Nest Thermostat changes to Away mode when I’m home

[nvbradshaw2014]

I’ve had a Nest Thermostat 2nd generation for a couple of years and it’s been great. 
over the past couple of weeks my nest thermostat changes from home mode to away mode on its own. It seems to make that change every couple of hours and I can’t figure out why. Anyone have any ideas what’s going on and what I can check? Thank you! 

[Shammy]

I have the same problem!

[Shammy]

Yes! Making me crazy!

[EMTgoneNUTZ]

I just hooked my Nest Learning thermostat up yesterday & it’s been working fine, but this evening it keeps switching to away mode even though I am home (been in my bedroom, but it isn’t that far away from the thermostat & is one one floor). I’d like to keep the home/away setting on, but if it’s going to keep doing this I’ll have to turn that feature off. Only reason I realized it was because when I woke from a nap it was freezing in my house, & if I’M chilly (when I normally keep my heat set around 62-63°), then you know it’s actually chilly in here. It had dropped down to 57. Brrr-it’s winter in Michigan so can’t be having this happen every time I’m asleep in my bedroom! 

[BMA]

We are having this issue plus it “self changing” the goal temperature.  Also, when we put it at say 71… it does nothing unless we turn it down to 68 or lower.  Once it kicks on we then put it at our desired temperature.  Does support ever answer these questions?  Getting frustrated !

[stanyork]

Possible solution is not based on the thermostat, but on your mobile devices.

On EACH phone/device:

1. Open the nest app
2. Make sure you are on the HOME display (not the thermostat display) 
3. touch the settings gear (top right)
4. Touch Home/Away Assist
5. Touch What decides if you're home
6. Find and touch your current device (it displays other devices, but you can only change the current one here)
7. Turn on phone location  AND grant ALWAYS permission.   

I've had two Nest thermostats for years and this spontaneous "away" behavior started recently.  Methinks that some android update demoted ALWAYS location permission to "when in use" location permission and this broke the home/away assist feature.   Most apps should only know your location when in use -- but this feature requires the NEST APP to know "always".  

[magicmikela]

Same issue here on IOS (unfortunately turning on the phone location didn't help!)

[Filmfan123]

Same problem here.. any suggestions yet

[loonytoon]

I've been having this issue for months. I may have solved the issue with a solution not mentioned in this thread so far. After looking at the activity history in my app, I think the Home/Away was being adjusted based on Nest's on-product sensors, rather than based on my phone location even though both are turned "ON" (i.e. so far this morning, I haven't gone out into the living room where the Nest is, and so it hasn't sensed any motion in that room and so it thinks I'm gone, despite that my phone location is at home). 

To avoid Home/Away being adjusted unnecessarily, as of this morning I adjusted an app setting in hopes that it will solve this problem: Nest app > Settings> Home/Away Assist > What decides if you're home > turn OFF the Nest device listed under "Products" and just keep the phone location option ON. Hopefully this helps... 

[CMC1]

In the Nest App go to settings on the Nest app’s main screen, not the thermostat’s settings. 
You should see Home/Away assist. 
Open “What decides if you’re home”

Should see a people section and a products section

click the thermostat under products 

See if “Should this thermostat use its activity sensors to figure out if anyone's home?” Is checked. 

back story 

my children come home from school, home/away switches to home. 
Then they go to their rooms and don’t emerge until I get home. So although they’re home and the phones are set to location on always, the thermostat motion sensors aren’t getting triggered and the system switches to Away.
In my repeated efforts to solve this I would first check their phones and check the thermostat settings in the app. Never thought to check the nest setting.