Google Home app readies support for ‘legacy’ Nest Cams, as promised

Kyle Bradshaw | Jan 12 2023 - 10:15 am PT

As first promised in 2021, the Google Home app is making tangible progress toward fully supporting previous generations of Nest Cam hardware, including setup.

About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in the case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.

The Nest Cam lineup is in a weird state in the Google Home ecosystem today, with the newest cameras fully supported by the Google Home app and all previous models half-heartedly usable. This means any owner of those cameras has needed to keep both Nest and Google Home installed on their phone and use both apps to monitor their home’s security.

Thankfully, Google has long promised to bring the older generations of Nest Cam into the Google Home in a more complete way. That transition is slated to occur this year, sometime after the Google Home redesign is completed. Considering that redesign is now being tested by the public and finalized by Google, it’s no surprise to see that the company has begun working on better Nest Cam support.

In the latest preview update of the Google Home app — version 2.64.23.1-dogfood, rolling out now via the Play Store — our team has found a new image showing a first-generation Nest Cam. A small detail to note here is that the app’s code refers to this camera as “QV1.”

Following the thread of “QV1,” this same preview version of Google Home includes new text related to setting up that older Nest Cam. Today, this process needs to be completed in the Nest app before the camera can be connected to Google Home. In the new workflow described, Google Home is seemingly able to set up the camera directly.

<string name=”qv1_find_entry_key_code_title”>Finding the setup code or entry key</string>

<string name=”qv1_find_entry_key_code_description”>The setup code or entry key is located on the back the camera</string>

string name=”qv1_find_qr_code_title”>Finding the QR code</string

<string name=”qv1_find_qr_code_description”>The QR code is located on the back the camera</string>

It’s possible that owners of older Nest Cams may need to reset their cameras and set them up again via the Google Home app to use Google’s newer smart home experience. Alternatively, this workflow may simply be here for those who buy a new/used Nest Cam and need to set it up for the first time.

Thanks to JEB Decompiler, from which some APK Insight teardowns benefit.