Learn about internet bandwidth and speed requirements for Nest cameras

Your camera uploads video to the Nest service in the cloud, using some of your home internet connection’s bandwidth in the process.

When you pick a Quality and bandwidth setting, you’re setting the maximum video quality for your camera. No matter which level you choose, your camera will automatically adjust its resolution and compression according to how much bandwidth is available.

For a general idea of how much bandwidth your camera uses to do this, select your model below:

In general, you’ll only be using download bandwidth when you’re watching video in the Nest app, similar to other movie and television streaming services. 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 took to upload the video to the Nest service. For an estimate, see the table in the “Upload bandwidth” section above.
• If you’re connected to a cellular network, such as 4G or 3G on a phone, 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 particular phone or tablet, your camera will always upload video to the Nest service at the Quality and bandwidth setting you chose above. If you have a Nest Aware subscription, your video history will also be recorded at this higher setting.

Some internet providers limit how much data you can upload and download per month, or they charge an extra fee if you exceed the limit. This is different from the upload and download bandwidth (speed) 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.

• First, the amount of data used by your camera depends on the activity it’s seeing. If there’s a lot of stuff going on – people moving, cars passing by, leaves rustling – your camera will use more data than when everything’s relatively still and quiet.

• Second, it depends on whether you subscribe to Nest Aware.

  • With Nest Aware: Your camera will be uploading video whenever it’s on, so its monthly data consumption could be as high as the examples below.Without Nest Aware: Your camera will only upload video when someone’s watching, so its data consumption will probably be much lower than the examples below. However, if you’re monitoring video 24/7, or if you’re sharing video publicly, it could be as high as the examples below.
• Third, the quality and bandwidth setting you choose will affect how much data your camera uses.

Because these three factors can fluctuate throughout the month, we’ll give you some ballpark figures on the high side so you can estimate how much monthly data you’ll need for each Nest camera in your home. Select your product to see some examples.