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Having security cameras, such as those offered by Google’s Nest, is great when it comes to peace of mind. Especially when you’re out of the home. But that doesn’t mean you won’t ever want to turn off your Nest cameras or doorbells, so you might be wondering how to accomplish that.
Well, whether you’re using the Google Home app or the Nest app, turning off your cameras is actually incredibly easy. Although it may not be the most intuitive process if you’re not tech-savvy, to begin with. But that’s exactly what this guide was written to help with. So if you need to turn off your cameras, for whatever reason, this guide can help.
Before getting started, however, it’s also worth pointing out that Nest cameras effectively become inoperable when turned off. They won’t detect motion or sound, for instance. And they certainly won’t save activity or record any footage, let alone allow live streaming.
That could present a severe security risk if you only mean to temporarily disable them before turning them back on. And if you forget to turn them back on.
Here’s how to turn your Nest Cameras off
Now, because the Google Home app is effectively required for the Google smart home ecosystem to work, chances are you’ve got that app installed. And, like many of our how-to guides, there’s more than one way to accomplish this task. In fact, either the Google Home or Nest app can also be used to turn off cameras.
However, there are actually more steps involved if you’re using the Nest app. So we’ll be using the Google Home app for this segment of the guide since it’s the easiest method. And, moreover, the latest Nest Doorbell (Battery) and Nest Cam (Battery) don’t support the Nest app at all. So if you’re using those newer gadgets or wondering how to use them once you update, the Google Home app is going to be the best method to learn.
- Open the Google Home app
- Select “Cameras” at the top of the home page UI in the Google Home app
- In the bottom left-hand corner of each individual camera feed, you’ll see a button with a crossed-out camera icon and the words “Turn off”
- Select the “Turn off” button for any cameras you’d like to disable temporarily
- You can return to this page of the UI to turn the cameras back on. It’s worth noting that only the first image below was required to depict the steps here. The latter two images showcase a second method, also found within the Google Home app, for turning on or off the cameras. That’s discussed just below the gallery
Additionally, you can find the “Turn off” option elsewhere in the Google Home UI. Following step three as listed above, you can also choose to select any individual camera feed. The “Turn off” button will be found under the “More” tab in the bottom bar UI. As shown in the final two images above.
A similar UI is, conversely, also found in the cameras-specific UI on Nest Hub and smart display devices. Making it easy enough to find the UI on those devices as well.
You can also do this in the Nest app
If you do happen to be relying solely on the Nest app for your cameras, there’s also a way to turn off individual cameras there. Albeit, one that’s more involved, as noted above. Primarily because Nest doesn’t provide you with an easy access button right from the home page. You’ll need to dive deeper into settings instead.
- First, open up the Nest app
- Select an individual camera feed to turn off by selecting one of the cameras on the main page of the app
- In the camera feed, select the gear-shaped settings icon in the top right-hand corner of the UI. If it isn’t apparent, tap the screen to make the UI appear. The UI disappears if inactive for more than a few seconds
- In Settings, at the top of the page, the “Camera On/Off” option is presented as a toggle. It is blue when active and grey when inactive. Select the toggle to turn on or off your camera
- Repeat these steps for each camera you’d like to turn off or on
