How to open a door or window without sounding the alarm

On April 8, 2024, Nest will no longer support Nest Secure. It will not be accessible in the Nest app and will no longer connect to the internet. You will not be able to use the Nest app to check the status of your Nest Secure, control your Nest Secure devices, or receive notifications from your alarm system. 

For more information, go to this Community Forum post.

Quiet Open lets you open a single door or window one time without making a sound on your alarm system. For example, if you leave for work before your family wakes up, Quiet Open lets you slip out the door without disturbing others while keeping your alarm system armed.

There are two ways you can use Quiet Open:

• When Nest Secure is set to Home and Guarding , Quiet Open gives you a quick way to open a door or window without needing to disarm the rest of your system or triggering an alarm.
• When Nest Secure is set to Off , Quiet Open lets you silently open a single door or window if you turned on open tones in the Nest app.

  How to use Quiet Open Make sure your system is set to Home and Guarding   or Off . Then, press the button on the Google Nest Detect installed on the door or window you want to open. Detect’s light ring will glow green. You’ll have 10 seconds to open the door or window. Note: When you press Detect’s button, if the light pulses yellow first, or doesn’t glow green at all, something in your system needs attention. Check the Nest app to learn what’s going on.

Tips for using Quiet Open

• Quiet Open is only available when your system is set to Home and Guarding  or Off 

• When Nest Secure is set to Home and Guarding :

  • You can keep the door or window open as long as you like. When you’re ready, just close it again. If the rest of your system is armed, Detect will automatically re-arm itself.

  • If you don’t open the door or window within 10 seconds after pressing the button, Detect will stop glowing green and it will re-arm itself.

  • Be careful not to close the door behind you if you go outside. Detect will arm itself as soon as the door closes.

  • Everything else will stay armed. So if somebody happens to try to break in the back door while you’re using Quiet Open for the bedroom window, the alarm will still sound.

• When Nest Secure is set to Off :

  • If you don’t open the door or window within 10 seconds after pressing the button, Detect will stop glowing green and you’ll need to press the button again if you want to use Quiet Open.

• If your system is set to Away and Guarding , pressing Detect’s button will cause the alarm to sound.

• If Quiet Open doesn’t seem to be working, you might need to turn on the feature in the Nest app.

How to turn Quiet open off or on

By default, Quiet Open is turned on for all your Nest Detects. If you want to disable Quiet Open, or if you want to turn it back on again, here’s how: On the Nest app home screen, select Security . Select Settings . Select Security levels, then tap the icon for  Home and Guarding . Tap Quiet Open. Toggle the button to switch Quiet Open on or off. Note: Changing this setting will enable or disable Quiet Open for all the Detects installed on doors or windows in your home.