How to Prepare for Changes to Your Nest Account
At the latest developer conference, Google announced that it will rebrand its Nest product line, which will eventually lead to some changes to the Works with Nest program. The program was originally created to help establish communication between Nest devices and trusted third-party apps and services. But in August, things are heading down the dodo path, and some Nest users are wondering how this will affect their existing thermostats, CCTV cameras and other Nest-branded devices that they have assembled and integrated over the years.
Fortunately, since the announcement, there has been more clarification on this. Moving from Nest to Google should be pretty easy, although it can cause a bit of headache for those with complex home automation settings. Here’s what you can expect from your Nest account as Google translates its services, and how to get your devices ready if you’ve already integrated them using Works with Nest.
Do you have until August 31
Google gives its users a few months to move from Nest to Google Assistant, and you spend some time exploring the options. The company will stop accepting any new Works with Nest connections as of August 31, 2019. Nest accounts will continue to function after that date, although there will be no new features in the future.
You will need a Google account
If you are not yet familiar with the Google version and are using Nest devices, you need to sign up for a Google account as soon as possible. If you manage the Nest family account, these users will also have to go to Google to access the new features.
Once you’ve signed up – or even if you’ve already registered but haven’t used the Google Home app yet, download it to your iPhone or Android smartphone and check out its capabilities. Click the Home tab in the bottom navigation bar, then click the Add button at the top of the screen. From here, you can check which services and accounts are already working with Google by linking your external accounts. Don’t forget to link your Nest products. Once set up, you can check the Nest camera feeds and thermostat status right from the Google Home app.
“Works with Nest” will become “Works with Google Assistant.”
“Works with Nest” will be replaced by “Works with Google Assistant.” Not only will the branding of third-party devices change, but also the application you use to integrate them. Once switched, you will use the built-in Routines feature in the Google Home app to keep your smart home gadgets working well.
Switching shouldn’t be difficult if existing home automation schemes are relatively simple. You can prepare for the transition by programming procedures through the Google Home app. If you like to turn on the lights when the Nest thermostat heats up the house, for example, you can tweak this through subroutines, naming a command and then choosing the time and day you want it to work. Then write what you would tell Google Assistant to set the heater to a specific temperature and the light to a specific color. You can even choose if you want some media to play after the fact, or you can leave it blank.
The modes “Home” and “Away” will be available.
It’s easy to customize routines and function commands through the Google Home app, but people loved the actions of Works with Nest because of the customizable Home and Away modes that can determine whether you were at home or away from home. the location of your preferred device.
The ability to turn CCTV cameras on and off based on your home or away from you will work a little differently than it does now, as Google will no longer provide Away status to its partners. However, many more Nest features and condition conditions will be added to the Assistant later this year so you can design routines with other devices in your home according to those criteria. Until this is available, you will have access to Works with Nest triggers until August 31st.
Some automation schemes can break
Therefore, switching to Google Assistant may limit the ability of some apps to enable home automation between Nest products and other devices. For example, IFTTT is one of the most popular and convenient automation services, but any automation schemes that you set up with the service may stop working after August 31st.
On the other hand, Google VP Risha Chandra has confirmed that the company plans to replace most of the IFTTT functionality with capabilities via Google Assistant. But until that happens, there is still not much you can do to prepare.
What if I’m an Alexa user?
If you are using Amazon Alexa to control your Nest devices, there is little information on how this will change or what you need to do to get ready. However, Google said it is working with Amazon to bring Nest skills over, which will allow you to control the Nest thermostat and watch live feed from the Nest camera.