u/Philosophers_Mind

So I bought a Google Nest Doorbell (wired), thinking it would be a simple upgrade. I had installed the original Nest wired doorbell years ago, and it was straightforward.

This time? Not even close.

The Gen 3 model was so difficult that I couldn’t install it myself. My son—who is very tech-savvy—struggled. Even the electrician I hired had trouble getting it set up correctly.

Eventually, it got installed. I will say, the wider field of view is nice. But at night? Honestly, it’s almost useless. The image is dark and too “deep,” and it’s very hard to make out faces or details. You can tell someone is there, but who it is or what they’re doing? Good luck.

The install ended up costing me about $265. The doorbell itself was around $140, plus the ongoing subscription fee. This was back in December 2025. It worked fine for a few months…

…and then yesterday—offline.

No response. Wouldn’t ring. Just dead.

So I contacted Google support.

At first, it’s the usual:
“Check Wi-Fi.”
“Restart it.”
“Check power.”

Fine. I go through everything.

Then we hit the loop.

“Can you perform a factory reset?”
“I can’t—it has no power or response.”

Repeat that several times.

Eventually, I escalate to “senior support.” I’m thinking, finally—someone who can actually help.

Nope.

Now it’s:
“You need to perform a factory reset.”

I check again—and surprise—there is a green light. So I tell them:
“Okay, it has power, but it’s still offline and doesn’t ring or respond.”

Their answer?

“You still need to perform a factory reset.”

Here’s the problem: to do that, I have to remove the doorbell from the mount—the exact part I couldn’t secure myself in the first place, which is why I paid an electrician.

So I explain:
“I had this professionally installed. I’m not comfortable removing it again.”

Their response:
“These are the required troubleshooting steps.”

I ask if they can send someone. No.
I ask to escalate further. “This is the highest level.”
I explain it’s powered but non-functional. Still no.

We go in circles for an hour.

At one point, they even suggest I “plug it into another power source.”

It’s a wired doorbell.

Finally, after all of that, they say:
“We can email you the steps, and you can perform the reset later.”

So that’s where I’m at now.

I spent:

• $265 on installation
• $140 on the device
• An hour arguing with support
• And I still have a doorbell that lights up but doesn’t work

To be fair, the senior support rep tried to be helpful. She was polite and professional. But she was clearly stuck following a script—no matter what I explained, the answer was always the same: we have to go through the steps.

I even explained the cost of reinstalling or getting help again. Her suggestion? “Have someone help you.”

That’s not always realistic. My son has his own family, work and doesn't live nearby. Not everyone has someone available to step in for this kind of thing. That’s something people should know before buying into these systems.

I’ve helped others in situations where they had no one with things I knew I could help. Now I’m on the other side of that—and it’s frustrating to realize how little flexibility there is.

At this point, I just want the replacement so I can sell it and be done with Google products.

Has anyone else gone through this level of support loop insanity?

Because wow.