False Battery Low Warning on Brand New 2nd Gen Nest Protect

[MylaDog]

Just bought 3 Nest Protect Gen 2 smoke alarms today (13May24) and installed them. 2 work as advertised, 3rd indicated a low battery caution.

Nothing new here other than another often reported false battery low indication.  Send me the paperwork to have a replacement sent to me.

- Swapped batteries between one of the good Protects and the bad one.  The bad Protect indicated a "Very low backup batteries caution with audible chirping.  The good Protect indicated no issues with the batteries from the bad protect installed.

- Replaced batteries in the bad Protect with new Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA (L91) batteries.  No change, the bad Protect indicated a "Very low backup batteries caution with audible chirping.

- App messages "Very low backup batteries."

- Bad Nest Protect Gen 2 Tech info:

   Model:  Topaz-2.33

   Serial No:  #############

   Software:  3.4rc6

   Backup Battery:  Replace now

   Last update:  about 3 min ago.

   Wi-Fi MAC: XXxxXxXxXXxX

   Wi-Fi IP:  XXX.XXX.XX.XX

   802.15.4 MAC:  XXxxXxXXXXXxxXxX

Thanks for your help in resolving this as quickly as possible.  Based on the data I have provided and the long history of this fault a decision to replace the faulty Protect alarm should not take long.

[MylaDog]

UPDATE:

- With power off, Protect unplugged, Protect reports backup battery as "OK" and reflects so on the Technical info page.

[MylaDog]

Nothing heard.

[ByronP]

Hi MylaDog,

Thank you for posting. I`m sorry that one of the Nest Protects shows a false battery low charging. I also apologize for the delayed response. Help`s here.

For this concern about the faulty Nest Protect, please fill out this form, and our specialist will reach out to check other options and assist you further.

Let me know once you`re done.

Regards,

Byron

[DanCoco]

I would return all 5 of them to the store before the return period expires. This is not a safe product. Google has not put in the work to keep the software current for Nest Protects, and it is not likely they will safely perform throughout their 10 year lifespan. Other known issues with batteries are that they have been found to overheat to the point of causing burns. That "form" is just to open a support ticket, where they may try RMA-ing them under warranty, but that is a slow process.

[ByronP]

Hi DanCoco,

Thank you for posting here in the community. I'm really sorry that you would need to return your devices. I understand you´re disappointed about needing to return your Nest Protect. We want you to have a great experience with all our products, and this clearly isn´t the case.

Would you be willing to share some feedback about what fell short of your expectations? Your input is invaluable in helping us improve Nest Protect for future updates.

In the meantime, could you provide the case number to follow up on your issue, and our dedicated team will assist further with your concern to check other options to work on this as soon as possible?

Please keep me posted.

Regards,

Byron

[DanCoco]

Your response proves a lack of care in reading my comment. I'm suggesting to the user that just purchased these that they resolve by returning them. 

I am not going to regurgitate the contents of this forum (much under locked posts) into a feedback form.

Google knows what is wrong with the Nest Protect. Google has demonstrated zero interest in updates and product improvements. If not, they can easily find it. Google will do the bare minimum to keep selling off the Protect inventory without getting sued. Google has demonstrated zero interest in updates and product improvements.

[ByronP]

Hi DanCoco,

Thank you for posting. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding of your post.

I understand that returning a Nest device might not have been as smooth as you´d hoped. It can be frustrating when things don´t go according to plan, and I want to apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

We´ve always been looking for ways to improve our return process and help with all related issues with Nest Protect.Our specialist team would like to hear of your concern about the overheating issues with the Nest Protect. Please fill out this form, and our dedicated team will further assist.

Regards,

Byron

[DanCoco]

Sigh...

If you would like to know about literally any known issue with the protects, scroll the last 5 pages of forum topics and you'll see the trend.  The data is there.

I've been thru the battles with google already. I'm long out of warranty and long out of return period. I've seen many of the issues with the nest protects and lack of support. I am not touching another feedback form ever again. They do not get read. No action happens as a result of them, and the link to the form is handed out like candy so that users will unload frustrations into a textbox instead of a product review page, or by tying up the few underpaid, overworked employees that actually exist to process warranty claims. 

It not too late however for me to share my experiences with these products with new users, so that they can save their money, and time, and mental health in dealing with google. 

At this point, my expensive nest protects have the functionality of the cheap $20 detectors that just beep, and google has no desire to update their software to fix the issues or migrate them into google home. So i'm letting them hit EOL / expiration, then going with another brand, which surprisingly does work in Google Home. (Wow...)

The mis-management of the integration of nest into google after they were bought out was the first and biggest motivator to begin ny migration away from google entirely.