A new support page released by Google this week confirms that Google’s newest smart video doorbell, the Google Nest doorbell (battery) and its Google Nest camera (battery), will operate at temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. (0 degrees Celsius) cannot be charged.
Many users on the Google Nest forums have complained that their Nest doorbells are draining the battery faster than normal in winter, not holding power even when connected to a charging cable. Cold weather can also affect the battery of the new Google Nest camera. But Google says that if the Nest camera is connected to a wired power source, it won’t have any use issues at lower temperatures because the wires directly power the camera.
The reason for the Nest doorbell problem is based on a small but important difference between a battery-powered doorbell and a “true” wired doorbell. A battery-powered doorbell isn’t powered directly from your home’s wires, which “trickle charge” the battery, which then powers the doorbell.
If the outside environment is too cold for charging, the battery will eventually drain. The same is true if the user’s Google Nest camera is charged using a solar panel. Google says it’s trickle charging and doesn’t power the camera directly, so it drains power in the cold.
While its battery-powered cameras can operate in temperatures as low as minus 15 degrees Celsius, Google’s new support page now lists a minimum charging temperature of 0 degrees Celsius. The support article says the battery can still power the device at cooler temperatures, but it won’t charge and may drain faster. Google warns that at the lowest operating temperature, the battery may last less than half as long as it does in warm weather.
So what can a user do if they buy a Nest doorbell and live in a sub-freezing area? Google says users should detach the entire doorbell and take it into “a warm place” to charge it.
If users aren’t sure if their device is affected, they can check in the Google Home app, and if the user’s doorbell is too cold, the device will display “charging paused” or “charging slow,” estimating that it will take a long time to charge.
This isn’t a problem specific to Nest’s battery-powered cameras, as rechargeable lithium-ion batteries have a similar problem in cooler weather. The ring has a support article on its website detailing the effects of doorbell and camera batteries when temperatures drop. However, most Ring cameras have the advantage of having a replaceable, removable battery that’s easier to take indoors for charging.