Leaving home routine works for all other brand cams except Google?!

[chaybee]

Just replaced a Wyze Outdoor V2 with a Google Nest Gen 2 outdoor cam.  Love it EXCEPT - I've had a "I'm Leaving" routine for years that includes "turn on all cameras".  How can eight 3rd party, non-Google cams turn on via that routine with no problem but Google's own camera can't?!  Pretty ridiculous.  

[Justadude]

This is possible, I believe recent updates to automations/routines changed how its done so you probably have to create a new routine to add the new items. It has to be a household routine or can be done in the standard Home & Away routines.

[chaybee]

I tried a couple different variations/work arounds and no dice.  Keep getting Error "Invalid starter and action combination".  It appears Nest cams can still only be turned on via schedules.  

[chaybee]

Hi again, I actually figured out that you can turn it on with a voice command, however, because I also had a custom "turn on all cameras" for my non-Google cameras, that causes the Error.  So, now I'm thinking of a work around of how to implement them both in the same voice command.  

[chaybee]

I'm replying to my own comment so anyone who reads this has the correct information.  My last comment proved to be incorrect.  In a household routine, you can input a voice command and then the action gives you the option to turn on/off a Google Nest Cam.  HOWEVER, in typical Google fashion, it doesn't work and an error pops up stating what I mentioned before.  So at this time, there appears to be no way to activate a Google Nest camera to turn on via a voice routine, which again, is pathetic because I can do it with 8 Wyze cameras at the same time SMH

[Justadude]

I can add the function to turn on or off Google and nest cameras in the default home and away routines which you can add voice commands too. It doesn't seem possible in a custom routine which is dumb but perhaps they don't want it to conflict with the presence on/off options? 

[chaybee]

Thanks for the information.  My wife and I are not a fan of and do not use presence sensing therefore home and away routines are not an option, unfortunately.  It's just another example of how far Google is behind on something so fundamental.  Oh well, I just created a schedule for that camera as a separate routine for now.  

[Prafulla]

Hi @chaybee - I understand the restrictions you are talking about and we are working to remove it from the Google Home app Routines. Meanwhile, if you feel comfortable, our recently launched script editor might help accomplish this goal. Here is a step-by-step guide, and below is a sample script for your use case. 

metadata:
  name: Turn on cameras
  description: Turn on cameras with a voice command

automations:
  starters:
    - type: assistant.event.OkGoogle
      eventData: query
      is: keep an eye

  actions:
    - type: device.command.OnOff
      on: true
      devices: Main camera - Living room

[chaybee]

I'll look into how to do this, however, one thing I've loved about my long journey with smart devices is the simplicity it provided us that don't want to delve into code and stuff like that.  As I mentioned, it's such a fundamental thing and for me to be able to turn on 8 non-Google cameras at the same time with one voice command via Google Assistant but not an actual Google manufactured Camera is simply baffling to me and makes zero sense. 

[chaybee]

Hi again,

Just to follow up - I followed your directions and created a new routine based on my "I'm Leaving" routine with a different voice prompt.  This includes 9 cameras ON and 22 lights OFF.  The first action item I made on the list was the Google Nest Outdoor Cam.  It buffers and buffers ALOT and has to be forced to turn on sometimes by clicking "retry" in Google Home App.  I moved that action down to be the last thing on the list and that seems to work better, however, the picture blinks 3 or 4 times slowly before stabilizing to being ON.  Any thoughts on this?  Thanks. 

[Prafulla]

Thank you @chaybee for sharing your experience. May I request you to submit feedback via the app so that the team has all the relevant details to investigate this better?

[chaybee]

Sure thing.  Other than the bizarre glitchy behavior of the outdoor Nest Cam, everything else was smooth and seemed to respond quicker than the automation I previously had made in the Home App e.g. lights turn off faster and almost at the same time. I was intimidated at first, but your instructions were clear and I appreciate it.