How Nest Secure keeps working if the power goes out

Google Nest Guard comes with a backup battery that will keep it powered on for at least 12 hours in case it gets unplugged or your home’s power is out. Google Nest Secure will still be able to look after your home and sound the alarm if needed, and you’ll still have access to key security features such as arming and disarming, but some features will be disabled.

Nest Secure will let you know about power issues so you’ll know what’s happening even if you’re not at home. However, some notifications will depend on a cellular backup subscription.

Notifications you’ll get when Secure is on backup power

If you don’t have cellular backup

• If your home’s Wi-Fi is down, which can happen when your entire home loses power, you’ll get a push notification that Guard is offline.
  • You won’t receive any more notifications, such as if the alarm is sounding, until Wi-Fi is back up.
• If your home’s Wi-Fi is still working but Guard loses power, for example if the outlet that Guard’s plugged into stops working but the rest of your home has power, you may get multiple notifications.
  • You’ll get a notification that Guard has switched to backup battery power.
  • When Guard’s backup battery power is critically low you’ll get a second notification, and you’ll see the status change in the Nest app.

  • If backup power runs out, you’ll get a notification that Nest Secure is about to shut down. Before it shuts down, Guard will disarm. Its status will also change to Offline in the Nest app.

If you do have cellular backup

• You’ll get a notification that Guard has switched to backup battery power.
• When Guard’s backup battery power is critically low you’ll get a second notification, and you’ll see the status change in the Nest app.
• If backup power runs out, you’ll get a notification that Nest Secure is about to shut down. Before it shuts down, Guard will disarm. Its status will also change to Offline in the Nest app.

Nest Secure features that are available on backup power

When the power goes down, you may or may not be able to use certain Nest Secure features. What’s available depends on whether your Wi-Fi is still working or you have a cellular backup subscription. See the table below for details:

Guard and Detect features
	Wi-Fi	Cellular backup	No Wi-Fi or cellular connection
Sense activity
Sense open/close for windows and doors
Sound a Heads-Up or alarm
Sound a Panic alarm
Arm or disarm with a passcode or Google Nest Tag
Download software updates
Nest app features
Arm and disarm using the app
Get notifications about alarms and other important events
Change Guard settings
Change Google Nest Detect settings
See current status information in Security History
Assign Nest Tags and passcodes
Add new Detects or Tags to your account