TL; DR
- Google will soon drop support for Dropcam HD, Dropcam Pro, Nest Secure, and Works with Nest.
- Existing Dropcam customers are provided with an indoor wired Nest Cam.
- Existing Nest Secure customers are offered a self-starting system from ADT, or $200 in Google Store credit.
If you picked up a Dropcam or Nest Secure several years ago, Google is offering you an upgrade to a currently supported device as it seeks to drop support for only those Nest smart home products. If you own either of those, look out for an email from Google introducing you to some new smart home products.
Drop Dropcam support
Complications arose when Google Nest bought Dropcam in 2014. A year later, Google spun Nest out of itself in Alphabet’s brilliant reorganization. But then Nest was reabsorbed into Google in 2018. In the middle of all this, Google and Nest were both making smart home devices. Soon after, Google decided to integrate Nest products into the Google Home app. As a collateral damage to all this business shuffling and reorganization, products that can’t be integrated into the Google Home app will be eliminated, which is what’s happening here with Dropcam.
As announced by Google in a post on the Nest Community site, the company is dropping support for Dropcam HD and Dropcam Pro on April 8, 2024. This is a year later, and until then, all existing features will still work. But after April 2024, Dropcam devices will no longer work.
As of April 8, 2024, your Dropcam will no longer work. You won’t be able to use the Nest app to check Dropcam status, view live feeds, receive notifications, or change settings.
To the inconvenience, Google is offering Dropcam owners who are still a Nest Aware subscriber a wired indoor Nest Cam. If you own two or more Dropcams, up to two units are offered. If you’re not a Nest Aware subscriber, Google will give you 50% off your new Nest Cam.
Scott Brown/Android Authority
Google is also offering US consumers a prepaid shipping label for Dropcam recycling if they request it.
Nest Secure meets the same fate
Nest Secure launched in 2017, prior to Google’s investment in home security company ADT. The product was canceled in 2020, and now support for it will be dropped on April 8, 2024.
Starting April 8, 2024, Nest Secure will be discontinued. Until that date, all existing features will still be available and you can continue to use Nest Secure as you do now. After this date, Nest Secure will no longer be accessible in the Nest app.
For users upset by this change, Google offers an ADT self-setup system. This includes the ADT Smart Home Hub, 2x door/window sensors, and a motion sensor. This also includes 12 months of free professional alarm monitoring, at a cost of $19.99 plus tax per month after that. If you prefer self-monitoring, you can cancel and use the product without a subscription.
ADT self-setting system
If you don’t want to take advantage of this offer, you can choose a $200 Google Store credit to use towards other products. Google will send a unique recovery code to your email, and depending on which route you wish to take, you will have to contact ADT or Google Store Support and provide that code to them.
It doesn’t work with Nest either
Google discontinued Works with Nest in 2019 and replaced it with Works with Google Assistant. This change did not affect existing connections. But that window now closes on September 29, 2023.
This doesn’t affect a lot of users, since the legacy software hasn’t accepted new integrations for several years now. But there will be some legacy solutions that will be affected by this. Google has promised a Google Home web-based text editor as an alternative to these solutions, but it’s still set to arrive sometime this year.
Discontinuing support for subscription-linked devices is certainly difficult, and even more so when it comes to smart home products. No one really likes to swap functional appliances in their home just to reorganize the company’s business. Hopefully, Google’s olive branch for existing users will help soothe any pain this end of life may cause.