Learn about internet bandwidth and speed requirements for Nest cameras

Your camera uploads video to the Nest service in the cloud, using your home internet bandwidth.

When you pick your quality and bandwidth setting, you’re setting the maximum video quality for your camera. Your camera will automatically adjust its resolution and compression according to how much bandwidth is available.

Select your camera model below to get a general idea of how much bandwidth  it might use.

In general, you’ll only use download bandwidth when you’re watching video in the Nest app. Your camera also uses a small amount of bandwidth to download software updates and other information from the Nest service.

• If you’re connected to Wi-Fi, watching video typically requires the same amount of bandwidth it takes to upload the video to the Nest service. See the “Upload bandwidth” section above for examples.
• If you’re connected to a cellular network, the Nest app automatically compensates for the slower connection by lowering the quality of the video it’s streaming from the Nest service in the cloud. This helps reduce disconnects, pauses, and stuttering over a slow connection.

Note: Regardless of the connection on your phone or tablet, your camera will always upload video to the Nest service at the quality and bandwidth you set for your camera.

Some internet providers limit how much data you can use overall per month, or they charge an extra fee if you go over the limit. This is different from the upload and download bandwidth described in the sections above. Check with your internet provider to learn the details of your data plan, including any limitations for total monthly data. 

Your camera’s data usage can vary

The total amount of data used by your camera over a month depends on a few things.

• How much activity your camera sees. If there’s a lot of motion in your camera’s view (people moving, cars passing by, leaves rustling) your camera will use more data than when everything’s relatively still and quiet. 
•  If you subscribe to Nest Aware. Nest Aware subscriptions with either CVR or EBR stream video and use bandwidth whenever your camera is turned on. If you don’t have Nest Aware, your camera will only stream video when someone’s watching, so its data consumption will probably be much lower than the examples for your product below.
• The quality and bandwidth setting you choose will affect how much data your camera uses.

Because these three factors can vary, here are some possible usage numbers on the high side so you can estimate how much monthly data you’ll need for each Nest camera in your home.