The ecosystem of security cameras, routers and alarms that we know as Google Nest started as acquisitions of two companies by Google: Dropcam and Nest, in 2014. As Google has previously warned, the company is now dropping support for some of the earliest models of these security devices. On April 8, users of Dropcam, Dropcam Pro and Nest Secure will find their devices largely unusable—but Google is offering those affected a few paths forward with new devices.
Dropcam was one of the biggest players in the early days of wifi security cameras, offering small devices with cloud-based subscriptions for storage. Once the deadline passes this week, Dropcam and Dropcam Pro users will lose the ability to save new clips and will only be able to access old clips through the end of this month’s subscriptions. At best, that gives the user 30 days to offload those clips they want to save to another backup media.
Since Google wants to keep these users in the family, they're offering two paths forward. If you’re already a member of Nest Aware, the subscription plan for Google Nest users, you will get a free Nest camera ($99.99). If you’re not a member, you can get a 50% off discount towards a Nest camera. Subscriptions for Nest Aware start at $8 a month or $80 a year. Because so many features of the Nest Cam are linked to a subscription—activity zones, event clips, intelligent alerts, you’ll likely want a subscription anyway. The math works out to your advantage to sign up for Nest Aware now, and take the free camera, rather than taking the 50% discount. You can absolutely use a Nest Cam without a subscription, but you likely won’t want to.
Nest Secure was a whole home security system of cameras and locks. There are likely a lot of users still out there with some parts of the old Secure system—like the Nest x Yale door locks. Starting April 8, those keypads won’t connect to wifi anymore; they're effectively bricked. The only path forward offered by Google is a free Nest Connect ($69), and you should receive details about that in your email. If you don’t, you need to get in touch with Google support, ASAP. Pro tip: be sure you’re logged into the Google account you use for your Nest products at the time you contact Google support. The Nest Connect isn’t a lock, it’s a wifi extender, so it’s just going to extend the life of your Nest x Yale lock ($249), which Google still sells. You could consider an alternative, which is replacing the lock with another brand that doesn’t require an additional piece of hardware like the Nest Connect. If you go that route, note that you’ll need to cancel your Nest Aware subscription, because Google doesn’t do that for you.
