Product Library / Cameras & Doorbells
Research profile · last verified 2026-07-19Google Nest Cam (Indoor, wired, 3rd gen)
Compatibility
| Ecosystem | Support | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Google Home | WorksWorks with this ecosystem | The Home app is the only place the full feature set and subscription tiers exist. |
| Amazon Alexa | Not checkedWe have not verified this yet — this is not a claim about the product | Google's Nest-skill compatibility list documents Alexa live view for the 2021 camera generation and does not name this 2025 model. That is silence rather than a stated exclusion, so the level is recorded as unknown rather than assumed either way. If it does work, the skill gives live view on display-equipped Echo devices only, with no event history. |
| Apple Home | Doesn't workVerified: does not work with this ecosystem | No Apple Home or HomeKit support appears in any Google primary doc, and the camera is absent from Google's Matter device list — which is the only route Apple Home could arrive by. Verified 2026-07-19 against support.google.com/googlehome/answer/12391458. |
| SmartThings | Doesn't workVerified: does not work with this ecosystem | No SmartThings support is stated anywhere in Google's documentation, and Works with Nest ended 2023-09-29. The only third-party route is the Device Access partner programme, which is partner-side and review-gated. Verified 2026-07-19 against support.google.com/googlehome/answer/9293712. |
| Home Assistant | PartialPartial support — see the catch | Reachable through Google's Device Access / SDM API 'Individual Access' tier, but that is a Google developer-programme path with its own enrollment and fee, not a supported consumer integration. Google never names Home Assistant. |
? Not checked means we haven’t verified that ecosystem yet — it is a statement about our research, never a verdict on the product. A Setup Check can research it for you.
Protocols: WIFI · BLUETOOTH
Subscription reality
◐ Works without a subscription: Yes, but material features need a plan.
- Free: Live view, Two-way talk, Activity zones, zoom and crop, Basic motion and sound detection, Event video previews — 10 seconds, retained 6 hours
- Behind a plan: 5-minute event recordings (30 days Standard / 60 days Advanced), Person, animal and vehicle alerts; familiar faces (not offered in Illinois), 10-day 24/7 continuous video history (Advanced, wired cameras only), AI notifications, AI descriptions, Home Brief and 'Ask Home' video history search (Advanced)
Tier prices NOT verified — Google's own pricing help page (answer/13856600) declines to state them and redirects to the Store, which does not render for automated fetch. Note the free tier is thin but not empty: 10-second event previews with 6-hour retention are free, so 'no recording without a subscription' would be inaccurate.
Maintenance reality
- Cloud dependence: Yes — a server shutdown would degrade or brick this device
- Wired only — attached 10ft USB-C cable and 7.5W adapter, no battery and no battery backup. On power loss it records nothing.
The catch
Two widely repeated claims about Nest cameras are wrong here, in opposite directions. Some event recording IS free — 10-second previews held for 6 hours — and the camera DOES buffer up to an hour of events on-device when the internet drops. But that buffer is not user-accessible storage: there is no SD slot and no RTSP path, it back-fills to Google's cloud on reconnect, and a power cut records nothing at all.
Who it's for
Google-ecosystem households that want 2K indoor coverage and accept a cloud-dependent camera with no user-accessible local storage. Alexa households can get live view via the Nest skill, but not event history.
Sources & method
https://support.google.com/googlehome/answer/9259110 — '2K (2560 x 1440) sensor', 'Up to 2K at 30 frames/sec', '802.11ac-ready (2.4GHz/5GHz)', Bluetooth LE, attached 10ft USB-C cable with 7.5W adapter — vendor-support-doc research, verified 2026-07-19 · https://support.google.com/googlehome/answer/9233159 (tier contents, 'Basic event video previews' 10s/6h free) + https://support.google.com/googlehome/answer/16581343 (rename effective 2025-10-01) — vendor-support-doc research, verified 2026-07-19 · https://support.google.com/googlehome/answer/9242083 — cameras hold up to one hour of events in internal memory when offline and upload on reconnect; wired cam with 24/7 history records 8 minutes straight after going offline — vendor-support-doc research, verified 2026-07-19 · alexa: https://support.google.com/googlehome/answer/9325080 (affirmative skill support, voice commands); apple: https://support.google.com/googlehome/answer/12391458 (camera absent from Matter device list); smartthings: https://support.google.com/googlehome/answer/9293712 + answer/9539279 (Works with Nest ended 2023-09-29; Device Access is partner-side) — vendor-support-doc research, verified 2026-07-19 · store.google.com product and config pages returned no content to automated fetch on 2026-07-19 (JS-rendered); Google's price help page answer/13856600 omits prices by design — gap record — no primary source obtained, verified 2026-07-19. This is a research profile: compiled from manufacturer documentation, certification registries, and published testing — we state facts, not verdicts, and we have not physically tested this unit. How we work →
Compatibility and lifecycle information reflects the last-verified date above and can change without notice (firmware updates, cloud-service changes, discontinuations). It is provided as-is, for information — verify with the manufacturer before purchasing. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it. Full terms: Terms of Service.