Google Nest cameras and doorbells upload video to the cloud, which requires a portion of your internet bandwidth.
You can change your camera settings to use less bandwidth which can help if your connection isn’t fast enough. This can also help you stay under your monthly data cap if your internet service plan has one. If you have a battery-powered camera or doorbell, this can also help it save battery.
Important: Check with your internet service provider to learn about your plan’s upload and download speeds, and whether they meet the requirements below.
When your camera uses bandwidth to stream video
- Your camera uses your home internet bandwidth to stream live video to the Nest service in the cloud.
- If your camera records video with 24/7 video history or event video history, it streams live video and uses bandwidth whenever it is turned on.
- If it doesn’t have 24/7 or event video history, your camera only uploads video to the Nest service when someone’s watching live video. It also uses a small amount of bandwidth to upload snapshots of recent activity and send notifications.
Upload bandwidth used by cameras and doorbells
When you pick video quality and bandwidth settings, you set the maximum video quality for your camera. Your camera will automatically adjust video resolution and compression according to how much bandwidth is available.
Select your camera or doorbell below to get a general idea of how much bandwidth it might use.
Nest Cam (battery)
|
Video quality setting |
High video |
Max video |
|
Maximum upload bandwidth |
700 Kbps (0.7 Mbps) During recorded events: 2000 Kbps (2.0 Mbps) |
1000 Kbps (1.0 Mbps) During recorded events: about 3000 Kbps (3.0 Mbps) |
|
Typical resolution1 up to |
1920 x 1080 |
1920 x 1080 |
1 Your camera automatically adjusts video resolution based on available bandwidth and other factors.
Nest Cam IQ Indoor, Nest Cam IQ Outdoor
|
Quality and bandwidth |
Low |
Medium low |
Medium high |
High |
|
Maximum upload |
800 Kbps |
1320 Kbps |
2000 Kbps |
4000 Kbps |
|
Typical resolution¹ up to |
720p |
1080p |
1080p |
1080p |
¹ Your camera will automatically adjust video resolution based on available bandwidth and other factors.
Nest Cam Indoor, Nest Cam Outdoor, and Dropcam
|
Quality and bandwidth |
Low |
Medium |
High² |
|
Maximum upload |
150 Kbps |
500 Kbps |
1200 Kbps |
|
Typical resolution¹ up to |
360p |
720p |
1080p |
¹ Your camera will automatically adjust video resolution based on available bandwidth and other factors.
² Not available for original Dropcam or Dropcam HD.
Nest doorbell (battery)
|
Video quality setting |
High Video |
Max Video |
|
Maximum upload bandwidth |
700 Kbps (0.7 Mbps) During events: 2000 Kbps (2.0 Mbps) |
1000 Kbps (1.0 Mbps) During events: about 3000 Kbps (3.0 Mbps) |
|
Typical resolution1 up to |
960 x 1280 |
960 x 1280 |
Nest doorbell (wired)
|
Quality and bandwidth |
Low |
Medium |
High |
|
Maximum upload bandwidth |
125 Kbps |
800 Kbps |
1300 Kbps |
|
Typical resolution¹ up to |
512 x 384 |
1152 x 864 |
1600 x 1200 |
¹ Your camera will automatically adjust video bitrate based on available bandwidth where possible.
Reduce the amount of bandwidth your camera uses
Download bandwidth used by Nest cameras
In general, you only use download bandwidth when you watch video in the app over Wi-Fi. This typically requires the same amount of bandwidth it takes to upload the video.
If you’re connected to a cellular network, the app compensates for the slower connection if you lower the quality of the video stream. This helps reduce disconnections, pauses, and stuttering.
Your camera also uses a small amount of bandwidth to download software updates and other information from the Nest service.
Note: Regardless of the connection on your phone, your camera will upload video to the Nest service based on your camera’s connection to the internet and the quality and bandwidth you set for your camera.
Total monthly data used by Nest cameras
Some internet providers limit how much data you can use 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 for details about your data plan, including any monthly data limitations.
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.
How Nest cameras detect sound and motion
When your camera streams live video
Some Nest cameras stream video and use bandwidth whenever it’s turned on.
However, newer Nest cameras and doorbells like the Nest Cam (wired), Nest Cam (battery), or Nest Doorbell (battery) only stream video when someone’s watching the live stream or when your camera is recording detected events, so its data consumption will probably be lower than the examples below.
The quality and bandwidth setting you choose
The higher the setting, the more data your camera uses.
Change your camera’s video quality
Because these three factors can vary, here are some possible usage numbers on the high side to help you estimate how much monthly data you’ll need for each Nest camera in your home.
Nest Cam (battery)
|
Video quality setting |
High Video |
Max Video |
|
Typical monthly data usage |
200 GB |
300 GB |
Note: monthly data usage for your doorbell may vary.
Nest Cam IQ Indoor, Nest Cam IQ Outdoor
|
Quality and bandwidth setting |
Low |
Medium low |
Medium high |
High |
|
Typical monthly data usage |
100 GB |
200 GB |
300 GB |
400 GB |
Nest Cam Indoor, Nest Cam Outdoor, and Dropcam
|
Quality and bandwidth setting |
Low |
Medium |
High¹ |
|
Maximum monthly data usage |
30 GB |
120 GB |
300 GB |
Nest doorbell (battery)
|
Quality and bandwidth setting |
Optimized |
Premium |
|
Typical monthly data usage |
200 GB |
300 GB |
Note: monthly data usage for your doorbell may vary.
Nest doorbell (wired)
|
Quality and bandwidth setting |
Low |
Medium |
High |
|
Typical monthly data usage |
50 GB |
150 GB |
300 GB |
Reduce the amount of data your camera uses in a month
If you need your camera to use less data over the course of a month, you can try a couple of things:
- Lower the video quality and bandwidth settings so that your camera won’t use as much data to upload video to the cloud.
- Use Home & Away Routines (Home app) or Home/Away Assist (Nest app) to turn your camera on and off automatically. This is especially useful if your camera has 24/7 video history, so that it doesn’t constantly upload video to the Nest service.
- Some camera and doorbell models can also use camera schedules to turn on and off automatically to help reduce the amount of data used.
Note: It’s not recommended to stream camera video with a mobile hotspot.
Data usage affects other devices in your home
Common activities that can take up a lot of the available bandwidth of your home internet internet connection include:
- Streaming HD movies
- Video chatting
- Online gaming
- File sharing
If you watch camera video and it pauses or stutters, try to turn off other internet-connected devices and check if this frees up some bandwidth.
If you use an app or device that’s competing with your camera for bandwidth, you can schedule your camera to turn off when you’re more likely to use your bandwidth for other things.