Nest Cam Indoor (Wired, 3rd Gen) Not Detecting Motion
Is your Nest Cam Indoor (Wired, 3rd Gen) not detecting motion or failing to send alerts when activity occurs? Here are the checks you can carry out before contacting support.
What This Problem Means
The camera is online but not triggering recordings or sending notifications when movement occurs — most commonly caused by a notification or recording setting being disabled in the Google Home app.
Common Symptoms
- People or movement in view with no alert or recording triggered
- Google Home event history is empty or showing fewer events than expected
- Motion alerts were being received previously but have stopped
- Alerts are arriving on one household member’s phone but not another’s
Safe Checks You Can Try
1. Check Notifications Are Enabled in the Google Home App
Open the Google Home app, tap your Profile picture or Initial in the top right, then tap Home settings → Notifications. Confirm that the relevant event types (People, Animals, Vehicles, Other Motion) are switched on. Individual household members can adjust their own notifications independently without affecting others.
2. Check Phone Notification Settings
On your phone, check that notifications for the Google Home app are enabled in your phone’s system settings. On iOS: Settings → Apps → Google Home → Notifications. On Android: Settings → Apps → Google Home → Notifications. Do Not Disturb and Focus modes can also suppress alerts.
3. Check Video Recording Is Enabled
In the Google Home app, go to your camera’s settings and confirm that Video Recording is turned on. If this setting is off, the camera will not record events even if motion is detected and an alert is sent.
4. Check Activity Zones
If you have set up Activity Zones, confirm they are positioned to cover the area where you expect motion. Zones that are too small or positioned incorrectly will not detect movement outside them.
5. Reinstall the Google Home App
If alerts are being received by other household members but not you, uninstall and reinstall the Google Home app on your device. This resolves notification delivery issues that are specific to one device rather than the camera itself.
When To Contact Support
If you have worked through the checks above and the issue persists, contact Google Nest support at support.google.com/googlenest. Your device serial number is available in Device Info in the Google Home app.
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