The Nest Cam is designed to keep your home safe by recording activities that happen within its range. So let’s say, you turn your cam off or there’s a power outage and you need the footage, was it recording?

As a general rule, the Nest Cam does not record sound or detect motion while it is turned off even though it stays connected to WiFI. 

Keep reading to find out more about when the Nest cam records. 

How Do You Know When a Nest Camera Is Recording?

Like we said, the Nest Cam stays partially turned on (connected to WiFi) even when it’s turned off by you but how do you know when it is in recording mode? 

The Nest Cam is recording when the small indicator light is solid green. 

Keep reading to find out how to turn the recording off and on.

How To Turn Your Nest Cam On/Off

There are two ways to toggle the power of your Nest camera. Via the Home app and the Nest App. 

Via Google Home App

Follow these steps to turn your Nest cam on or off via the Google Home app.

  • Open the Google Home appSelect the camera you’d like to view its live video streamTap the three dots icon called “ More Options”Select Turn on camera or Turn off camera

Now, let’s look at via the Nest app.

Via Nest App

Follow these steps to turn your Nest cam on or off via the Nest app.

  • Open the Nest appSelect your cameraGo to SettingsTap the switch icon next to “Camera On/Off”

Now, let’s look at when the Nest cam won’t turn on.

Nest Cam Won’t Turn On Troubleshooting Tips

Start by testing the power of your home’s smart cameras by checking the cables and plugs. If there is no power problem, try disconnecting the device for 10 seconds and reconnecting it. Wait until the camera restarts. 

If these don’t work, reset the Nest cam to factory settings before resetting the app if it does not restart.

Keep reading to find out how you can factory reset your nest cam. 

How To Factory Reset Your Nest Cam

On different nest cams, there are unique ways to carry out a factory reset. We will be going through the steps for each. 

Nest Cam (Wired, Battery and Dropcam)

Follow these steps to factory reset wired, battery, and dropcam Nest cam:

  • Make sure your camera is connected to Wi-FiLaunch the Home app/Nest appTap the camera that you wish to resetTap on settingsClick “Remove device”Click on confirm

The device is then reset. If you’d like to learn more about Nest cam, check out this article.

Using the Reset Button

Follow these steps to factory reset wired, battery, and dropcam Nest cams using the reset button:

  • Find the reset hole at the bottom of the camera head in between the power cord and the camera neckInsert a paperclip into the holePress and hold down the paperclipAfter 10 seconds of pressing down, the status light should blink yellow four times and sound a countdown toneAfter 12 seconds, the status light should be solid yellowWhen the camera begins resetting, you’ll hear a confirmation toneRelease the button

Now your camera should be factory reset using the button.

Nest Cam IQ Indoor or Outdoor

Follow these steps to factory reset Nest cam IQ indoor or outdoor:

  • Make sure your camera is plugged in and powered onPress and hold the reset button of the camera with the paperclip Once the light ring spins blue, release the buttonYour camera’s lights will turn off while it’s resettingThe factory reset is done once your camera chimes and the light ring starts slowly pulsing blue.

Nest Doorbell Wired 

Here’s how to factory reset your wired Nest doorbell:

  • Remove your doorbell from its baseDon’t remove the wires that are attached to the back of the devicePress and hold the two buttons on your doorbell for about 10 secondsYour doorbell will go off in a chime and its light ring will begin to spin blueThe lights will then flash yellow and go offRelease the two buttons

Once the camera chimes and the light ring starts slowly pulsing blue, the reset is complete.

Conclusion 

The Nest Doorbells are very unique when it comes to settings and resetting and it is essential that you know what you’re doing with these doorbells. In this article, we explore how Nest Cams work, troubleshooting tips and more and we hope this helps you enjoy your cam to the fullest.