Nest Hello Doorbell

Google and Nest are the same company. After you buy and install the Nest Hello you need to purchase a subscription plan. The Nest Hello design is cool. Image quality is great. Notifications are close to real time. You can stream the audio and video using Chromecast. I love the familiar faces feature. The Nest Hello does an excellent job with facial recognition. But you lose all your existing familiar faces if you reinstall the camera. You can change the chime sound to match the season. There are many other features that make this the best video doorbell.

Beautiful, elegant, simple and useful!

The first thing you notice about the Thermostat E is how easy it is to NOT notice it. Walking through my house, I am even less likely to notice it than I was to notice my old thermostat - and I had that one for ten years! The display only wakes up when I approach it, and when it does, it is easily visible in any light, but never even the least bit obnoxious. It blends in so well that nobody has yet taken notice of it, and there isn't much on our walls to draw attention elsewhere. Certainly, I wouldn't suggest that good looks are a reason to buy a thermostat, but BAD looks ARE a reason NOT to buy a particular thermostat. My point is, the Thermostat E isn't going to detract from the look of your home - it MIGHT even enhance it.Comparing my gas and electric bills to ... MoreThe first thing you notice about the Thermostat E is how easy it is to NOT notice it. Walking through my house, I am even less likely to notice it than I was to notice my old thermostat - and I had that one for ten years! The display only wakes up when I approach it, and when it does, it is easily visible in any light, but never even the least bit obnoxious. It blends in so well that nobody has yet taken notice of it, and there isn't much on our walls to draw attention elsewhere. Certainly, I wouldn't suggest that good looks are a reason to buy a thermostat, but BAD looks ARE a reason NOT to buy a particular thermostat. My point is, the Thermostat E isn't going to detract from the look of your home - it MIGHT even enhance it.Comparing my gas and electric bills to last year, and comparing use/average daily temperature, it does appear that there is some savings, but it's still a little early to say for sure how much. The real crowd pleaser - so far - is being able to control usage BEYOND what the old thermostat was capable of. The old thermostat would let us schedule three different time ranges per day, separated into weekdays and weekends. But I work a 4-day work week plus irregular weekends, and my wife has a variable schedule. The old thermostat couldn't be programmed in such a way as to account for our schedules. Nest's thermostats CAN be programmed to match our schedules, and very easily and conveniently - from anywhere, in fact.But it goes beyond programming too - if you have the Nest App installed on your phone(s), your location(s) can tell your thermostat (if you want) that nobody's home, and not to worry about heating/cooling until somebody gets back home. And you can grant guest access (in the Nest App) to friends/relatives if you want your heating/cooling to become active when they arrive at your home. When nobody is home, the thermostat goes into "Eco Mode" which allows your home's temperature rise or fall to a higher or lower threshold, to reduce cooling or heating while it's not needed. You can set your own thresholds, schedules for "Eco Mode", etc. so you have TOTAL control of your heating and cooling.Since we got our Thermostat E, my wife and I have taken two trips, during which we completely suspended heating/cooling, to save energy costs. But when we got off the planes, returning from our trips, we just opened the Nest App and told it to resume heating/cooling, and we got home to a comfortable house - no waiting for the furnace to warm things up and no paying for heating we weren't getting any benefit from. Even if we never saw any energy savings, this thermostat is worth it for the level of control it gives us. But based on what we've seen so far, I feel confident it will also gradually pay for itself.

Exceeded my Expectations

I am a technology geek and I am a very early adopter if connected smart devices at home, but I was late to buy a Nest thermostat first because where I used to live had an old HVAC, and second because I wasn’t totally sure about the performance of the two first generations.With my current third generation thermostat, I cannot emphasize how satisfied I am. First, it look gorgeous, although I had to by a circular metallic plate to compliment the satin stainless steel finish. Also, installing it was a breath. After I used the web tool to determine the wiring configuration for my particular HVAC unit, I printed out the diagram, and it literally took me less than 10 minutes to have it up and running. But, most importantly is the performance. Using the unit directly is ... MoreI am a technology geek and I am a very early adopter if connected smart devices at home, but I was late to buy a Nest thermostat first because where I used to live had an old HVAC, and second because I wasn’t totally sure about the performance of the two first generations.With my current third generation thermostat, I cannot emphasize how satisfied I am. First, it look gorgeous, although I had to by a circular metallic plate to compliment the satin stainless steel finish. Also, installing it was a breath. After I used the web tool to determine the wiring configuration for my particular HVAC unit, I printed out the diagram, and it literally took me less than 10 minutes to have it up and running. But, most importantly is the performance. Using the unit directly is very intuitive and the turning wheel is so nice to the touch. The app basically reflects the screen on the unit, and I never had a single crash since I started using it. The sensors that feels you approaching the thermostat and wakes the display up are very impressive. The direct sunlight that takes into consideration that the sunlight is directly hitting the thermostat so the temperature reading will be inaccurate is something that didn’t even cross my mind. Finally, the several sensors and algorithms that predicts and learn whether you are at home or not in order to reduce energy consumption are very accurate.One thing that I thought it was missing, and Nest has just solved it is that the temperature measurement relies solely on the room where the thermostat is located. That could be challenging when different rooms get different amount of sun or other factors that impact the temperature. Nest has just announced a wireless temperature sensor that you can place in one or several rooms that will communicate with your thermostat for better performance. I pre-ordered it and I am quite confident it will solve this minor problem.

Expensive but does work well - most of the time

I bought this camera while it was at the sale price of $179 (Cdn) which is still expensive for one camera when compared to other systems. It was also a leap of faith for me because I was aware the camera is only given a warranty to temperatures of -20oC. Here in western Canada, it is not uncommon to experience -40oC but I am happy to report that even at such harsh temperatures the camera continued to work.Even with 150mb download and unlimited data I did find it necessary to purchase a Wi-Fi signal booster to provide a more consistent signal to the camera and even then also had to adjust the resolution to a medium setting. When I tried this on the high resolution, the Wi-Fi connection repeatedly dropped out at random times or there was a significant time lag ... MoreI bought this camera while it was at the sale price of $179 (Cdn) which is still expensive for one camera when compared to other systems. It was also a leap of faith for me because I was aware the camera is only given a warranty to temperatures of -20oC. Here in western Canada, it is not uncommon to experience -40oC but I am happy to report that even at such harsh temperatures the camera continued to work.Even with 150mb download and unlimited data I did find it necessary to purchase a Wi-Fi signal booster to provide a more consistent signal to the camera and even then also had to adjust the resolution to a medium setting. When I tried this on the high resolution, the Wi-Fi connection repeatedly dropped out at random times or there was a significant time lag between the camera and my laptop, on occasions up to nearly a minute. For the main part, I now have this reduced to 3 - 5 seconds.The camera looks stylish and unobtrusive. It was easy to install but at the moment is only a temporary installation until the temperature warms up and I can face the weather to make it more permanent with the cable hidden under the soffit. The powerful magnetic mount makes it very easy to place the camera in to the perfect place for the optimum view and I was able to gain a broad aspect across my property without infringing on the privacy of my neighbours.The subscription to Nest Aware was free for the first month and I have since allowed this to lapse in order to identify how the camera performs without subscribing. My preference is to have the cloud based subscription. The camera performance did not falter but some of the key features like the zone setting and people detection only work with Nest Aware.It would be nice to have the 5g option available for Canada too but I guess that is a regulatory decision that awaits government approval. The sound system for the camera is very good and I was able to let my wife know she'd missed a bit while sweeping snow from the drive while I was at work - I paid for that indiscretion when I got home! The low light, night vision was very good, even without the activation of my security lights. I haven't found out how to make time-lapse video but did work out how to save clips and stills that helped me demonstrate the amount of snowfall we had over a given time period.Overall, it is a good camera with excellent features but unfortunately the price of Nest Aware may deter many buyers. Improve the warranty for the Canadian market and try to improve the reception for Wi-Fi to reduce the lag.

Garbage

I buy many Google products. Almost never have any issues. Have had great experiences. But this one product barely worked for a few months. Google couldn't help. Nest said sorry, can't help - buy a new one. What kind of advice is that, if a camera barely works for over a year why would I buy another???? I can no longer trust it. Be incredibly careful before choosing this product. I saw these reviews before I purchased that this is a common issue, I ignored them. I shouldn't have. Watch your warranty period.

Good, but just falls short of great...

I’ve had this doorbell for a quarter of a year now and it has its pros and cons, but the pros outnumber the cons enough to warrant a purchase (especially if you already have some sort of Google speaker in your house).Pros: Has above average video quality. Has facial recognition (and can even say who’s at the door if you have a smart speaker and have labeled a person caught on the camera at an earlier time. Even if you don’t have a smart speaker, the alert on your phone would show the persons name at the door), can play special holiday themed sounds when rung if you choose that option. Can recognized if a person left a package. Can still monitor front live, get motion alerts as well as image captured when bell is rung at a cost that’s completely free even if don’t ... MoreI’ve had this doorbell for a quarter of a year now and it has its pros and cons, but the pros outnumber the cons enough to warrant a purchase (especially if you already have some sort of Google speaker in your house).Pros: Has above average video quality. Has facial recognition (and can even say who’s at the door if you have a smart speaker and have labeled a person caught on the camera at an earlier time. Even if you don’t have a smart speaker, the alert on your phone would show the persons name at the door), can play special holiday themed sounds when rung if you choose that option. Can recognized if a person left a package. Can still monitor front live, get motion alerts as well as image captured when bell is rung at a cost that’s completely free even if don’t pay for subscription. Has great night vision ability. When talking through it both your voice and person at the door come through with clarity. Can set zones that alert you when motion is detected in them. Also can save events when it catches just audio and no movement. Comes with almost everything you need to install except drill.Cons: could be my WiFi, but a noticeable close to 3-5 second lag from real-time to when you are alerted (whether it caught motion, or bell was rung); if a person is constantly moving, the picture it stores to try to use its facial recognition is usually blurred); It’s facial recognition only works around half the time when announcing to you who’s at the door; even though I’ve shortened the chime duration, it still has a noticeable lag between the first half of the chime to when it plays the second half. Can be a little difficult to install if not used to dealing with electrical wiring (also needs to be drilled into wall). It’s expensive.Bottom line: if you can get it on some sort of sale and also have a Google speaker/device with screen, it’s a great addition to your home. If you plan on not paying for the nest aware subscription though, then maybe a cheaper camera might be better as features not worth the hefty price tag.

I see you

Great deal. I bought this first gen Nest Doorbell clearanced priced. I specifically wanted a first gen because it still works with the Nest app which works better than the Google Home app. I do have both apps and Google promises Google Home has improvements coming but the issue may be that they're trying to make the app do too much.I did need to get a new transformer since my old one only put out 13VAC.Installation was easy but I do already have the Nest app for my thermostat so adding the camera was possibly easier than starting fresh.Now to find a good deal on a couple of outdoor wired cameras to cover all the angles.

Overall a highly recommended product despite some annoying f

Impressive bit of kit but some annoying things that prevent me from assigning 5 stars.I'd been considering nest cameras for some time however the wiring of them prevented me from taking the plunge. However, the doorbell works with an existing low voltage cable therefore this is the product I opted for. My first Nest product. I did need to upgrade my existing 8v doorbell transformer to a 24v transformer. Easy enough to do but make sure you check compatibility before you by as you may need an electrician to do this for you.I've downrated because of the following. The blue ring light around the doorbell push button cannot be turned off as far as I can see. The doorbell also 'dongs' outside the house in addition to the sound of the chime inside the house. Both the ... MoreImpressive bit of kit but some annoying things that prevent me from assigning 5 stars.I'd been considering nest cameras for some time however the wiring of them prevented me from taking the plunge. However, the doorbell works with an existing low voltage cable therefore this is the product I opted for. My first Nest product. I did need to upgrade my existing 8v doorbell transformer to a 24v transformer. Easy enough to do but make sure you check compatibility before you by as you may need an electrician to do this for you.I've downrated because of the following. The blue ring light around the doorbell push button cannot be turned off as far as I can see. The doorbell also 'dongs' outside the house in addition to the sound of the chime inside the house. Both the aforementioned are not terrible features but as far as I'm concerned should be optionable features allowing the user to turn them off, which at present one cannot. Not being able to record the two-way conversation through the bell is also a bit pointless. It only records the sound of the person at the door.That said, it is very well made, looks slick (but not inconspicuous!), easy to install and use with the App, providing relatively good camera resolution for what it is. Despite my 'downrating', I would still highly recommend this product but it must be put into context given the price of the hardware and the fact that full video playback is only possible with a subscription. Without the Nest Aware subscription, one loses key benefits of the product.I cannot comment on how this integrates into the Nest/Google 'eco-system'. I'm part of the Apple 'eco-system' and have no issues with the App all although it is a bit of a pity is does not integrate with Apple's Homekit.

Replacement of Failed Unit

This is the second unit that we have purchased. The first unit was several years old and failed following a power outage and couldn't be reset. I repurchased this model as this seemed to be one of the best on the market and the replacement would be easier. Installation was relatively straight forward with some troubleshooting required to get the device communicating. The video output of the doorbell is excellent; the hardware is sturdy and attractive; and the App is intuitive. There is an annual fee for the stored clips, which should be considered by any purchaser.

Works great and looks great while doing it

My family needed a simple and affordable way to monitor our front and back yards. We wanted a camera system that was easy to install, could be monitored from our smartphones or computer, and did not require us to recharge batteries. We purchased two of these Nest Cams, and they are perfect for us.My spouse and I can now monitor who comes to the front and back doors, when packages are delivered, when our child is playing in the yard or swimming in the pool, what our dogs are up to, vehicles that are arriving, as well as receive alerts on any unwanted intruders or stray animals that wander into our yards while we are away (or home).In addition to having a spectacular wide lens of coverage, it picks up audio and has a microphone/speaker to communicate to visitors or ... MoreMy family needed a simple and affordable way to monitor our front and back yards. We wanted a camera system that was easy to install, could be monitored from our smartphones or computer, and did not require us to recharge batteries. We purchased two of these Nest Cams, and they are perfect for us.My spouse and I can now monitor who comes to the front and back doors, when packages are delivered, when our child is playing in the yard or swimming in the pool, what our dogs are up to, vehicles that are arriving, as well as receive alerts on any unwanted intruders or stray animals that wander into our yards while we are away (or home).In addition to having a spectacular wide lens of coverage, it picks up audio and has a microphone/speaker to communicate to visitors or intruders. The infrared camera switches over during nightfall and works great!The camera is attractive and does not take away from your home’s aesthetics. I do suggest subscribing to the Nest Aware service to get the most out of these cameras. They have affordable plans, and you will appreciate the upgrade. This gives you more much more control settings and constant video recording, instead of snapshot clips.A couple things to note in order to get the best experience:This camera uses WiFi to communicate with your smartphone or computer, whic means you should have a strong signal in the spot you wish to install, or you can have disconnections in the feed once in a while.Also, this camera uses a long, electrical plug, so you don’t have the hassle of recharging batteries. Make sure you have an outlet in the installation spot for plugging in.An electrician or Nest installation specialist can help you with this if you need new outlets installed, or prefer the cord to be ran through the wall. It won’t be a difficult job for them.This is a great solution for anyone that wants to enhance their home’s safety and add surveillance in a simple, effective, and affordable way.