think it’s something on your end when it’s really not

[RavenManiac]

It seems like Google is replacing a lot of cameras. You would think that Google would put two and two together and try to figure out what's going on. I'm also surprised that there haven't been more people complaining. The biggest problem is that the Nest Cams were great until this summer.

Imagine purchasing a Maserati, only to have the manufacturer limit its speed to 50 MPH months or even years later. Nest is supposed to be a premium brand, and what they've done is simply not fair. At the very least, you would expect an official announcement and some semblance of urgency. 

[SFY]

To also be fair... these cameras aren't the Maserati of cameras (think flir elara). We bought a Toyota corolla that promised 35mpg and were getting that only in the daytime...

[RavenManiac]

That is a very good point and analogy. 😀

[RavenManiac]

I just got off the phone with Google Nest tech support. The person I spoke with said he hadn't received any TSBs (Technical Service Bulletins) regarding the v1.69 firmware from engineering or senior technical support personnel. He did say that doing a soft reset oftentimes fixes some of these issues. He also suggested changing the video quality from High to Max.

According to Google, each Nest Camera needs to have a WiFi connection that can deliver at least 15 Mbps per camera, but 25 Mbps is optimal. That means that if you have (10) cameras, your WiFi router needs to be able to deliver 250 Mbps of data flow for optimal performance for just the Nest Cameras. He also said that Nest video quality is directly related to WiFi speed, quality of signal, and stability and suggested using the 2.4 Ghz band to improve all of these parameters.

Currently, all of my Nest Cams use my 5 GHz WiFi because I thought, like most Americans, that bigger is better. Well, that might not be the case here. According to the Internet, 2.4 GHz WiFi has a maximum throughput of up to 600 Mbps, which seems like it would be more than acceptable for the Nest Cams. Plus, if I take the Nest Cams off of the 5 GHz band, they won't be competing with my other 5 GHz devices. I'll try switching my Nest Cams over to a 2.4 GHz connection to see if that improves the quality and report my findings later today or tomorrow.

Just so you know, if you intend to try the same, you will need to do a hard reset of your Nest Cams to switch bands. Also, remember that the further your device is away from your WiFi router the slower your WiFi speeds (Mbps) will be.

[Super_paulie]

Cheers for your efforts but I've tried all of this and it didn't change anything, not even a little. Moved my router to literally 30cm from the camera, absolutely no difference. Another fob off I'm afraid.

[Nestflood]

 We appreciate your input. I highly doubt that anything he suggests will help the problem. I have 1Gb Internet speed and the router is right next to the camera (okay, separated by a brick wall) but that shouldn't cause any issues. I've tried resetting and playing with the settings. Google know it's the firmware causing the issues and there's plenty of people here with examples of before and after the update. I guess we'll see what happens!

[mrmagloo]

Imho, 25mbps is absurd.  These are only 1080 cameras.  It's amazing to me that Google's first instinct is to blame the user?  How is it that all of the users complaining ALL report perfectly fine night time focus a few months ago, and even post samples of the before and after, and they still act as if they've not seen complaints?  Don't they use their own stuff? Jeez.

[RavenManiac]

Just so I can educate myself, what does a 1080p camera need in terms of WiFi throughput?

[AZguy86]

to be honest it’s nothing to do with the Wi-Fi when it comes to this issue I have a 1080 P camera no problem I have the Google indoor camera no problem I have two mercury innovation cameras that were only $18 from Walmart. no problem I have the original Google nest camera doorbell no problem the problem lies within that camera software update. I am showing the signal for the indoor outdoor battery camera as OK there’s no way to get that too great I have the Google mesh routers and I’ve even taken that mesh router out to my garage, held it in my hand near that camera that’s on the other side of that garage door and still could not get that signal strength to go from OK to great. It’s a problem with the physical software of that camera every other camera device in this home all are showing great signal strength, so don’t let Google say it’s your Wi-Fi because it’s not and I’m living proof of that 

[RavenManiac]

For me, WiFi signal strength is definitely a problem, especially with the Nest cameras mounted outside at the far end of the house, so 2.4 GHz may help my particular situation. I'll let you know, but I suspect you are right. I just don't understand why Google won't acknowledge it.

It's also absurd that they aren't actively involved in their own forum or at least reporting to engineering what they are reading.

[mrmagloo]

Its easy enough to test?  I mean they are worthless at night now, so what do you have to lose?  Just remove the camera and temporarily mount it closer to the router.  If you see a remarkable improvement, then you might be on to something. Consider changing to 2.4, and/or move the router closer or get an extender.  However, if the night focus was fine before, well, I doubt the test will offer much.