Google Announced End-of-life dates today for products that rely on the Nest app that won’t port over to the new Google Home. If you own Nest Secure or Dropcam home security products, you have a year to use them before they become paperweights. The phasing out of old and incompatible hardware could signal the arrival of Google’s new, more customizable Home app.
Nest Secure will continue to work until April 8, 2024. To ease the blow, Google is offering some freebies to customers, as the company often does when its products head to the Google Graveyard. Nest Secure users will receive an offer for a free ADT self-configuration system (up to a $485 value); alternatively, they can opt for $200 in Google Store credit. Google says it will send an email with redemption instructions to eligible users.
Dropcam products will also stop working after April 8 of next year. Google advises users to download and save their video history before this date to avoid losing it. As a consolation to Dropcam customers, the company is offering a free Nest Cam (indoor, wired) for those with a Nest Aware subscription; those without a subscription can get a 50 percent discount on the same camera.
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Finally, Works With Nest, the API system that enables third-party integrations with otherwise incompatible smart home accessories, will stop working after September 29. Google is pointing customers to Assistant-based Routines in the Google Home app as a replacement, and plans to release a script editor “in the coming months” to make up for other lost features. The company says it’s also “working closely” with partners to provide replacement integrations.
Google announced an updated Home app last October that could be the main source for today’s hardware outage announcements. The updated Home app integrates Matter, including its Fast Pair feature. It is already available in a public preview.
Nest Secure launched in 2017 as a new take on smart home security. Designed to compete with legacy brands like ADT (which Google later invested in), the system included a Guard base, motion-detection sensors for windows and doors, and tag fobs, which allowed you to quickly enable or disable the system. Google announced in 2020 that it had discontinued the platform, but promised that it would continue to work for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, Dropcam started out as a pioneering smart home security brand and launched some of the first cloud-connected cameras. Google/Nest bought the startup in 2014 for $555 million, a move that founder Greg Duffy later described as a “mistake”.
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