Many people with Smart Homes have been somewhat rocked by some major news that has recently been published. They may well have been very satisfied with their Smart Home that operated using a Works With Nest system. On January 13, 2014, Google announced plans to acquire Nest Labs for $3.2 billion in cash and completed the acquisition the next day. That was some time back so this recent news was a big shock.
Google Discontinues Works With Nest
The news that Works with Nest was winding down came via the Nest website.
Last year, we announced that the Google Home and Nest teams were joining forces. We’re now excited to introduce Google Nest. The best of Google. The best of Nest. Now under one roof.
Together we’re reimagining how technology and services can deliver simple and helpful experiences in your home to do more for you and your family. Moving forward, we will wind down the Works with Nest developer program on August 31, 2019, and focus on delivering a single consumer and developer experience through the Works with Google Assistant program.
The Effect on Other Smart Home Gadgets
A variety.com article gives more details on the way in which Google will discontinue the ‘Works With Nest’ Program by tightening the Smart Home privacy rules.
The company will discontinue its Works With Nest program this summer, which has the potential to break a number of existing smart home integrations. Google is justifying this step with a new focus on privacy, which includes reducing data sharing to a much smaller number of pre-approved partners.
An article in The Verge suggests that these changes will make the Smart Home a little dumber. It suggests that it may indicate a future where fewer cross-compatible smart home gadgets will exist. You would have to buy your components from Google or its approved partners to have them work together at all.
Some popular Works with Nest integrations that will break on August 31st, 2019 or earlier:
- Amazon Alexa will not be able to adjust the Nest Thermostat or display Nest Cam feeds.
- Logitech Harmony remotes won’t be able to change Nest alarm and home / away modes.
See the Updating Footnote below which gives more details on the effect of this major change in policy.
How Vivint Is Handling This
Different manufacturers will handle this in different ways. Vivint has already informed its customers by email with the following message:
As a Nest user, you should have recently received an email from Nest announcing their Google integration and discontinuance of their Works with Nest program.
This will not affect your Vivint system until later this summer when your account is ready to be migrated. As we get closer to that time, we’ll provide more detailed information on the steps you’ll need to take to ensure your Nest thermostat remains a connected part of your Vivint system.
How Working with TechieLiving Could Make A Difference
If your Smart Home is your own DIY project and is not supported by any supplier/integrator then you’re on your own with this or similar problems. You might not even be aware or pay attention to the announcements. Your solution might one day just stop functioning and you may well have no clue what has happened.
If however you had worked with TechieLiving to plan and/or build your Smart Home solution:
- Your solution might have been less prone to this kind of issue
- TechieLiving would alert you to the issue when it happens as Vivint did
- TechieLiving would help you overcome the problem
Our free Newsletter is an ideal way to keep aware of major developments like this. You can sign up in the small table at the top of the right sidebar. If you so wish, you can also win a free Smarter Home Master plan. Click here for the details.
Updating footnote:
The effect of this Work With Nest discontinuance may not be quite as sweeping as was mentioned above. However opinions are mixed on the gravity of the situation. Here are just two of these:
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