After leaving Apple, Matt Rogers founded Nest with Tony Fadell and stayed at Google for several years following the acquisition. Mill is a new company from Rogers that offers a “kitchen bin” with a monthly subscription that can “de-stink your kitchen, stop wasting food, and make a positive impact.”
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Google is preparing to open a “Preview Program” for the Home app on Android, which would give early access to new features for your smart home — here’s how to sign up.
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Ahead of this fall’s Made by Google event, a new “Wireless Device” has shown up at the FCC, which could be a new product for the company’s Nest lineup.
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Google Assistant devices have a certain level of access to your account, and if you sell them off or stop using them, revoking access to your account isn’t a bad idea. However, if you revoke access to your Google account, some Assistant devices can end up wrecking your smart home setup, including Nest.
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Google’s Nest thermostats make it easy to control the temperature of your home remotely, but that all relies on a wireless connection. Over the past few months, some Nest owners have encountered a “w5” error with wi-fi which cuts off all remote connections.
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Two-factor authentication is one of the best ways to keep yourself safe online, but many users don’t turn on the optional feature. Starting this spring, Google will require all Nest users to enable two-factor authentication.
Yesterday’s Nest app update brought with it the ability to migrate your Nest account to Google, for better or worse. This Nest 5.38 update also has the beginnings of glass break detection for Nest Guard.
True to its word, Google is starting to migrate Nest accounts over to Google accounts. While that’s a positive change in some ways, IFTTT is warning Nest users that Google account migration will break their integration in a way that can’t be reversed.
The Nest Hello doorbell already offers a wide variety of security monitoring tools, but now Google is bringing in more of its camera software prowess. Version 5.37 of the Nest app for Android indicates that the Hello doorbell cam will be getting package delivery and pickup detection.
Since I/O 2019, standalone Nest branding has been aggressively phased out. Learning about and buying products is now on the Google Store, while support is from Google Help. Another change saw the old Nest logo removed from camera streams.
Update: Google told The Verge that it has now fixed the problem.
We were recently made aware of an issue affecting some Nest cameras connected to third-party partner services via Works with Nest. We’ve since rolled out a fix for this issue that will update automatically, so if you own a Nest camera, there’s no need to take any action.
Used Nest cams allow the original owner to spy on whoever buys them. The problem was discovered by a former owner of the popular Nest Cam Indoor.
Worryingly, the behavior survives the official reset procedure, and right now there appears to be no fix available for it …
The Google Nest rebranding continues today with Nest.com being replaced by the Google Store. Over the weekend, we spotted stickers renaming the Home Hub to Nest Hub, and yesterday the Google Nest Help Center launched.
In late May, the FCC revealed a new Nest Cam Indoor amid earlier rumors that an updated security camera would be available as part of Made by Google’s 2019 lineup. A new Nest Cam Outdoor today arrived at the regulatory agency.
The Nest Hello Video Doorbell needs a constant wired power in order to function, but the device only ships with the ability to draw that power from existing doorbell wires. Now, there’s a third-party indoor power adapter for the Nest Hello that draws power from a standard outlet inside of your home.
Google powers some of the biggest servers on the web today, so anytime there’s even a small outage it can cause trouble for users. This afternoon, several of the company’s services are down including Search, Nest, YouTube, Gmail, and more.
Last week at Google I/O, some new details regarding the Nest brand were shared. Specifically, Google announced that it was bringing the Nest and Home brands under one roof as “Google Nest.” One change that had users up in arms, though, was the shutdown of the “Works with Nest” program. Today, Google has posted an update on what that shutdown means.
At I/O 2019, Google announced that moving forward its smart home products would be branded under “Nest.” The Home Hub became the Nest Hub, while the first product from this initiative is the Nest Hub Max. Meanwhile, Google confirmed that Home speakers will get Nest branding in the future, while Nest Accounts will be migrated to Google Accounts to address recent security issues.
For the past several months, Nest has been plagued with stories about its cameras getting “hacked.” The underlying issue is bad password management and reuse, with Google encouraging 2FA and actively reseting compromised passwords. A new report today reveals that Nest accounts could eventually use Google log-ins.
According to reports over the past week, Nest is making changes to how its operates customer support. The end result is over 300 job cuts to third-party call centers that Nest contracts with in California and Ireland.
Earlier this month, Google announced Assistant for the Nest Secure, and with it the fact that the Nest Guard contains a microphone. According to Google, that feature was “never supposed to be a secret,” but the company’s lack of transpaccy has sparked a privacy outcry. The latest involves the U.S. Senate sending a letter to Sundar Pichai asking for more details.
Earlier this month, Google announced that the Nest Secure can double as a Google Assistant device for quick voice commands. This is due to the Nest Guard featuring an on-device microphone that was previously — and accidentally — not disclosed, with some criticizing Google for its “error.”
Following stories of Nest devices getting “hacked” due to bad password management, Google reiterated that there was no actual breach of the company’s smart home devices and encouraged users to enable 2FA. The Google owned-company is now resetting passwords on accounts that it believes are compromised.
Over the past several weeks, a handful of local stories have emerged about Nest owners being “hacked” and harassed through their smart home. Despite the headlines, these incidents have been due to bad password management, and not Nest being compromised. Google today sent out an email to customers reiterating that this is the case, and advising users to enable two-factor authentication.
Google Assistant speakers come in all shapes and sizes, and I think one of the most clever uses is that of the Nest Cam IQ. Now, Nest Secure is getting an update which enables that same functionality, turning the home security system into yet another Google Assistant speaker for your home.
