Google Nest

[U: Refunds going out] Google gives refunds to Nest Aware subscribers after outage

Ben Schoon | May 4 2020 - 10:42 am PT

Earlier this week, Google Nest was hit with a massive outage that not only took out live video, but even recording history for several hours. Understandably, many Nest users were outraged at this, but now Google is giving out refunds to paying Nest Aware subscribers as an apology for the outage.

First highlighted by Droid-Life, Google appears to be sending out emails to Nest Aware subscribers with an explanation of what happened with this outage earlier this week, an apology, and a refund for their Nest Aware subscription for the month. On Reddit, many Nest subscribers confirmed receiving this email.

This gesture of goodwill won’t help those who mentioned break-ins or accidents during the outage, but it should help smooth over the situation for most people. The refund will be completely automatic and should send an email to confirm the refund once it’s been processed.

Update 5/4: It’s been a few weeks since Google announced it was giving out refunds for the late-February outage, but finally the refunds are being applied. Emails going out to subscribers confirm that the refund has “been applied to your card.” As mentioned above, that refund was automatic with no user intervention.

To thank you for your patience during our camera outage on Monday, February 24, a refund has been applied to the card associated with your account. It may take a few days to appear on your statement.

Google Nest explains:

On Monday, February 24th, an update to our servers caused a connectivity issue that prevents Nest Cameras from recording and streaming live video from 11:55 AM to 4:20 PM Pacific Time. All camera services are now running smoothly. Video history was not captured during the outage.

We know that our cameras are an important part of keeping your home and property safe, and we’re carefully looking across our systems to prevent this from happening again. Providing a trusted and secure infrastructure for your home is a responsibility we take very seriously.

As a Nest Aware subscriber, we understand you rely on our cameras and services. We’ll be issuing a $5 refund to the card associated with your account to thank you for your patience and for being a loyal Nest customer. No need to contact customer support — you’ll automatically receive an email once the refund has been processed.

We’re committed to building products that deliver helpful solutions for your home. We apologize for not meeting that expectation this week.

— rishi

VP, Google Nest