Dropcam
In a post on the official Google Nest Community page, Google announced that it is discontinuing service for several old Nest smart home products. Most of these have been off the market for years, but since this is all hardware tied to the cloud, shutting down the servers will turn them into useless bricks. The good news is that Google is giving existing users deals on hardware upgrades to something that’s supported.
The first is Dropcam, which Nest and Google acquired in 2014 for $555 million and eventually turned into the Nest Cam line. Server support for Dropcam (and Dropcam Pro) will end on April 8, 2024, with Google saying “Dropcam will stop working after that date and you won’t be able to use your Nest app to check status.” The video clips are stored online, so Google adds, “If you want to keep your video history, download and save it before this date.”
Nest replaced the Dropcam line in 2015, so these cameras are all around 8 years old. Nest promises five years of support for its own products. Google isn’t just shutting down these users, though; it offers discounts on new Nest Cams if they want to keep rolling with the Google ecosystem. Google says that if users are currently subscribed to Nest Aware, they’ll get a free indoor wired Nest Cam ($100 value). Nest Aware is a $6 or $9 monthly subscription that lets you record video from the camera and store it online. Since that subscription fee will equal the price of a Nest Cam in a year or two, it makes sense for Google to try to keep that subscription revenue coming in. If you don’t have a Nest Aware subscription, Google is offering a 50 percent discount on the wired indoor Nest Cam.
(Although I would encourage you to throw off the shackles of Google’s ever-turbulent walled garden and buy something that doesn’t have a monthly fee or rely on the cloud. I like my Unifi Protect system because it’s self-serviced. hosted with decent hardware and a range of camera models, but there are plenty of options. Nest Cams just don’t offer anything that justifies the monthly cost, and it comes at a high overall cost.)
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This is what a Nest Secure looks like. That’s a hub/keyboard on top, with a keychain presence sensor and two parts of a “Nest Detect” sensor.
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Nest Detect is a combined motion sensor and door monitor.
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You can press a button on Nest Detect to use a door without setting off the alarm.
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With the Nest Tag you can tap to turn off.
Next on the Nest chopping block is Nest Secure. This was a $500 home security system that included a keypad, window and door sensors, motion detectors, and a key fob occupancy sensor. Google killed the hardware in 2020, but will continue to support existing devices until the same day as Dropcam: April 8, 2024. Google says on that date “your Nest Secure has stopped working. It’s not accessible in the Nest app and won’t connect with internet.”
When Google initially announced Nest Secure’s cancellation, it promised to support the device until at least November 2022 – exactly five years after its November 2017 release – but now it’s getting 6.5 years of support.
Google just announced a rebooted security product in partnership with ADT, one of the fixtures in the home security market (Google bought a 6.6 percent stake in ADT in 2020). It’s the same basic product as Nest Secure, but with a mix of Google technology (cameras and smart displays) and ADT technology (the hub, sensors and software). Like the Nest Cams, this hardware is subscription bait: Google and ADT would love it if you subscribe to ADT’s 24/7 professional monitoring, which costs $25-$35 per month, depending on your home setup.
Nest Secure owners are offered a free upgrade to the new ADT system (Google calls this a “value up to $485”), though you’ll have to do a lot of new installation work, swapping out every sensor and part to get it up to speed. to get talking. run. Another option is a $200 Google Store credit. If you’re eligible for discounts for the Nest Secure or Dropcams, Google says they’ll send you an email. There is also a recycling program for your dead products.
The Nest smart home ecosystem, “Works with Nest,” also finally got a cut-off date: September 29, 2023. “Works with Nest” was Nest’s original smart home ecosystem, allowing things like your thermostat to change when you leave the house or third-party apps to control your Nest system. Third party devices can also be connected to this system and communicate in some way with your thermostat, cameras or smoke detector.
Works with Nest received a death sentence in 2019 and has been on Google’s death row ever since. Google originally planned to shut down Works with Nest in August 2019, but delayed the termination after a public outcry. However, Google still blocked Works with Nest from adding new devices in August 2019, so every system has been limping along since then. If something broke, you were out of luck and couldn’t replace it.
At the time, Google wanted Nest users to move to the “Works with Google Assistant” ecosystem, which is the same basic idea of smart home communications, but without the “not invented here” baggage of the acquired Nest system. It uses a Google account rather than a Nest account, has different hardware compatibility and, crucially, lets you control devices with your voice. Of course, the Google Assistant also seems to be deprived of priority at Google, so Works with Google Assistant is no longer called Works with Google Assistant; it’s now called “Works with Google Home.” But “Google Home” doesn’t refer to the original Google Home product, which was a smart speaker. That line was killed and replaced by the Nest Audio speakers. “Google Home” now means the app that controls your smart devices, so “Works with Google Home” means you’ll see it in the app. The Nest app, which can also control some Nest devices, is being phased out in favor of the Google Home app.
