The Nest thermostat is one of the best-selling smart thermostats on the market today. And for good reason. It figures out your temperature preferences and creates an energy-efficient schedule to match. And using geofencing with your phone, the Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest E realize when you’re at your house or away and can raise and lower settings to help you save even more.

The Nest works with a vast range of 24-volt heating and cooling systems, but it’s always a smart idea to use the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before getting one. Don’t forget to check with your energy supplier for valuable rebates, as you might be able to get a Nest for free or close to it.

Once you’ve made sure it’s compatible, you can either hook it up on your own or call a HVAC pro like Kapaun & Brown Inc.. If you’re wiring it yourself, you’ll notice a terminal for the C-wire, or common wire. This wire is solely used for powering your thermostat. If your residence or HVAC system is older, you might not have one of these wires. In the majority of cases, Nest says this isn’t a problem since the thermostat can draw ample power from other heating and cooling wires.

8 Common Nest Thermostat Problems

If it can’t draw ample juice, Nest says you may have some of these issues:

  • Bad battery life.
  • Thermostat motion sensing won’t work.
  • Your thermostat occasionally disconnects from Wi-Fi.
  • Your system suddenly turns on or off, or won’t turn off.
  • Your system is making strange noises, including chattering, stuttering, clicking or thumping.
  • Heating or cooling is short cycling, or constantly turning on and off in a short period of time.
  • There is a delay notification on your Nest thermostat’s screen, along the lines of heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.
  • The system fan is continuously running, won’t switch on or turns off and on repeatedly in a short period of time.

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Nest Thermostat Flashing Green Light

A blinking green light indicates that your thermostat is receiving a Google software update. This is completely normal, and it should only take a few minutes to complete. However, there may be a problem if the light continues to blink after several minutes or if you see a steady green light instead of a flashing light. 

  • Remove your Nest thermostat from the base.
  • Line up the pin connector and place the Nest back on its base.
  • You should hear a clicking sound if the alignment is correct.
  • Wait for the thermostat to come online again.

Nest Thermostat Blinking Red Light or Low Battery

When your Nest’s battery is low, you’ll see some combination of the following signals:

  • A flashing red light
  • A low battery message on the screen
  • A blank screen
  • A home symbol on the screen
  • Your Nest should recharge itself from your HVAC system wiring.
  • If your system has a common wire (C-wire), then there shouldn’t be any problem.

However, in systems without a C-wire, the Nest can only charge itself when the heating or cooling system is actively running. In the next section, we’ll go over the steps you can take if your Nest isn’t charging itself.

Nest Thermostat Battery Won’t Charge

Your Nest can only charge itself in one of two ways:

  • Through the C-wire.
  • By diverting energy while your HVAC system is running.
  • The first thing we’ll need to do is check whether your system has a C-wire.
  • Remove your Nest thermostat.
  • Look for a wire attached to a terminal labeled C. Usually, that wire will be blue.
  • If there is a C-wire, make sure it’s connected properly to the terminal.
  • Return the thermostat to the wall.

Since the C-wire is the preferred power source for Nest, a loose C-wire can cause the charging process to fail. If you tightened the C-wire during the above steps, give the system some time to charge before proceeding with your troubleshooting.

If your system doesn’t have a C-wire or if it was already securely attached, you may need to charge your battery manually. The Nest Thermostat E and 2nd- and 3rd-gen Nest Learning thermostats can be charged using a micro-USB cable. For a 1st-gen Nest Learning Thermostat, you’ll need a mini-USB cable instead.

  • Remove your thermostat from the wall.
  • Plug a micro-USB or mini-USB cable into the port on the back of the thermostat.
  • Connect the USB cable to a standard wall charger (like a phone charger) and plug it into the wall.
  • Wait about 2 hours for your Nest to charge.
  • Disconnect the cable and return your thermostat to the wall.

That should solve your Nest charging problems. However, the problem may return if you don’t have a C-wire. We’ll tackle some longer-term fixes in the next section.

Nest Thermostat Blowing Hot on Cool Temperature Settings 

Many users experience hot air blowing from their thermostats while their device is set to cool. Well, this problem involves mainly the heat pump system, and it refers to the heat pump might be faulty. It is also possible that the thermostat wires are not fully inserted, which can result in the wrong heat or cooling behavior. 

  • The quickest solution is to check that all the wires are fully inserted.
  • Then start a diagnostic test by setting the thermostat to cool mode.
  • Decrease the target temperature until you see a blue light on the display screen.
  • Hold down for a few seconds and check the vents to ensure they are emitting cold air.
  • Another solution is, to open the Home app on the mobile and select thermostat.
  • Go to setting and find the heat pump. Change the setting of O/B. for example, if the pre-setting is O, change it to B. if it’s O, then turn it to B. 

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Unable To Update Sofware of New Thermostat

Are you getting pop-ups like “No network”, or “Unable to Check” when you try to update the newly bought thermostat smart device? Then there are solutions. 

  • If you receive a message Unable to Check then wait for a while and try again. It’s because the new device shows some issues in connecting with the Nest Service.
  • If you see No Network then go to settings. Check the connected device, if the thermostat is already added, remove it once and then add it. 

Nest Thermostat Bluetooth Connection Troubleshooting 

If you tried to connect it to the Nest thermostat for the first time, it failed, or it was initially connected and then disconnected. Follow the below guide and fix the issue. 

  • The quick fix is to check your phone’s Bluetooth. Click on the Bluetooth, and turn it on.
  • Turn on the Nest Thermostat. And try to connect them. If it doesn’t work then turn off both devices and then turn them on.
  • Make sure you’re sitting much closer to the device. I suggest you try connecting BT within 12 inches radius.
  • Another solution is, to disconnect all other devices once, then try first to connect the Nest Thermostat.
  • You can also pull off the device batteries. Wait for 30 seconds, and then pull them inside the thermostat. Let the device be completely on, and then try to connect.

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The Thermostat or App Shows a wiring Report or Error Message

This means your Nest detected a problem with the thermostat’s wiring or internet connection. To determine the exact issue, you’ll need to look up the ERROR CODE AND TROUBLESHOOTING instructions for your Nest model.

Hopefully, this article helps you identify and fix the problem with your Nest. Of course, if you have any questions about your thermostat or heating system, call the friendly team 

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