nest camera: can't turn on familiar face detection

[pweil2]

We have a new Nest Camera (battery). We signed up for Nest Aware. In Google home settings, the Nest Aware section says "no compatible device found". The "learn more" link sends us on a wild goose chase with no answers. We do not live in Illinois. Can someone/anyone please point us in the right direction to get this going? This feels like a dead end right now. Google documentation is of no help with this. Thank you.

[MplsCustomer]

@pweil2 

The most likely reason for getting a "no compatible device found" message is if there is no Nest Aware subscription on that Google Account for that Google Nest "home/structure". Is your battery camera on the same Google Account and in the same Google Nest "home/structure" as your Nest Aware Subscription?

You could try the "Contact us" link under "Nest Aware Premier Care" in the post below to "Get 24/7 access to Nest Aware Experts on the Nest Customer Care team. They’re available to answer questions, help you access features, and manage your subscription."

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9233159

[pweil2]

So I tried spent an hour online chatting with "premium support". First he told me that we hadn't migrated our Nest app to Google home. I think we did. And then after screwing around with our account late into the night, he had to escalate it. Three days later, it's a different story: they tell me that the Nest Aware subscription we signed up for -- directly via an offer Google sent to us when we purchased the camera -- is "1st gen", not "2nd gen". And the former is not compatible with familiar face recognition. And they did not offer any further assistance except  to say that we need to buy a subscription to 2nd gen Nest Aware. It seems to me that they could have just switched the subscription (if that's really the issue). As if the subscription signup page says anything about which gen you're getting. What nonsense. Evidently Google and the keystone cops are one and the same.

[MplsCustomer · Accepted solution]

@pweil2 

I don't know whether you get familiar face detection with a 1st gen Nest Aware subscription, but I do know that 1st gen Nest Aware subscriptions apply to specific 1st gen cameras and doorbells only, and do NOT include 2nd gen cameras like your battery camera. The 2nd gen "Nest Aware" and "Nest Aware Plus" subscriptions (available since 2019) apply to ALL cameras and doorbells in the same Google Nest "home/structure" on the same Google Account.

In addition, if you cancel a 1st gen Nest Aware subscription in order to get a 2nd gen Nest Aware subscription, you should get a pro-rated refund on your 1st gen subscription. I don't know why "premium support" didn't help you with that.

If you have migrated your Nest Account to a Google Account, then you are logging onto the Google Nest app with the "Sign on with Google" option.

These are the current Nest Aware prices:

https://store.google.com/product/nest_aware?hl=en-US&modal=upgrade-pricing

If you have or had 1st gen Nest Aware subscriptions through Nest and have not migrated your Nest Account to a Google Accouont, I think you can also check the status here:

https://store.nest.com/account/subscriptions

Otherwise you can check the status of your subscriptions here:

https://store.google.com/subscriptions

[pweil2]

I checked our subscriptions and it doesn't say anything bout which gen it is. That claim about our subscription sounds bogus, which is inexcusable.

As for the Nest App, it just opens. I'll have to sign out and see what happens when I try to get back in. I could have sworn we migrated it, but it's no big deal to double-check and migrate or re-migrate if needed.
As for Google support, I replied to the email to keep the case open, but if I don't hear back, I'll try another chat. If that was 'premium support", then I'd hate to see what "standard support" (if it even exists)  looks like. I'll update this thread if there's anything new to add. Thanks.

[MplsCustomer]

@pweil2 

Maybe this link will help you determine which subscription you have.  Based on what you've posted so far, my guess is that you have a 1st gen subscription; that would explain what's happening on your account.

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/13856600?hl=en&sjid=14793734609575875286-NA#zippy=%2Cho...

[pweil2]

It says 30 days of event video history. So we do have the right one after all. What are these people smoking? What nonsense.

[MplsCustomer]

@pweil2 

Then are your 1st gen Google Nest cameras in the same Google Nest "home/structure" as your new 2nd gen battery camera? Are you logging onto the Google Nest app and the Google Home app with the same Google Account and accessing the same Google Nest "home/structure" in each? Can you also see your 1st gen cameras in the Google Home app?

[pweil2]

@MplsCustomer We have only one Nest Cam (battery) and it's second gen (we've had it for about a month). I will check the Nest app login and verify the home structure and whether we've migrated. We can see our camera in the Google Home app (it won't work in the Nest app).

[MplsCustomer]

@pweil2 

I was assuming you had 1st gen cameras because you said you were using the Google Nest app.

Then, unless something peculiar is happening on your account, one possibility is that when purchased your Nest Aware subscription, you purchased it with a different Google Account or for a different Google Nest "home/structure" than was used for your battery camera.

If you go to this Subscription Management page (for 2nd gen subscriptions) and click on your subscription, does it show the same name for your Google Nest "home/structure" under the "Subscriptions" title as is shown in the Google Home app near the top of the screen?

https://store.google.com/subscriptions

By the way, if you DO discover you have NOT migrated your Nest Account to a Google Account, you will NOT be able to migrate it to the Google Account you are using for your battery camera because that account is already being used for Nest, and will have to look at this workaround under "Error message: Google Account is already linked to a Nest Account":

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9297676?hl=en&sjid=15042519551174313620-NA#troubleshoot...

[pweil2]

@MplsCustomer  We were using the Nest app originally because had Nest Secure and Nest Protect. Got the camera when Nest Secure went EOL and they offered us a bone in compensation. I hope that clarifies the context.

[MplsCustomer]

@pweil2 

That makes sense. The Nest Protects still work ONLY in the Google Nest app.

If you can, check out the issue I raised, that your subscription and your camera are NOT on the same Google Nest "home/structure" and Google Account.

[pweil2]

@MplsCustomer Will do when I get a moment. Thanks.

[pweil2]

@MplsCustomer "The Nest Protects still work ONLY in the Google Nest app."

Don't get me started on that ! 😉

[pweil2]

@MplsCustomer  You wrote: "By the way, if you DO discover you have NOT migrated your Nest Account to a Google Account, you will NOT be able to migrate it to the Google Account you are using for your battery camera because that account is already being used for Nest, and will have to look at this workaround under "Error message: Google Account is already linked to a Nest Account"

I can't believe they make you go through this. I don't want to go through reconnecting Nest Secure devices that are EOL in two weeks (thanks Google). And then our Nest Protect devices won't even be visible in Google Home. The whole thing is absurd. So what's the point of reconnecting devices when they've made a total mess out of managing their various accounts and their apps?

[pweil2]

@MplsCustomer Just a quick update. Two hour-plus chats with support and then "senior support" last night (including two disconnects/hangups on their end) haven't led to a resolution yet. They've confirmed to me that we do have the correct Nest Aware subscription and our Nest app has indeed been migrated. They've requested (and I've sent) several screenshots and screen videos from my phone showing what happens when I try to turn face recognition on. They're still "looking into it". I'm not sure what amazes me more: the inability of support to resolve this (and even before that, to understand the actual problem) or how much time I've spent online with them.

[MplsCustomer]

@pweil2 

I hope you hear back with a resolution.

[pweil2]

@MplsCustomer Here's an update. After multiple long chats and many emails from multiple agents that seemed to go over the same things again and again, sometimes with contradictory instructions, and all the rest. I received this message yesterday. I've never heard of an account having a bug, what took them so long to reach this conclusion, and why they just can't wipe it themselves and get me set up. What a boondoggle this entire affair has been. It goes without saying that I've asked for clarification on exactly what they are asking me to do.

==================================================================================

Thanks for reaching out to the Google Nest Customer Care Team. I hope you are doing well,

I've consulted this case with my engineering team again.

They mentioned that unfortunately the account you have is a bug, and that we will be unable to connect the Nest Aware you have to the subscription you have.

So, the easiest way to resolve the issue is creating a new account, reset devices to factory default and repair the device to the new account. 

As for the Nest Aware subscription, we need to stop the renewal and then cancel it. We can offer you the full amount of the price of the subscription once you create a new account.

@pweil2 wrote:

We have a new Nest Camera (battery). We signed up for Nest Aware. In Google home settings, the Nest Aware section says "no compatible device found". The "learn more" link sends us on a wild goose chase with no answers. We do not live in Illinois. Can someone/anyone please point us in the right direction to get this going? This feels like a dead end right now. Google documentation is of no help with this. Thank you.

[MplsCustomer]

@pweil2 

I'm just another Google Nest customer, but I'm sorry and shocked to hear that Google Nest cannot or will not correct the bug or defect on your account that their software created, that you have to fix the problem with considerable effort on your part, and that their directions to you are so poorly worded (what, for example, does "repair the device to the new account" even mean?). They should at least provide you with precise directions and offer you some sort of compensation for the problems they caused and for your time in correcting their problem.

[pweil2]

@MplsCustomer Thanks. Agree with you 100%. Google should be embarrassed. The only thing these support folks seem to do exceedingly well -- and often -- is promise to do their best to resolve your issue and apologize for the inconvenience we are experiencing. I think they must have a button to press for these, because they do it over and over again. After that, good luck. And then there's the poor writing. Is it because they are not native English speakers, or just don't know how to write/communicate? It could easily be both.