You may have trouble justifying the extra $60 a year for the “Nest Aware” membership after spending $200 on a Nest doorbell or $349 on the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor. Particularly when compared to Ring’s “Protect” membership package, which costs only $40 per year at the low end. But is it possible to cancel your Nest Aware subscription?
Real-time viewing on your first-generation Nest devices will still be available if you decide not to subscribe, but regrettably, no recordings will be made without one. Owners of more recent Nest devices may still take use of motion-activated recordings that are kept for a short while, which is preferable to having no recording function at all.
Features of Nest Aware
At first glance, Nest Aware might appear more expensive than Ring’s plans, with Nest Aware starting at $6/month and going up to $12/month, while Ring Protect Basic costs just $4/month. However, these plans are not directly comparable, as Nest Aware covers all your Nest cameras/doorbells, while Ring Protect Basic only covers a single device.
With a Nest Aware subscription, you get several valuable features:
- 30-60 days of video recordings, depending on the plan you choose ($6 or $12 per month).
- Intelligent alerts that utilize Google’s AI to detect people or sounds that may require your attention, sending you relevant notifications.
- Activity zones, allowing you to customize the areas of your property that trigger motion alerts. This is helpful for reducing unnecessary notifications in busy areas.
- Easy sharing of clips with friends and family, as long as they are within your video history (30 or 60 days). You can also download and store these clips permanently.
There are two different Nest Aware plans: Nest Aware at $6/month (or $60 per year) and Nest Aware Plus at $12/month (or $120 per year). The main differences between the two plans are:
- Nest Aware Plus offers 60 days of video recordings, whereas the standard Nest Aware plan provides 30 days.
- Nest Aware Plus includes 24/7 recording, with these continuous recordings kept for 10 days. Motion-based recordings are stored for the full 60 days, enhancing the overall coverage.
This is a significant improvement over Ring, as Ring still does not offer 24/7 recording despite promising this feature back in 2018.
It’s worth noting that the price for each Nest Aware plan may vary slightly depending on your location or region.
America:
- Nest Aware: $6/month ($60/year)
- Nest Aware Plus: $12/month ($120/year)
UK:
- Nest Aware: £5/month (£50/year)
- Nest Aware Plus: £10/month (£100/year)
Canada:
- Nest Aware: $8/month ($80/year) CAD
- Nest Aware Plus: $16/month ($160/year) CAD
Germany/Europe:
- Nest Aware: €5/month (€50/year)
- Nest Aware Plus: €10/month (€100/year)
Australia:
- Nest Aware: $9/month ($90/year) AUS
- Nest Aware Plus: $18/month ($180/year) AUS
Note: The prices are listed in the respective currencies for each country/region.
Nest devices that Benefits from Nest Aware
Nest Aware offers benefits to several Nest devices, including the Nest Hello, Nest Doorbell, Nest Cam Indoor, Nest Cam Indoor IQ, Nest Cam Outdoor, Nest Cam Outdoor IQ, and Nest Hub Max (smart speaker with an integrated Nest Cam). The subscription covers all these devices under a single plan, allowing users to access features like recording and intelligent notifications for $6/month, which is more cost-effective compared to Ring’s Protect Plus plan at $10/month.
However, if you only have a single Nest device, you would still need to pay $6/month (or $60 per year) to access 30 days of recording and intelligent notifications. In contrast, Ring offers coverage for a single device at a lower cost of $4/month.
In case you find the $6/month subscription too expensive, here’s what happens without Nest Aware:
- Without a Nest Aware subscription, you won’t receive “intelligent notifications.” Instead, you’ll receive all motion alerts, even if they are triggered by cars or animals passing by.
- Video recordings of events won’t be saved without a subscription, and any still images captured are deleted after just 3 hours.
- For newer Nest Cam and Nest Doorbell models (released in late 2021), they will record motion-activated video for three hours without a subscription, but after that, the recordings are lost.
- However, you can still watch the live video stream whenever you want to and receive notifications if someone presses the Nest Hello doorbell.
- Motion-based alerts will be available for everything, but you won’t be able to customize activity zones to filter notifications.
In summary, without a Nest Aware subscription, you won’t have access to advanced features like intelligent notifications, continuous video recording, and customizable activity zones. The available features will still allow you to use the devices for basic monitoring purposes, but you’ll miss out on the enhanced functionality provided by the subscription plan.
What All Features you Need to Compromise without Nest Aware
Certainly, here is a summary of what you get and don’t get without a Nest Aware subscription for Nest doorbells and cameras:
Without a Nest Aware subscription, you don’t get:
- “Intelligent alerts”: These are phone notifications that Nest deems important enough to send to you. Without the subscription, you will receive all alerts for motion, even if they are triggered by cars or animals passing by.
- Any saved video recordings of captured events: Without the subscription, video recordings of events won’t be saved for later viewing.
- Still images: When your Nest doorbell or camera detects a face or relevant motion, it takes a still image. However, these still images are deleted after just 3 hours without the subscription.
The 2022 update states that newer Nest Cam and Nest Doorbell models, released in late 2021, will record motion-activated video for three hours without a subscription. After this point, the recordings are lost, but this is still an improvement over the first-generation devices.
However, even without a Nest Aware subscription, you still get:
- The ability to watch the live video stream: You can view the live video feed from your Nest doorbell or camera whenever you want to.
- Notifications if someone presses the Nest Hello doorbell: You will still receive notifications when someone presses the doorbell.
- Motion-based alerts for everything: You will still get motion-based alerts, but they won’t be filtered for important events like in the “Intelligent alerts” feature.
- Image snapshots in your “Sightline”: Still images are taken when your Nest doorbell or camera detects a face or relevant motion, filling in your “Sightline” or timeline of events. However, as mentioned earlier, these still images are deleted after 3 hours without the subscription.
Overall, the Nest Aware subscription provides additional features and benefits, especially for those who value intelligent notifications, saved video recordings, and extended retention of motion-activated video. Without the subscription, the devices still offer basic monitoring capabilities, but some key features are limited or unavailable.
No Ring Protect Versus No Nest Aware
Here’s a final comparison between the features you get (or don’t get) without a subscription to Nest and Ring devices:
Nest devices:
- Motion notifications – Yes
- Enhanced notifications (e.g. people only notifications) – No
- Doorbell-press notifications – Yes
- Video recordings – No
- Still image snapshots – Yes, for 3 hours
- Activity zones – No
- Real-time viewing – Yes
- Share videos with others – No
Ring devices:
- Motion notifications – Yes
- Enhanced notifications (e.g. people only notifications) – Yes
- Doorbell-press notifications – Yes
- Video recordings – No
- Still image snapshots – No
- Activity zones – Yes
- Real-time viewing – Yes
- Share videos with others – No
Both Nest and Ring devices offer motion notifications, doorbell-press notifications, and real-time viewing without a subscription. However, Ring devices have an advantage as they provide enhanced notifications, including people-only notifications, even without a subscription. In contrast, Nest devices lack this feature without Nest Aware.
Regarding video recordings, neither Nest nor Ring devices save video recordings without a subscription. Both platforms only provide live viewing without the additional storage and recording features offered by their respective subscription plans.
Without a subscription, Nest devices do offer still image snapshots of events, which are available for 3 hours. Ring devices, on the other hand, do not provide this feature without a subscription.
Regarding activity zones (or motion zones), Ring devices allow users to configure and adjust them without a subscription. This means you can customize the areas in which motion alerts are triggered, making it more practical to avoid excessive notifications caused by irrelevant motion, such as cars passing by on the road. However, with Nest devices, this feature is only available if you have a Nest Aware subscription.
In summary, while both Nest and Ring devices offer basic functionalities without a subscription, Ring has an advantage in providing enhanced notifications and the ability to adjust motion zones without a subscription. On the other hand, Nest requires a subscription for advanced features like intelligent notifications and activity zone customization, which may result in more frequent notifications in certain scenarios.
You May Also Enjoy Reading: Ecobee 3 Lite vs. Nest Thermostat E: A Comparison