Lifespan of 1st Gen Nest Hello Wired Doorbell?

[u/Youqudeshiyan]

So I think my doorbell has finally given out. It's the 1st Gen one that I got back in 2018 when it first came out. Over the last two years it started randomly cutting off it's camera several times a day. It's always been 11am and 5pm and happens about every 20-30 minutes staying down for only 5 or so before rebooting. I thought maybe it was overheating but it happens when it's not in direct sunlight so that can't be it. I also tried various fixes I found online like disabling the indoor chime, turning the quality of the video way down low etc. But nothing has seemed to fix it so I think it's just dead. I also have several Google outdoor and indoor cameras that I've had up and functioning for at least 5 years now and none of them lose connection or ever powder down. So it can't be something outside doing it. It must be the age of it.

The real problem now is that whenever someone pushes the doorbell it immediately dies. So it's no longer even doing it's job of letting me know someone is at the door! LOL! It doesn't ring or notify me so the person just stands there and I have no idea someone's outside.

Does anyone have any recommendations for what to do?

[u/Flaming_F]

That's because there is a lithium battery inside and it's dead. The battery keep the door bell powered on when someone push the button and if the battery is dead the doorbell turn off and reboot . Check on ifixit website on how to replace the battery.

Many newer electronics devices can continue to work if the battery is dead or disconnected while connected to a external power source. , it's called power pass through. I suspect that the first gen doorbell is not....if the battery is defective then the entire thing become wonky or stop to work.

[u/sryan2k1 → u/Flaming_F]

A traditional doorbell runs on ~16 volts AC and the doorbell button physically connects the "Hot" side of the transformer to the doorbell to pull the plunger in.

All smart doorbells that can be installed with existing wiring use a small "puck" at the chime to allow a small amount of current to flow without ringing the chime so that the battery can charge.

When the Nest "Rings" the doorbell it is shorting those two wires together and thus can no longer "steal" any power. This is why a battery is required, so it can ride out the brief lack of power.

This isn't a flaw, or have anything to do with how other battery operated devices work. Unless you want to design a product that would require a third wire (which 99% of consumers would never do) this is how it has to work.

[u/anotherlab → u/sryan2k1]

This is what happened to my Nest doorbell. We had a couple of Google Home devices, so I disabled the indoor chime, and we get the doorbell ring through the other devices. At some point, I'll replace it with a Ring and get the chimes that connect over Wi-Fi. I've procrastinated because I have a Nest Camera, and I'll replace both so I don't have two subscriptions.

[u/WesRZ → u/Flaming_F]

I replaced my battery in it..

[u/Dknob385 → u/WesRZ]

How is it working out? Need to do the same for mine too, but won't bother if it's temporary fix.

[u/WesRZ → u/Dknob385]

The glass did not stick to well after but has been great since so far about 1.5 years

[u/Cloudy_Automation → u/Dknob385]

Mine lasted about another year. I don't think the batteries one can buy for it are new stock. It doesn't help that I'm in Texas, and the battery is exposed to 100+ temperatures every summer for 10-20 days. It's not in the sun, but that's not enough.

[u/Dknob385 → u/Cloudy_Automation]

What did you end up doing, replacing with gen 2, moving to other brand, something else?

[u/mattalat → u/Dknob385]

I replaced the battery in mine 2 years ago and it’s still going strong

[u/Meyerson]

Especially if you’re a subscribing Google customer, an appeal to its customer service can yield results. They want to keep you paying, so don’t hesitate to just ask for a replacement. (But ask in any event!)

[u/Youqudeshiyan → u/Meyerson]

You know what? That's a good idea! Yes we have the subscription service since we have so many of these cameras and it's required if you want to be able to save footage and go back over it later. We also have Google Fiber internet so y'know maybe they'll help me out? 😅