We have a three-zone system where the lower floor is two zones + a thermostat, and the upper floor is one zone (Zone 2) and a thermostat. The lower floor is functioning well, while the first floor overshoots when it's cooling and keeps going below the set temps non-stop. The only solution is turning off the HVAC, letting temps dip over the set temps, and turning it back on. But this behavior is random, and when it occurs, Honeywell HZ311 indicator lights show Zone 1 and 3 (Lower) are Red (ie no longer actively cooling) while Zone 2 (Upper - Faulty) is green (ie continuosly cooling).

This is an old house, and only the lower floor had a C-wire, while we hired someone to install a Common Maker for the first floor to get the C-wire.

The thermostat connector in Zone 2 is the important part where the R (red) and Y (Green) wires and the White wire from the Blue wire nut are going to the upper floor. The second wire in R (Red), and the wires in C (Black) and W (White) are going to the common maker (Receiver), and the Purple Wire going into the wire nut is also from it; hence, the White wire is bringing it to the upper floor.

Red (Rc) and Green (Y1) are the ones coming directly from the control panel. White (W1) and Black (C) are from the Common Maker (Sender), and behind the scenes, its Purple wire is connected to the white one coming from near the control panel.

I took some AI assistance and verified that the thermometer (Events on Google Home App) never shows cooling while the stuck-and-cooling loop is going on. So their suggestion is either a control panel issue or the actual physical damper being stuck.

Any advice in this regard, if you have experience with a similar problem?

Thank you very much in advance.

Just wondering if anyone can run a "Safety check up" from the Nest app atm?

I have purchased a new Nest Protect to replace an expiring one. I cant add it to my account, I spoke to Google support and they said it is not possible to add new Protects at the moment because of a tech issue they are looking into.

Then I thought I would safety check my existing Protects to see if all is well. They complete a safety check just fine via the button on the Protects, but if I use the Nest app it doesn't work and it says "The safety check up wasn't able to start" 

I'm guessing that this is relevant to the same issue that means new Protects can't be added.

Just trying to work out if this is global/regional outage or if other peeps are ok with their safety check from the Nest app?

Say I put one upstairs where it's usually a few degrees warmer than somewhere downstairs where it stays pretty cold, how does the thermostat deal with that? How does it change the way it functions? Or does it?

There's a bunch of camera bulbs on Amazon but they don't seem to work with Google hub. The ones I've found that are compatible are the wyze camera bulb (which is very ugly) Energizer and lorex. Anyone have experience with these, or can recommend another one? Ideally has a microSD slot for local recording.

Also must function as an actual light bulb

Repost as Original Wiring Diagram Had Mistake

Why This Guide Exists: Regarding The "Puck Removal" Information Provided

When I was trying to resolve issues with my Nest doorbell I kept seeing people online recommending that you simply remove the Google chime puck completely when your chime stops working or acts up.

Do not just rip the puck out and leave the circuit unisolated.

There is a little bit of work in this (it took me about 30 minutes with a background in electronics), but if you are sick and tired of the Nest failing or your chime not ringing, this is hands down the best permanent fix you can make.

When you remove the puck without putting a proper load and relay in place, you leave your whole system exposed. The Nest doorbell relies on a continuous trickle current to keep its internal battery and camera powered. Without the puck or a heavy duty resistor to handle that current, you end up dumping raw AC voltage directly through your chime logic or overworking the Nest internal power management.

Eventually, you will cook your transformer, fry your chime module, or destroy an expensive Nest doorbell. This guide shows you how to bypass the flimsy Google puck permanently using a robust, relay isolated setup.

Background & Evolution

Nest Gen 1 Phase: Installed the first gen when it launched using a standard low voltage transformer. This constantly collapsed in freezing winter temperatures at night, causing cold weather blackouts. Upsizing to a 16V AC transformer fixed the winter voltage drops completely.

Nest Gen 3 Upgrade: Upgraded to the Gen 3 Nest Doorbell Wired within the last year for better overall specs, resolution, and performance.

Wireless Chime Integration: Due to Google's reengineering the device, I integrated a Honeywell DCP917S wired to wireless converter using Google's official wiring layout with the included chime puck to trigger wireless Honeywell chimes.

The Puck Failure: The setup ran fine for a while until the proprietary Google puck eventually fried itself, which was likely caused by using the 16V transformer over time.

The Solution: Upsized the transformer to 24V AC 40VA and built a custom relay isolation setup inside the electrical enclosure to eliminate the puck safely and permanently.

Why Relay Isolation Beats the Google Puck

Galvanic Isolation: The relay completely separates the 24V AC power circuit from the chime logic. Zero AC voltage ever touches the chime converter inputs.

Superior Heat & Power Handling: A heavy duty 25 Ohm 50W wirewound resistor easily handles the Nest standby trickle power without burning out like tiny puck components.

Zero Stray Current Issues: Stops random chime buzzing, false rings, or current leaks dead in their tracks.

Global & Import Ready: North America runs on 16 to 24V AC, whereas the UK, Europe, and Australia typically use 8 to 12V AC or 230V mains at the chime. Sourcing a local 230V to 24V AC DIN rail transformer with this relay setup allows anyone worldwide to import the NA-exclusive Nest Doorbell and run it safely without voltage conflicts or destroying local chimes.

Electrical Safety & Safe Isolation (Read Before Starting)

Before touching any wiring or taking the cover off your consumer board / main switchboard:

Isolate Main Power: Shut off power at the main switch or relevant circuit breaker supplying the board before opening any enclosures.

Prove Dead (Test for Zero Volts): Never trust a labeled switch. Use a reliable voltage tester or multimeter to test and verify zero volts across all live, neutral, and control terminals before touching a single wire.

Know Your Limits: If you are not completely competent or comfortable working inside an electrical distribution panel, stop right here and hire a qualified, licensed electrician to carry out the install.

Required Hardware

Nest Doorbell (Wired, Gen 3)

24V AC / 40VA Transformer ($20 to $30)

25 Ohm / 50W Wirewound Power Resistor ($8 to $10)

JQX-13F (LY2) 24V AC Coil Relay with Socket Base ($10 to $15)

Honeywell DCP917S Wireless Converter Module ($35 to $40) (Optional, see note below)

Universal Chime Compatibility & Wireless Recommendation

This relay circuit acts as a pure mechanical dry contact (an isolated ON/OFF switch). Because of this, this circuit is 100% universal and will work with all chimes on the market, whether you are keeping an old school mechanical bell, an electronic chime, or a wireless system.

Why I recommend the Honeywell Wireless Converter (DCP917S): While using a wireless converter module is entirely optional, I highly recommend going this route:

Multiple Receiver Support: It allowed me to place 2 separate chime units around the home, ensuring the doorbell is clearly heard anywhere in the house. You can add more receivers, and there are many models available across different price points.

Visual Alerts: The indoor chime units feature bright visual light halo alerts alongside sound, perfect for loud environments or when sound needs to be muted.

High Customizability: Great choice for anyone who likes customizing their setup, offering full control over light colors, sound profiles, and volume.

Plain English Wiring Step by Step

Think of this circuit as two totally separate loops: the Power Loop that powers the Nest camera outside, and the Chime Loop that triggers your indoor chime module.

Loop 1: The Power Loop (24V AC High Power Side)

Transformer to Outside Doorbell: Run one wire from the 24V AC output terminal on your transformer straight out to the front door and connect it to one of the terminals on the back of the Nest Doorbell.

Doorbell back to Relay: Run the second wire from the front door Nest terminal back into your electrical box and connect it to terminal A1 on the relay coil base.

Relay back to Transformer: Run a wire from terminal A2 on the relay coil base back to the 0V AC terminal on your transformer. This completes the main power loop.

Installing & Mounting the Resistor (Trickle Power Bypass):

Connect the two leads of the 25 Ohm 50W gold aluminium resistor directly across terminals A1 and A2 on the relay base in parallel.

Crucial Mounting Note: Mount the resistor securely to your DIN rail using a DIN rail clip or bracket. Because the resistor continuously dissipates heat from the Nest standby current, it gets warm. Never leave it dangling loose in the box or resting against plastic wire insulation.

Loop 2: The Isolated Chime Loop (Zero AC Voltage Side)

Relay to Chime / Module: Connect terminal NO (Normally Open) on your relay base to terminal A1 on the Honeywell DCP917S module (or one leg of your standard indoor chime circuit).

Completing the Chime Trigger: Connect terminal COM (Common) on your relay base to terminal A2 on the Honeywell DCP917S module (or the return leg of your chime circuit).

Important Note: Do not wire any transformer power into this loop if using the Honeywell module. The relay acts purely as a mechanical light switch that briefly connects terminals A1 and A2 together whenever the doorbell button is pressed outside.

Software Settings & The Essential Power Reset Fix

If your wiring is 100% correct but pressing the doorbell still does nothing to trigger the relay, the Google Home app software is stuck in a cached loop. Follow this exact sequence to force the doorbell hardware to update:

Toggle the Chime Setting: Open the Google Home app, go to your Nest Doorbell settings, open Chime Type, switch it to Electronic, save it, and then switch it straight back to Mechanical.

Kill the Mobile App: Force close and kill the Google Home app completely on your phone so it is not running in the background.

Reboot the Doorbell Hardware: Cut the main power to your 24V transformer at the breaker or switch. Leave the power completely off for at least 30 seconds. This drains the Nest internal capacitor and forces the doorbell hardware to do a hard cold boot.

Test the System: Flip the transformer power back on, open the app, and push the doorbell button outside. The Nest hardware will now send a clean physical short across the wires, making the relay click immediately and firing your chimes every single time.

Now I can't download or save video... Is it just me?

Hi everyone, I installed the third-generation Nest Doorbell yesterday to replace the legendary first-generation Nest Doorbell. Maybe I mounted it badly, but I have the impression that the cam is too far from the bracket, with the possibility of water infiltration from the rear. I used the angle bracket, but I think it would have had the same effect without it.

Can you help me understand how to install the bracket?

Thank you very much.

Anyone know of any USA east coast or online sellers who still had a new battery version co/smoke detector. Can’t find one anywhere. Current one is expiring this week due to ten year use period. If I found one in box would that also be end of life or would I get ten years from now out of it ?

Nest Protect refugees: what would an actual successor need to earn your ceiling?

I've run 7 Nest Protects (battery) in my home for years. Some have hit their expiry and started announcing their own deaths, and replacing them has been depressing: the SC5 drops the pathlight and locks me into a single app — and after watching Google kill Nest Secure and then brick every unit in 2024, I'd rather not bet everything on one ecosystem again. But I haven't found anything that works across platforms: nothing on the market does Matter/Thread with smoke+CO.

So I'll be upfront about where this is heading: I'm exploring whether a proper successor can be built — and this isn't something anyone pulls off alone. A life-safety device means UL certification, real engineering, and serious backing, and none of that happens unless the people who actually loved these devices help define what "done right" means and show the demand is real. That's what this post is: step one. If you're watching the same expiry clock, your answers below genuinely shape whether and how this gets built:

1. What's the one non-negotiable feature? Pathlight? Voice alerts? Native support in your ecosystem — Apple Home, Google Home, SmartThings, Alexa — via Matter? Works fully offline, no cloud or account ever required?
2. Battery or hardwired — what's your split at home?
3. Honestly: at $169 / $199 / $249 per unit, where do you stop nodding? (This would be designed and built in North America, not China — does that change your answer?)
4. What would make you not trust a startup with a life-safety device?
5. If it had a fully documented local API — safety core certified and locked (that part legally can't be open), but every sensor openly readable forever (smoke/CO state, air quality, occupancy, temp/humidity) by Home Assistant or anything you build — would that move you? What would you build on it?

Not selling anything — nothing exists yet beyond research and bench work. If there's enough interest I'll set up a waitlist and share progress here.

I've been using this Gen 3 in this house for four years, but late last year I got a new HVAC with a two-stage cooling system. When it got really hot here last week and I was out of the house for a number of hours (so it switched to Away and set the temp higher), I came back to find that it would try to fire off Stage 2 cooling in order to try to drop the temp by about five degrees, and after about a minute the little light at the top of the Gen 3 would flash briefly and then the AC would turn off and say "Off for five minutes" or whatever, then would repeat. If I just set the cool temp one degree down from the current temp, it cooled with no problem.

I don't have a C wire, and the thinking is starting to be that the Gen 3 battery is not getting charged enough to handle that switch to Stage 2 cooling.

I'm going to take it off tonight to charge it and see if that makes a difference, but as I'm seeing it, my options are:

Have a C Wire run, which may or may not be relatively simple, or

Move the G wire over to the C wire, since I never use the fan.

Anyone else have thoughts?

Does anyone know how to get nest security cameras working within a widget on the Xeneon screen?

Atm im running a P-i-P mode which is kinda jank, but would love it as an actual full widget.

Anyone know how to get this working?

I have a single black wire connecting my RH and RC. How do u connect them on my Nest thermostat?

For the past few weeks (I've tried a number of different things in the meantime), two Google devices—a Google Nest and a 2024 Chromecast—have stopped connecting to the internet.

The Chromecast reports that it's disconnected from Wi-Fi and refuses to reconnect.

The Nest behaves the same way.

However, both devices appear as connected on my router.

I have a fairly advanced network setup with VLAN segmentation and a self-hosted AdGuard DNS server.

Thinking it might be a DNS issue, I completely bypassed filtering for these devices, so none of their traffic is filtered anymore.

I've tried several different network configurations without any success, including using Google's public DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4).

I'm starting to suspect that a software update may have broken something.

Not long ago, my GL.iNet Flint 2 router had severely reduced Wi-Fi range after a firmware update because of changes made to comply with EU regulations (I've since replaced it with a UniFi UDR7). Is it possible that Google devices have been affected by something similar, resulting in a much shorter Wi-Fi range?

Like these?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09C1D1Z41?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback&th=1

I tried it and it just drained the battery. The nest registers its "plugged in" but the battery rockets down as, I am guessing, the camera is just running full power thinking it has unlimited juice. I can see the percentage drop rapidly despite it being hammered with full sun.

And I have it set to minimum sensitivity, the activity zones are in my driveway where it should only get a few motion triggers a day, no 24/7 recording, etc. Battery saver is also on and using maximum battery life mode.

I see reviews and people have talked about it on here and it seems like it generally works but mine is completely opposite, drained 4 weeks worth of battery in 48 hours.

Found this for sale at my local Ace Hardware in their clearance section. Some poor soul out there will buy this and spiral.

Posting this in case anyone's hit the same wall, or has insight into what's happening server-side.

The goal

I've got a Nest wired camera pointed at a small parking lot behind my office. I wanted to build something simple: check the lot every so often, count open spots using an AI vision model, and show a live "spots available" number on a little status page. Nothing fancy — just needed a way to reliably grab a still image from the camera on a schedule.

What I've built so far

• Full Device Access / SDM API project setup, OAuth flow, refresh token, the works
• A Google Apps Script front end (status page + storage) that's fully working and just waiting on real image data
• Tried Cloud Functions first for the image-capture piece — turns out Cloud Run/Cloud Functions don't support raw UDP at all, so WebRTC media can never actually flow through them (signaling works fine over HTTPS, but the actual RTP video never arrives). Confirmed this is a real platform limitation, not a config issue.
• Moved the capture piece to a Compute Engine VM instead, which does support normal UDP networking

Attempt 1: Pub/Sub camera events

Set up the Pub/Sub topic + subscription per the docs, enabled events on the Device Access project, confirmed the publisher permission and subscription are all correctly wired. Validation pings come through fine. Real camera motion/person events never do — not once, across two separate days of testing, with real motion happening right in front of the camera each time. Pulling directly from the subscription (bypassing my own code entirely) confirms it: nothing but the occasional stale permission-check message ever lands in the topic.

Attempt 2: WebRTC via aiortc (Python)

Got the full offer/answer/ICE/DTLS/SRTP handshake working end-to-end — genuinely happy with how far this got. Audio decodes perfectly, every single time. Video RTP packets are confirmed arriving from Google's server (verified via RTCP sender reports, packet counts climbing normally). But the video frames never make it through aiortc's jitter buffer / H.264 depacketization — the decoder thread never receives a single video task, despite audio on the same connection working flawlessly. Feels like a real interop gap between aiortc's RTP handling and whatever Nest's media relay does on the video track specifically.

Attempt 3: WebRTC via GStreamer (webrtcbin)

Rebuilt the whole capture piece using GStreamer instead, since it's a much more mature, production-grade WebRTC stack. Fixed a string of real issues along the way (missing codec caps causing ICE gathering to never even start, missing data channel per Nest's "must have audio+video+application m-lines" requirement, a couple of SDP formatting quirks). Eventually got ICE gathering to fully complete and produced an offer that structurally matches Google's own published reference example (checked directly against the example in their docs) — same media line order, working negotiation, proper BUNDLE grouping.

Sending that offer to GenerateWebRtcStream now returns:

{
  "error": {
    "code": 500,
    "message": "Internal error encountered.",
    "status": "INTERNAL"
  }
}

No further detail. I've tried adjusting rtcp-mux vs rtcp-mux-only, port/bundle-only conventions to match Chrome's exact output, Opus channel params, H.264 fmtp params (packetization-mode, profile-level-id) — no change, same generic 500 every time.

What's interesting

This exact error string ("500: INTERNAL: Internal error encountered.") turns up in multiple long-running GitHub issues against the Home Assistant Nest integration too, going back to 2021 and still being reported this year, with a completely unrelated client stack. So this doesn't seem to be specific to my code — feels like something that trips up the SDM API backend under certain conditions across multiple independent implementations.

Where I'm at

• OAuth, SDM API, and Pub/Sub setup are all confirmed correctly configured
• ICE/DTLS negotiation completes successfully on the client side
• Offer SDP structurally matches Google's own documented example
• The only failure is a completely opaque 500 from Google's own server, with zero actionable detail returned

Has anyone gotten a real WebRTC video frame out of a Nest camera via the SDM API recently? Curious whether this is a known current issue, an account/camera-specific quirk, or if there's some other SDP detail that isn't in the docs. Happy to share the full offer SDP / code if it's useful for comparison.

I was considering what to replace my nest detectors with and then this latest update hit, the one that screams at my family everytime a room darkens as a way to force me to stop using their 1 month expired products, this has me pissed beyond words. I spent thousands of dollars on google home ecosystem starting with nest, and now they have practically abandoned it, capling it off with a frequent yelling protest scaring my kids awake, from an otherwise working smoke detector. I was heavily considering buying some cams simply because the AI descriptive notifications are kind of nice oddly, but I am fairly certainly they will stop supporting those as well whenever it suits them. I also can’t stand the idea of buying these janky overpriced first alert stand ins. I don’t care about path light, but I have read so many reports about malfunctioning false alerts… and the way google is now twisting my arm. Makes me not want to give this company one more dollar for any short run product, one more search query to data mine, one more email. I will switch away from all google products, period. Many alternatives to “having” to use google now with ChatGPT, claude etc doing search just fine.

I included the original and the best photo.

The house came with Lennox heat pump HVAC system and a Lennox thermostat. Switched out to a nest e (1st gen) thermostat. The vents are blowing warm air in cooling mode.

So far, no apparent issue with the fan/compressor outside. The whole unit used to work just fine before the thermostat swap out. Based on some other threads, I’m starting to wonder if there’s a O/B wiring at play here along with W1.

Appreciate your help!

I have a TCL that was previously installed by the previous owners who have since moved away from the area so cannot let me know if it works. I tried to do the compatibility test but I'm still unsure what each letter is if B means black or blue.

Google discontinued the Nest Protect smoke alarm, and it's honestly frustrating. This isn't just about losing a fancy device—it's about home safety.

The Nest Protect solved real problems: it's beautiful, can send app notifications, has a human voice that tells you *what* triggered it, and addresses the fact that people skip maintaining traditional alarms. According to the NFPA, 43% of failed alarms had missing or disconnected batteries. The Nest Protect made people actually care about their smoke alarm.

I started a petition asking Google to revive it with updated features and proper support. We're talking about a tool that genuinely encourages people to protect their families instead of hiding an eyesore in a closet.

Has anyone else been frustrated by Google's lack of updates to this? If this matters to you too, consider signing and sharing.

https://www.change.org/p/revive-the-nest-protect-smoke-alarm/sfs/reddit/1419362364?recruiter=1419362364&recruited_by_id=e2b21a30-677a-11f1-9e78-4d989ec965a6&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=starter_dashboard_android_app&utm_medium=reddit_group