6 ms·

First and 2nd gen Nest Thermostats will lose support in Oct 2025

82 points by xattt 2y ago

seltzered_ 2y ago
See https://community.home-assistant.io/t/rooting-to-save-the-nest-thermostat/119290 https://community.home-assistant.io/t/rooting-to-save-the-ne... , particularly the post asking about using the older unofficial APIs with Nest Thermostats on an airgapped network controlled by Home Assistant ( https://community.home-assistant.io/t/rooting-to-save-the-nest-thermostat/119290/10 https://community.home-assistant.io/t/rooting-to-save-the-ne... ): I'm wondering if an approach to saving older Nest thermostats and reducing ewaste might be: - Using the older ‘unofficial API’ (from around 2014) assuming it still works, and integrate it with Home Assistant (see GitHub - gboudreau/nest-api: Unofficial Nest Learning Thermostat API ( https://github.com/gboudreau/nest-api https://github.com/gboudreau/nest-api ) & GitHub - wiredprairie/unofficial_nodejs_nest ( https://github.com/wiredprairie/unofficial_nodejs_nest#readme https://github.com/wiredprairie/unofficial_nodejs_nest#readm... ) ) - Encouraging folks to put older and unsupported Nest devices on a separate wireless network that doesn’t have internet access but access to a Home Assistant server for remote monitoring & control. - Facilitate a way for Home Assistant based HVAC control setups to work with energy company savings programs where appropriate (in areas of the US this is fairly common, but they may only be supporting major brand vendors so far)
- bob1029 2y ago
  > reducing ewaste The solution is to stop installing advanced touchscreen computer systems where they don't really belong. I've never seen a Honeywell thermostat fail, get hacked, or "lose support". I dont have to worry about what will happen if there is a weird software update or power outage. There are physical switches that configure the current mode of the system. Only the temperature setting is volatile, but it defaults to reasonable settings depending on the current mode (60F for heat, 80F for cool). Because of this simple design, there is no option to install a battery. There's nothing to remember.
  - jasonjayr 2y ago
    Or make the device as SIMPLE as possible. The thermostat should be a remote display and a sensor. The real brains should happen on a controller near the heating system, that can be swapped in and out as time goes on.
    - akerl_ 2y ago
      The controller for the HVAC system costs a heck of a lot more than the thermostat.
      - EvanAnderson 2y ago
        The thermostat is the controller is most simple HVAC systems. The evaporator and air handler will have some "brains" re-compressor cycling and potentially fan speed, but the thermostat is calling for heat/cool.
        quickthrowman 2y ago
        You mean condenser instead of evaporator, the evaporator is inside the furnace and has no controls as it’s just a coil. The outdoor a/c unit contains the condenser and compressor and has the contactor (and controller if it’s an EC motor) for the compressor motor. The contactor control coil is 24v and the contact is closed when a call for cold is received from the thermostat. Newer A/C units have EC motors with variable speed motor controllers and newer furnaces will have an EC motor blower fan and lots of factory control points wired up to a controller, mostly for the burner (and related gas/burner safeties). Still, even in newer furnaces and a/c units, the thermostat is the main controller as like you said, the calls for heat/cool are the only input to the system. Commercial HVAC controls for air handlers, boilers, and chillers have a lot more control points, an AHU can have 40 or more control inputs and outputs tied to it. Discharge and return air temp, multiple differential pressure sensors, static pressure, outdoor air temp, outdoor air pressure, duct avg temp, etc. These systems are much more complex than any home HVAC setup and usually have multiple controllers networked back to a master controller which orchestrates everything.
metalman 2y ago
Hey! Reach out if you are looking for a mecury/bi metalic tilt switch thermostat, door knob, or m3chan8cal light switch, if you get locked out of your cold ,dark, house.
whatever1 2y ago
Why do they keep releasing these products if they don’t plan to support the users? Users are left frustrated, they are producing ewaste and ultimately hurting the Google brand. Nothing will compare to ads in terms of margins. It makes no sense for Google to work on anything else, because eventually some VP will see compare the margins across business lines, and the decision is obvious. Chop everything that does not sell ads.
- akerl_ 2y ago
  The 1st and 2nd gen Nest thermostats weren't released by Google, they were released by Nest prior to the acquisition. And they've been supported for over a decade. Their replacement (the 3rd gen nest) came out in 2015.
  - EvanAnderson 2y ago
    Thermostats have an operational lifetime far more than a decade.
    - akerl_ 2y ago
      If what you want is a basic thermostat, there are any number of models you can buy. They're physical objects without network connectivity and they last basically forever. But if you buy a Nest, you're buying a network-connected device. A decade replacement cycle for network-connected computing devices is not crazy.
      - mschuster91 2y ago
        > But if you buy a Nest, you're buying a network-connected device. A decade replacement cycle for network-connected computing devices is not crazy. It should be, though. Okay, I get spare parts not being available after 10 years, particularly the "smart" chips simply don't get produced any more. But firmware and API support? How fucking hard can it be for a company raking in 90 fucking billion dollars in a single quarter of a year to keep a dozen people on payroll to keep the old servers, APIs and build tooling for the firmware up to date?! [1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-stock-rises-after-it-beats-on-earnings-raises-dividend-and-authorizes-70-billion-in-buybacks-192027323.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-stock-rises-after-it-b...
iambateman 2y ago
My kingdom for a thermostat that doesn’t expire after a decade.
- whalesalad 2y ago
  I’ve heard great things about Ecobee and they can be controlled locally via home assistant.
  - brewtide 2y ago
    In a similar vein, my 'smart' thermostat solution for my oil furnace has been to splice in a relay board that's connected to an esp32 running esphome through home assistant. On that board, and many others around the house, I have many 'virtual thermometers running again off esp32's using dht11's and esphome. This configuration has allowed me to control the single-zone furnace using any or a combination of 'virtual' thermometers to turn the relay board on/off depending on conditions. I left the real old honeywell thermostat on the wall as a fail-safe situation in case the system comes crashing down, to prevent the house from freezing up in the winter -- Just set at a low minimum. The downside of this is I either have to directly adjust the temp via phone interface / tablet interface / or google-assistant interface, but when that is done, it is all done locally. Simply toggling a simple relay board that just connects the 2-wire thermostat feed like a typical thermostat does. It has worked great! In addition, one of the heat pump units (MrCool!) in the house was able to use a cloud-free dongle to bring it's controls into local-only control as well via home assistant, as well. This can also be controlled via phone / tablet / google home interface (I subscribe, I feel home assistant is worth supporting). All of the local only devices are able to be accessed from afar using tailscale into the local network, with subnet routing. When you have something like home assistant controlling it all, it's quite easy to set up situations like 'when the outside temp is less than 15(f)', turn the heat-pump off, and use the oil furnace instead, etc. It seems the commercial control boards that do things of this nature cost a heck of a lot more, and effectively do very similar things. It's a good time to start really considering a more local-based solution if you have the time to get the initial configurations all sorted!
kevincox 2y ago
"lose support" Is such euphemistic phrasing. Firstly "lose" is passive. Google is ending support. But most importantly "support" sounds like they just won't be fixing bugs and security problems. What is really happening is that Google is disabling all online functionality. "Google is shutting down all online functionality for 1st and 2nd gen Nest thermostats in Oct 2025" would be a much clearer headline.
- lanna 2y ago
  I would be happy if they worked locally. It is not often that I need to set the temperature remotely, when I am not in the house. But often I am laying in bed at night and don't want to get up and go downstairs to adjust the temperature. Why can't they work on the local network? That would take no resources from Google
  - diggan 2y ago
    > Why can't they work on the local network? That would take no resources from Google I'm guessing since the generations being shut down are explicit, I'm assuming there are more generations that aren't being shut down, so the simple answer is that they want to sell more of those devices, basically force people to upgrade. So indirectly, letting people still use the devices locally, would mean they'll sell less of the newer devices, which probably have better margins, slurp up more data and will eventually be shut down too.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
    - ForOldHack 2y ago
      Ahh. Marketing and profit. Bless you Mr Crotchett.
- rdtsc 2y ago
  > "lose support" Is such euphemistic phrasing. Firstly "lose" is passive. Google is ending support Indeed, had they started to support a product they would never say “15th gen Nest thermostats found support”. You know, they were walking through the woods and stumbled on some Google support. Isn’t that a nice coincidence.
firesteelrain 2y ago
Few years ago I had a Nest thermostat and Google did an update. It bricked my thermostat. I had to go buy a newer model from Home Depot that was unplanned. I called their help desk and they said no way that the device was bricked but I was able to prove that an update was pushed out that likely was the culprit. Then, years later there was the push to move people to the Google Home app from the Nest app. I still have both. But Nest was better before Google bought them. I had better customer service when I called them for help wiring my thermostat.
drooopy 2y ago
Hmm, I think I'll stick with my traditional, non-smart thermostat. It's been... supporting my house for the nearly 40 years now without any issue.
maxglute 2y ago
~14 years, which feels like a long time, but really no time at all in terms of equipment.
- ForOldHack 2y ago
  Ages for a "Smart watch" not even significant in terms of a rock hammer
fidotron 2y ago
Nest have done a really good job of poisoning the well of consumer IoT. If a well funded startup acquired by a tech giant isn't going to do this properly then what chance does anyone else have? Absolutely disgraceful. Fundamentally the idea end point devices should be connected to the Internet is wrong, and this means the idea the manufacturer should run any associated cloud service or be responsible for "security updates" is also wrong. The only long term solution to this is that "smart devices" not be given direct access to the Internet, where the security problems are, and live instead in their own strictly segregated networks controlled by something conceptually like Home Assistant but where it also acts as a broker between all local devices, with a whitelist only policy for networking access. Until that becomes the default mode for deploying these things the consumer IoT space will continue to fail to meet expectations.
- hx8 2y ago
  This model fundamentally makes it harder for devices to upload data to the cloud, which is the primary business model.
- xpickles 2y ago
  The newer Google Nest thermostats support Matter, which can maintain a local connection even if online support is dropped for those in the future.
loginatnine 2y ago
This week, Hydro-Québec, the nationalized company that provide electricity to residents of the province, has announced a major investment program to reduce electricity usage by using smart thermostats. I'm extremely worried about the life expectancy of those smart thermostats in the long run and whether it's a good use of public funds. I'm also not super thrilled of the amount of functional regular thermostats that will end up in landfills because of that initiative. [1]https://news.hydroquebec.com/en/press-releases/2172/hydro-quebec-deploys-the-most-ambitious-energy-efficiency-pathway-in-its-history/?fromSearch=1 https://news.hydroquebec.com/en/press-releases/2172/hydro-qu...
- fidotron 2y ago
  That doesn't mention the key detail of the Hydro Quebec smart thermostats: they keep remote control of the thermostat. The whole idea is they can turn down your thermostat and sell the electricity to the US instead, or it was. Somehow they also encourage the adoption of electric cars, while also claiming we should save electricity. It's a very confused message.
pandora-health 2y ago
Check out SAT Smart Autotune Thermostat https://github.com/Alexwijn/SAT https://github.com/Alexwijn/SAT Its heating curve is corrected by a PID. Room temperature precision is within 0.1 Celsius. Less gas consumption, lower bills and higher comfort :)
ForOldHack 2y ago
Looks like they will look great in garbage cans. You would think that people would not fall for this, but they do. Wait. Oct? They run Windows 10?
- ForOldHack 2y ago
  Hahahhaha oh that was good.
GeorgeSpelvin 1y ago
So say you buy a car and it serves you well. But one day you get an email from The manufacturer telling you that at a date in the not too distant future the car will stop making left turns - but here is a discount on a new car. Would that even be legal? I don’t think so and I see no reason why this bozostat event would be any different. So what now? Will you be joining the inevitable class action suit that will be coming soon? And don’t you think that Google hasn’t already factored the cost of one into their plans? And what about the cost to Google of lost customers that realize that purchasing anything else from them (including a cellphone) would render you vulnerable to the whims of the marketing guys? I can’t wait to get the email that tells me that the phone can no longer send texts - but here’s a discount on a new one! The idea really blurs the line between buying and leasing, doesn’t it? I’ll leave you with a final comment: don’t do business with people that don’t play fair. And definitely don’t with those that do evil things.
rogue4gay 1y ago
Seems like this is the perfect opportunity to "shame" google into providing access to gen 1 and gen 2 nests for those that want to do their own remote support. I asked chatGPT about this. Here was its bottom line summary. Would anyone else want to participate in a petition to request this of google. Given google is currently facing antitrust issues, now is a good time. Target a Specific Ask: Focus on allowing basic remote control via a local or self-hosted solution, not full open-sourcing. Examples: Release a local API with secure authentication Release a Dockerized server image for basic relay control Extend cloud access via an open licensing model Find Allies: Partner with groups like iFixit, the Repair Association, or the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Reach out to smart home and privacy-focused influencers or YouTubers. Launch the Petition on the Right Platform: Change.org, iPetitions, or Action Network are common options. Consider also running a campaign through Reddit, Twitter/X, or YouTube. Provide Testimonials and Data: Show how many devices are still in use. Document how much e-waste this move could generate. Share personal stories of user frustration

82 points by xattt 2y ago

See https://community.home-assistant.io/t/rooting-to-save-the-nest-thermostat/119290 https://community.home-assistant.io/t/rooting-to-save-the-ne... , particularly the post asking about using the older unofficial APIs with Nest Thermostats on an airgapped network controlled by Home Assistant ( https://community.home-assistant.io/t/rooting-to-save-the-nest-thermostat/119290/10 https://community.home-assistant.io/t/rooting-to-save-the-ne... ): I'm wondering if an approach to saving older Nest thermostats and reducing ewaste might be: - Using the older ‘unofficial API’ (from around 2014) assuming it still works, and integrate it with Home Assistant (see GitHub - gboudreau/nest-api: Unofficial Nest Learning Thermostat API ( https://github.com/gboudreau/nest-api https://github.com/gboudreau/nest-api ) & GitHub - wiredprairie/unofficial_nodejs_nest ( https://github.com/wiredprairie/unofficial_nodejs_nest#readme https://github.com/wiredprairie/unofficial_nodejs_nest#readm... ) ) - Encouraging folks to put older and unsupported Nest devices on a separate wireless network that doesn’t have internet access but access to a Home Assistant server for remote monitoring & control. - Facilitate a way for Home Assistant based HVAC control setups to work with energy company savings programs where appropriate (in areas of the US this is fairly common, but they may only be supporting major brand vendors so far)

bob1029 2y ago
> reducing ewaste The solution is to stop installing advanced touchscreen computer systems where they don't really belong. I've never seen a Honeywell thermostat fail, get hacked, or "lose support". I dont have to worry about what will happen if there is a weird software update or power outage. There are physical switches that configure the current mode of the system. Only the temperature setting is volatile, but it defaults to reasonable settings depending on the current mode (60F for heat, 80F for cool). Because of this simple design, there is no option to install a battery. There's nothing to remember.
- jasonjayr 2y ago
  Or make the device as SIMPLE as possible. The thermostat should be a remote display and a sensor. The real brains should happen on a controller near the heating system, that can be swapped in and out as time goes on.
  - akerl_ 2y ago
    The controller for the HVAC system costs a heck of a lot more than the thermostat.
    - EvanAnderson 2y ago
      The thermostat is the controller is most simple HVAC systems. The evaporator and air handler will have some "brains" re-compressor cycling and potentially fan speed, but the thermostat is calling for heat/cool.
      - quickthrowman 2y ago
        You mean condenser instead of evaporator, the evaporator is inside the furnace and has no controls as it’s just a coil. The outdoor a/c unit contains the condenser and compressor and has the contactor (and controller if it’s an EC motor) for the compressor motor. The contactor control coil is 24v and the contact is closed when a call for cold is received from the thermostat. Newer A/C units have EC motors with variable speed motor controllers and newer furnaces will have an EC motor blower fan and lots of factory control points wired up to a controller, mostly for the burner (and related gas/burner safeties). Still, even in newer furnaces and a/c units, the thermostat is the main controller as like you said, the calls for heat/cool are the only input to the system. Commercial HVAC controls for air handlers, boilers, and chillers have a lot more control points, an AHU can have 40 or more control inputs and outputs tied to it. Discharge and return air temp, multiple differential pressure sensors, static pressure, outdoor air temp, outdoor air pressure, duct avg temp, etc. These systems are much more complex than any home HVAC setup and usually have multiple controllers networked back to a master controller which orchestrates everything.

metalman 2y ago

Hey! Reach out if you are looking for a mecury/bi metalic tilt switch thermostat, door knob, or m3chan8cal light switch, if you get locked out of your cold ,dark, house.

whatever1 2y ago

Why do they keep releasing these products if they don’t plan to support the users? Users are left frustrated, they are producing ewaste and ultimately hurting the Google brand. Nothing will compare to ads in terms of margins. It makes no sense for Google to work on anything else, because eventually some VP will see compare the margins across business lines, and the decision is obvious. Chop everything that does not sell ads.

akerl_ 2y ago
The 1st and 2nd gen Nest thermostats weren't released by Google, they were released by Nest prior to the acquisition. And they've been supported for over a decade. Their replacement (the 3rd gen nest) came out in 2015.
- EvanAnderson 2y ago
  Thermostats have an operational lifetime far more than a decade.
  - akerl_ 2y ago
    If what you want is a basic thermostat, there are any number of models you can buy. They're physical objects without network connectivity and they last basically forever. But if you buy a Nest, you're buying a network-connected device. A decade replacement cycle for network-connected computing devices is not crazy.
    - mschuster91 2y ago
      > But if you buy a Nest, you're buying a network-connected device. A decade replacement cycle for network-connected computing devices is not crazy. It should be, though. Okay, I get spare parts not being available after 10 years, particularly the "smart" chips simply don't get produced any more. But firmware and API support? How fucking hard can it be for a company raking in 90 fucking billion dollars in a single quarter of a year to keep a dozen people on payroll to keep the old servers, APIs and build tooling for the firmware up to date?! [1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-stock-rises-after-it-beats-on-earnings-raises-dividend-and-authorizes-70-billion-in-buybacks-192027323.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-stock-rises-after-it-b...

iambateman 2y ago

My kingdom for a thermostat that doesn’t expire after a decade.

whalesalad 2y ago
I’ve heard great things about Ecobee and they can be controlled locally via home assistant.
- brewtide 2y ago
  In a similar vein, my 'smart' thermostat solution for my oil furnace has been to splice in a relay board that's connected to an esp32 running esphome through home assistant. On that board, and many others around the house, I have many 'virtual thermometers running again off esp32's using dht11's and esphome. This configuration has allowed me to control the single-zone furnace using any or a combination of 'virtual' thermometers to turn the relay board on/off depending on conditions. I left the real old honeywell thermostat on the wall as a fail-safe situation in case the system comes crashing down, to prevent the house from freezing up in the winter -- Just set at a low minimum. The downside of this is I either have to directly adjust the temp via phone interface / tablet interface / or google-assistant interface, but when that is done, it is all done locally. Simply toggling a simple relay board that just connects the 2-wire thermostat feed like a typical thermostat does. It has worked great! In addition, one of the heat pump units (MrCool!) in the house was able to use a cloud-free dongle to bring it's controls into local-only control as well via home assistant, as well. This can also be controlled via phone / tablet / google home interface (I subscribe, I feel home assistant is worth supporting). All of the local only devices are able to be accessed from afar using tailscale into the local network, with subnet routing. When you have something like home assistant controlling it all, it's quite easy to set up situations like 'when the outside temp is less than 15(f)', turn the heat-pump off, and use the oil furnace instead, etc. It seems the commercial control boards that do things of this nature cost a heck of a lot more, and effectively do very similar things. It's a good time to start really considering a more local-based solution if you have the time to get the initial configurations all sorted!

kevincox 2y ago

"lose support" Is such euphemistic phrasing. Firstly "lose" is passive. Google is ending support. But most importantly "support" sounds like they just won't be fixing bugs and security problems. What is really happening is that Google is disabling all online functionality. "Google is shutting down all online functionality for 1st and 2nd gen Nest thermostats in Oct 2025" would be a much clearer headline.

lanna 2y ago
I would be happy if they worked locally. It is not often that I need to set the temperature remotely, when I am not in the house. But often I am laying in bed at night and don't want to get up and go downstairs to adjust the temperature. Why can't they work on the local network? That would take no resources from Google
- diggan 2y ago
  > Why can't they work on the local network? That would take no resources from Google I'm guessing since the generations being shut down are explicit, I'm assuming there are more generations that aren't being shut down, so the simple answer is that they want to sell more of those devices, basically force people to upgrade. So indirectly, letting people still use the devices locally, would mean they'll sell less of the newer devices, which probably have better margins, slurp up more data and will eventually be shut down too.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - ForOldHack 2y ago
    Ahh. Marketing and profit. Bless you Mr Crotchett.
rdtsc 2y ago
> "lose support" Is such euphemistic phrasing. Firstly "lose" is passive. Google is ending support Indeed, had they started to support a product they would never say “15th gen Nest thermostats found support”. You know, they were walking through the woods and stumbled on some Google support. Isn’t that a nice coincidence.

firesteelrain 2y ago

Few years ago I had a Nest thermostat and Google did an update. It bricked my thermostat. I had to go buy a newer model from Home Depot that was unplanned. I called their help desk and they said no way that the device was bricked but I was able to prove that an update was pushed out that likely was the culprit. Then, years later there was the push to move people to the Google Home app from the Nest app. I still have both. But Nest was better before Google bought them. I had better customer service when I called them for help wiring my thermostat.

drooopy 2y ago

Hmm, I think I'll stick with my traditional, non-smart thermostat. It's been... supporting my house for the nearly 40 years now without any issue.

maxglute 2y ago

~14 years, which feels like a long time, but really no time at all in terms of equipment.

ForOldHack 2y ago
Ages for a "Smart watch" not even significant in terms of a rock hammer

fidotron 2y ago

Nest have done a really good job of poisoning the well of consumer IoT. If a well funded startup acquired by a tech giant isn't going to do this properly then what chance does anyone else have? Absolutely disgraceful. Fundamentally the idea end point devices should be connected to the Internet is wrong, and this means the idea the manufacturer should run any associated cloud service or be responsible for "security updates" is also wrong. The only long term solution to this is that "smart devices" not be given direct access to the Internet, where the security problems are, and live instead in their own strictly segregated networks controlled by something conceptually like Home Assistant but where it also acts as a broker between all local devices, with a whitelist only policy for networking access. Until that becomes the default mode for deploying these things the consumer IoT space will continue to fail to meet expectations.

hx8 2y ago
This model fundamentally makes it harder for devices to upload data to the cloud, which is the primary business model.
xpickles 2y ago
The newer Google Nest thermostats support Matter, which can maintain a local connection even if online support is dropped for those in the future.

loginatnine 2y ago

This week, Hydro-Québec, the nationalized company that provide electricity to residents of the province, has announced a major investment program to reduce electricity usage by using smart thermostats. I'm extremely worried about the life expectancy of those smart thermostats in the long run and whether it's a good use of public funds. I'm also not super thrilled of the amount of functional regular thermostats that will end up in landfills because of that initiative. [1]https://news.hydroquebec.com/en/press-releases/2172/hydro-quebec-deploys-the-most-ambitious-energy-efficiency-pathway-in-its-history/?fromSearch=1 https://news.hydroquebec.com/en/press-releases/2172/hydro-qu...

fidotron 2y ago
That doesn't mention the key detail of the Hydro Quebec smart thermostats: they keep remote control of the thermostat. The whole idea is they can turn down your thermostat and sell the electricity to the US instead, or it was. Somehow they also encourage the adoption of electric cars, while also claiming we should save electricity. It's a very confused message.

pandora-health 2y ago

Check out SAT Smart Autotune Thermostat https://github.com/Alexwijn/SAT https://github.com/Alexwijn/SAT Its heating curve is corrected by a PID. Room temperature precision is within 0.1 Celsius. Less gas consumption, lower bills and higher comfort :)

ForOldHack 2y ago

Looks like they will look great in garbage cans. You would think that people would not fall for this, but they do. Wait. Oct? They run Windows 10?

ForOldHack 2y ago
Hahahhaha oh that was good.

GeorgeSpelvin 1y ago

So say you buy a car and it serves you well. But one day you get an email from The manufacturer telling you that at a date in the not too distant future the car will stop making left turns - but here is a discount on a new car. Would that even be legal? I don’t think so and I see no reason why this bozostat event would be any different. So what now? Will you be joining the inevitable class action suit that will be coming soon? And don’t you think that Google hasn’t already factored the cost of one into their plans? And what about the cost to Google of lost customers that realize that purchasing anything else from them (including a cellphone) would render you vulnerable to the whims of the marketing guys? I can’t wait to get the email that tells me that the phone can no longer send texts - but here’s a discount on a new one! The idea really blurs the line between buying and leasing, doesn’t it? I’ll leave you with a final comment: don’t do business with people that don’t play fair. And definitely don’t with those that do evil things.

rogue4gay 1y ago

Seems like this is the perfect opportunity to "shame" google into providing access to gen 1 and gen 2 nests for those that want to do their own remote support. I asked chatGPT about this. Here was its bottom line summary. Would anyone else want to participate in a petition to request this of google. Given google is currently facing antitrust issues, now is a good time. Target a Specific Ask: Focus on allowing basic remote control via a local or self-hosted solution, not full open-sourcing. Examples: Release a local API with secure authentication Release a Dockerized server image for basic relay control Extend cloud access via an open licensing model Find Allies: Partner with groups like iFixit, the Repair Association, or the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Reach out to smart home and privacy-focused influencers or YouTubers. Launch the Petition on the Right Platform: Change.org, iPetitions, or Action Network are common options. Consider also running a campaign through Reddit, Twitter/X, or YouTube. Provide Testimonials and Data: Show how many devices are still in use. Document how much e-waste this move could generate. Share personal stories of user frustration