Customer Ratings & Reviews

Google Nest Doorbell Battery Review My family and I have been growing increasingly dissatisfied with our current “smart” doorbell option, so we were happy to get to test and review this doorbell for Tech Insider Network. Right off the bat, there are a bunch of facets that set this doorbell apart from others: first, it’s much larger than our older smart doorbell, so be prepared - it’s larger to accommodate the battery, which I think is the biggest pro of this model. The battery allows you to install this anywhere outside your house it can still get WiFi reception. This is valuable because with a Google Nest Hub or Google Nest Audio device, an ecosystem we’ve invested heavily into throughout the years, ringing the doorbell at any location will also ring Google Nest devices of your choice in the house. You can also manually choose for it not to activate the chimes (or even your wired chime, if it’s electronic) whenever you want some peace and quiet. We particularly value the battery. We installed ours wired to the existing doorbell setup. If the power to our house goes out, the doorbell will continue to record events and store it locally, then reupload them when the power comes back on. That’s extremely valuable! There are other niceties, too. Our previous doorbell manufacturer would force you to subscribe to their home security package in order to record any events at all. While the free version of Nest Aware isn’t limitless, it does record three hours of “event video” - the little snippets of action in front of your door - for you to look back on. That’s actually a lot of video! Which means if someone breaks into your house, you don’t need to pay an extra fee just to be able to see who did it. This should put it head and shoulders over other budget options. If there was something I wasn’t as happy with, it would be the field of view. Google made a conscious choice to have a tall and narrow field of view, which is valuable for things like package and animal detection, which are on the ground. But being someone who has a porch that’s larger than the width of our doorframe, I would have loved to have a slightly wider angle lens. There can be so many things people can do near your door to break in, like go for your windows - it would have been nice to have that extra layer of security. Considering that almost all competitors favor a wider field of view and can still fit in a lens wide enough to detect packages, this feels like a miss from me. Otherwise, this doorbell is exactly as advertised. It’s friendly and smooth appearing, has the capacity to blend in seamlessly with your home based on the color you purchase, and doesn’t lock away its most critical functionality behind a paywall. For these reasons we’re big fans, and finding out recently that it’ll also carry the capacity to play holiday-themed ringtones will be another plus for us.

As connected doorbells go, the Nest Battery is a nice looking unit. Solidly built, it feels like it will stand up to the elements and time. But in order to get the full value out of it you need yet another subscription, this one starting at $72 / year. Let's start with installation. It's a simple matter to connect this unit to your phone or tablet, and physical installation is pretty straightforward. It comes with an angled mount should you need a different perspective from the camera, a nice touch. But there are no installation instructions in the package, only a video in the installation app which, if you're on your phone (the most likely place), is too small an image to be effective. You can install it using the power for your existing doorbell or as a stand-alone battery powered unit. I have no sense of how long a battery charge will last, particularly in climates with colder winters. The image from the camera is sharp and it has great horizontal visibility. Vertical visibility is another matter, though, and you need to be careful about positioning it so that you're not looking over shorter people or cutting the heads off of taller visitors. Video lag is excellent, so you are seeing things much closer to real-time than with many camera setups (particularly important if you're having a conversation). The camera can be used without a subscription, and this may be fine for your purposes. Without a subscription, you get three hours of video (with or without audio). So, if someone comes to the door in the middle of the night, or if someone steals a package while you're work, you won't have any images saved. There are also recognition features (vehicle, person, animal), some of which work without a subscription, most of which do not. Of course, signing up for a subscription subjects video of your property to potential for a subpoena, and opens the door for possibly damaging data being abused (particularly if you turn on audio). So, if you want to be able to see who is at your door now or who you just missed, this is an great unit. If you are looking to use all the features, you should probably keep on searching.

Not a fan. Disclaimer, at a previous residence i had the battery operated Ring so inevitably the Nest Camera was compared to that. I have had it for a full year now and will be switching back to Ring. The battery life has been really subpar. I had to charge the camera about every 2 to 3 weeks, when the majority of alerts were just the mail man and my own vehicle pulling in and out of the driveway. Only consistently my own because for some reason, even though my driveway is in a zone this camera almost never catches my friends vehicles, it may be because they pull into the driveway too fast??? But they arent teleporting, it should very much so still catch them. I live in Northeast Ohio, it gets cold but not frigid (esp in comparison to the temperatures when i lived in Nebraska with the Ring camera). Once it drops below 28 degrees the camera lets me know it is too cold to function. 28 degrees is a normal winter day in my region. My Ring camera did not lose functionality until it was well into the negative teens. The integration with other Google devices is also not the greatest. My Alexa/Ring pairing would have the camera view automatically pop up on the Alexa, maybe its user error but this is not happening with the Google tablet thingy i have in my kitchen. (I forget the name of the device but its the Google Home with the screen to watch like Youtube videos and stuff, it does not automatically show you the doorbell camera unless you ask for it, and the WiFi connectivity is so laggy if i waited for that my guest would likely leave.) The WiFi connectivity is very laggy. It takes 2 mins or so for the video to be ready to view on my cellular device. Its slightly quicker when my phone is connected to the WiFi but not by much (and i have fiber). There have been times where i recieved the notification of someone near my door and the video never loads or the video never recorded and saved so i have no clue what triggered the notification. Nest Aware's integration into Google Home leaves much to be desired, its just kind of frumpy to play around in, not the modt user friendly, and the price is going up by quite a lot this year. I have not been happy with this product since about 45 days in of usage, but I had already installed it and subsvribed to Nest Aware so i kept it this whole year. Now that my subscription is up I have zero desire to renew and will now move this to my backdoor that i do not need to see and install the Ring at my front. 2 stads because when i did get video it was fine resolution, easy to make out faces or items. I liked the package tracking. And it rang as a doorbell should. (Though i also did not like how it rings either every single Google Home device or none, I'd prefer if I could choose which ones made noise instead of X amount of devices all shouting "SOMEONES AT YOUR FRONT DOOR DOORBELL")

Like many people over the last couple of years, I've found that I've been ordering a lot more stuff online than I used to. Thing is that getting to my front door isn't always the easiest thing to do, particularly with large items. As such I've been experimenting with having packages delivered to my garage instead, which is located at street level and has smart features that allow it to be opened up and closed for deliveries... provided I know that someone's there. With only one delivery service having a system set up to open the door on their own putting a doorbell down there has been on my todo list for a while, but never ended up happening because it would require running a lot of new wire that I really did not want to run. The Nest battery powered doorbell was the perfect solution to my general laziness and dislike of masonry drills. It took me about five minutes and four screws to have it perfectly mounted by the garage door so cleanly you'd think it was always there. Using the included 20 degree wedge I get a great view of the approach to the garage and the driveway, notifications of deliveries (that can even spot packages left on the ground if the delivery person doesn't give me a chance to open the door!) and a pretty decent two way intercom to let them know to leave the box inside. Best part is that if I do ever decide that I'm getting tired of taking it down to recharge the battery, the option to wire it in to a conventional doorbell system is still there! Integration with the Google Home ecosystem was about as painless as you would expect, and I've found it works great with both Google's own smart speakers/displays and third party ones from Lenovo and Sony. The AI responsible for recognizing faces and boxes is pretty sharp, almost to an excessive degree in fact. The first day I had it up it sent out a few alerts for people it spotted in cars driving past in the street, though fortunately this was easily fixed by adding an activity zone to narrow its scope a bit. The only thing I'd mark it down for is that if you want to unlock the full smarts off the AI which includes things like telling you the name of the person who just showed up at the door or acting as a basic home security system you'll need to pay extra for it. I did sign up for a 30-day trial just to see how well those advanced features work and found that he friendly face recognition works very reliably once it's dialed in, though it seems to take quite a few exposures before it prompts you to identify someone. I'd half expected it to use the same library of familiar faces it's generated for my Google Photos account, but I guess that Nest is trying to keep the data it gathers a bit more segregated than that. I can definitely see myself missing the premium offerings a little once my trial expires, mostly just because it's kind of fun making my friends think I have ESP by having the door open on their approach while the doorbell welcomes them Wizard of Oz style, but the basic features seem adequate for me. Ultimately there are really only two possible issues I'd call out, neither of which I'm entirely sure about. The first thing is battery consumption. I charged it up to full before installing it and after about three days it had lost around 10% of its capacity. I'm sure that a good chunk of that was burned by the setup process, the hair trigger it was on in regards to alerts, and a lot of me playing it. But it does still suggest that you might need to recharge this thing more often than some of Google's other Nest security products. The second is durability. The instructions go out of their way to point out that the doorbell isn't fully waterproof, which to be fair is somewhat typical of products in this market, and when going over it checking for build quality I definitely noticed a few small panel gaps and a bit of play in the casing around the camera where water could get in. As such it's probably best if you keep in mind that it'll need at least a bit of protection from the elements. I think it would do fine beneath the typical roof overhang you get near most doors - I doubt it would do so well if you were to do what some people with smart doorbells have done and stick it on a pole at the end of a long driveway. All in all though, Google's produced a great doorbell here. I have no difficulties recommending it to anyone looking for an easy home upgrade.

My house doesn’t have a doorbell so I’ve tried a few different battery powered solutions. The things I like about the Nest Doorbell (battery) include the camera which provides a great field of view and the video is at least the same level of quality as we’ve all seen from more common video doorbells on various social media platforms over the past couple of years, if not better. Speaking of battery, it doesn’t have a removable battery, so there’s no way to have one charging to swap when the first runs out. You take the whole doorbell off and charge it when it dies (there is a mounting plate it clips to and a special tool to release it so you needn’t worry about difficulty removing it, nor someone being able to just grab it and walk off). I’ve been running mine for two weeks and it says it has four weeks of battery remaining. We get deliveries of one type or another at least 8 times a week and we are in & out of the door multiple times a day. I suspect there is more activity around our front door than in the average suburban neighborhood, so I consider the battery life to be impressive. I also like the feature that distinguishes between packages and people AND it can send you an alert if a package is removed from the field of view. There is a feature in the video library that lets you filter by events that have people or events that have packages that is handy as well. I’d love to try out the Quiet Time feature that allows you to pause alerts for anywhere from 30 min - 3 hrs, but my dog doesn’t have a similar feature so I still can’t have a mid-day nap. Among the things that I don’t care for are the delay between when someone presses the button and when I receive a notification; anywhere from 10-15 seconds. Way too long. Speaking of notifications, if you want to be notified anywhere other than your phone, you’ll need a Nest mini. This doorbell doesn’t work with Alexa. It would be nice to choose different chimes but it seems the only option is your phone’s notification tone and/or the Nest mini announcing “Someone is at the front door door bell.” If you get the subscription service it has a familiar face feature. Imagine how cool it would be to program different tunes for different people; like the Imperial March from Star Wars when your mother-in-law is at the door! It also would be nice to share access to just selected devices instead of the whole Google home if you have more than one Google/Nest device. I wanted to provide access to my daughter who lives 5 states away but my Nest Thermostat and Philips Hue bulbs are on there also and she’s a bit of a prankster. I don’t want my lights suddenly flipping through an array of colors so she doesn’t get access to the doorbell where she’d be able to see us coming and going with her dog or similar “touch of home” type things. This isn’t the doorbell’s fault though, so I won’t count it against it. Overall I like the Nest Doorbell and find it to be a better solution than any of the others I’ve tried.

The Nest Doorbell battery version is a great option for anyone looking to have an easily mountable doorbell camera that doesn't require being wired or permanently installed. This is a great option for anyone living in an apartment or for anyone whose doorbell is mounted in a location that wouldn't be useful for recording. My house features a small walkway with the current doorbell facing towards a wall so the battery version of the Nest Doorbell was a great option for my house as I was able to mount it next to the door so that it could record the entire walkway. The video quality and the AI features are amazing and extremely useful and make recognition and notifications extremely useful throughout the day. I was able to set up facial recognition for the people in my house so I wasn't bothered by notifications when I didn't need them and for everyone else, I could see the information that I needed quickly and easily. Some of the more advanced features, as well as an expanded video history, require a subscription to the Nest Aware plan which starts at $6 a month for unlimited devices. The additional features aren't exactly needed but are helpful so it may be worthwhile doing some research to see if the included features are what you need or if you would need to factor in the cost of the plan into your budget. Overall, I think this is a great device it's just a shame some of the more advanced features are locked behind a recurring subscription.

We've wanted a video doorbell for a while but couldn't decide between the brands. After looking through reviews, talking with people, and looking at the hardware, we decided on the Nest doorbell. We couldn't be happier! The video is fantastic, the night vision has a clear picture, and we can hear everything through the app. What's not as good is that when we're talking to the person at the door, they find it very difficult to hear what we're saying. Overall, though, this is an excellent product that we would recommend.

I love Nest products - their thermostat is I believe second to none. The previous generation doorbell did leave some room for improvement. Enter this one - amazing! First of all, it has a very attractive look, and seems to just work better with regards to motion, etc compared to the first generation. Additionally, free cloud storage is provided so you don't have to sign up for a subscription, however you probably will want to. All in all, an excellent unit. Highly recommended!

I loved it at first. The video quality is good. Its easy to install and remove to charge. I did notice the battery doesn't last as long during the winter months. There is one MAJOR flaw, the doorbell will NOT notify you when someone rings the bell. It will notify you when a person, car, pet, or package is seen. It will recognize faces, but it will NOT audibly notify you when someone is actually ringing your bell. When I look at my missed notifications I can see where someone rang it, but it does not actually push that one specific notification through. I've missed several visitors who stopped by and I had no clue they were there. They called me as they were leaving. If you are not actually looking at your phone when someone rings it, you'll most likely miss it. Super annoying.

Not worth the money at all.. Just go with ring youbwont be sorry #Absolute Garbage!!

I've used and installed several video doorbells in my life and had high hopes for this new offering from Google, but was really let down after installing and using it. Install was a breeze, as was the setup, but after that, it was alot of disappointments. Here are some of the things I wasnt happy with: -When I ask "OK Google" to show me the the doorbell, it tells me the doorbell doesnt support streaming to remote devices...huh? -I get ZERO notifications of movement in front of the doorbell, even though they are enabled -it seems like the doorbell is always in standby mode, and, even though I have no power saving features turned on, it still seems to not wake up -the notifications, when someone actually rings the doorbell, are erratic; sometimes I get notified on my google mini, sometimes not, -I never get notified on my nest hub MAX, even though I have that enabled too.. yes, I updated the firmware, I am a networking expert, and, having set up many of these types of devices, I am adept at troubleshooting, but this product feels like its not ready for primetime; disabling integration with the Nest app, and forcing you to use Google Home was a BIG mistake, in my opinion, and, after reading alot of reviews on line, I am not alone in that thinking.. For almost 200 dollars, you might want to look elsewhere

Simple setup product that's working flawlessly. My only real complaint, and it's not insignificant is that people seem to struggle to understand that you can push the doorbell button. It's flat in color, it's big, it doesn't stick out. It doesn't look enough like a doorbell I guess? I've had issues where delivery drivers don't push it. Thankfully I get a phone notification when they walk up, but I don't get a bell so if I'm not looking at my phone easy to miss. I especially love the package detection, so I know when something arrives and can get it off the door step earlier. I wish nest protect was free, but it's a cool service I'm happy to pay for. It integrates seamlessly with my other devices as well. The battery lasts plenty long and I can charge it easily enough without it being easy to steal.

I have hundreds of pieces of smart home tech all centered around Google assistant and our various Google homes throughout our house. When our old Ring doorbell died, I was very excited to preorder and get the new Google Nest Doorbell Battery edition as soon as it came out. It was super easy to install and setup. It looked fantastic and we always got comments about how good it looked. After two months though, the problems started. Eventually, the retractable part that holds the doorbell to the base (so that you can remove it to charge it) stopped retracting. Luckily, Google Support was right on it and I got a new one in a few days. The new one was just as easy to get setup. Unfortunately, in another month, I received the dreaded "Your doorbell is offline due to a battery issue. Please contact Google Support." I contacted Google Support and they helped me out right away. I received the replacement in a few days and it was easy as can be to setup like before. This time, I received the "Your doorbell has a battery issue" message in 7 days... I called Google Support this time and they were not so helpful anymore. They drug things out for weeks and ultimately they said that there is nothing they can do because I am out of the support window. This unit clearly has quality control issues. I am at a loss now. 5 months later and $200 spent - I have nothing to show for it. Never have been as disappointed with a smart home product as I have been with this one.

I’m glad Google finally came out with a battery powered doorbell. Only thing that’s held me back from getting off of ring since I live in an apartment. I don’t like how big it is. It’s a lot larger than I thought. Overall great quality footage though and I’m happy it’s on Google home app not the nest app. Nest would log me out all the time for my learning thermostat

Super dependable. Battery life is ok however the picture and audio are great

Great option for those who haven’t yet purchased a doorbell. Not sure if this is enough to switch if you already have one. If you have other Google products then this works perfectly with the others. It is massive compared to other doorbells of its kind. Not sure why they made it so big. I say if you have the ability to have a wired connection then go with the Nest Hello. If you don’t then this is still a good option. Picture quality is just ok to me. Love the facial recognition feature. If you assign a name to a face then your other Google products, like a Google home, will announce the person’s name when the camera recognizes them. Very cool feature. If you don’t have Google home then the notification will still allow you to assign a name to a face.

The Google Nest seamlessly integrates into any home with its sleek design and simple setup, making it a standout choice for those looking to upgrade to smart technology. Its intuitive features, powered by Google Assistant, allow for effortless control over your smart home devices, from adjusting the thermostat to checking the weather. The Nest learns your habits over time, providing personalized convenience, while its fast and reliable performance ensures a smooth user experience. Overall, the Google Nest is a must-have for anyone seeking to enhance their home with intelligent automation, earning a well-deserved 5-star rating.

Wi-Fi keeps disconnecting and only records events…

I have to say I’m intimidated by anything that requires me to break out power tools to install. It usually results in frustration, injury, and a product that never works quite right. Probably the very best thing about this product was how thorough the step by step instructions were for installation and how comfortable i felt during the entire process. Setup is a breeze and it only took a couple clicks to configure features like activity zone so my neighbors walking by wouldn’t set off the push notifications. The package detection function is spot on - i don’t even know how it sees what it sees but it definitely works like magic. I also appreciate that i can easily remove the unit to charge instead of burning through batteries every so many weeks. This is a thoughtful feature that I wish my door lock had since it likes to eat batteries often. A few things if you’re an iOS user - it takes a step or two to get to the video feed if someone is at your door. I’d recommend considering a nest hub or hub max in the places you sit most often so that the video pops right up.

bought this a little less than a month ago, easy to set up, I love the field of vision at the 3:4 aspect ratio I think it makes the most sense . If you have security cameras that do wide angle than this is the better choice since it's captures more top to bottom of your porch and peoples faces etc. We used to have the Ring battery, but notifications were slow , I mean really slow. jumping into live video was painful. I mean it would but if there was ever a stranger lurking around it would almost be useles. and recording quality was meh. This is for the Ring battery I can't comment on some of their higher end ones. A friend bought this so he let me test it out and It's just faster. I would get a notification within 3 seconds of the event. and the notification gives you a clip which is nice and has facial recogniztion. and punching into live video is fast. And the video quality is just nicer, a lot nicer than on the ring. We've had a little less than a month so and so far so good, really enjoying it