Sometimes, you may experience an issue with your Nest camera or doorbell’s video feed, such as:
- Video feed has a pink or purple tint
- Overall video quality is bad
- Video feed is blurry
- Lines or stripes cover the video feed
Troubleshoot these issues by following the steps in this article.
Troubleshooting
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Learn how to troubleshoot your device when Night Vision doesn’t turn on.
- Learn how to fix poor Night Vision video quality.
- A black and white picture during daytime typically means that Night Vision is set to Always On. Change the Night Vision setting to Auto.
Glare commonly happens when the sun shines into the camera lens, or when it's reflected off a nearby surface. Try one or more of the following solutions, then check your camera's video stream to confirm if the problem is fixed:
- Change the angle or position of your camera so the sun never shines directly on the lens. For example, angle your camera slightly downward or give it some shade to protect its lens from direct sunlight.
- Move nearby objects that may reflect the sunlight, if possible.
- If your camera is controlled by the Nest app, crop out surfaces or objects that may cause glare through zoom and enhance.
This can happen if your camera gets too hot or too cold, or if there's a problem with Night Vision.
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If Night Vision is set to Auto, manually turn it on and off. Observe the feed to check if the pink or purple tint goes away.
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Ensure the camera is installed in a place that won’t overheat or get direct sunlight.
- Unplug the camera from its power source and reposition it after it’s had sufficient time to cool.
- Place outdoor cameras under eaves or in shady spots.
- Don’t use indoor cameras outside. They're not designed for outdoor use and have an operating temperature range for indoor environments.
If there are spots or smudges on the video feed:
- Remove the sticker on the lens. Nest cameras come with a clear sticker that covers the lens to help protect it during shipping and setup.
- Clean the camera lens with a soft lint-free cloth to remove dust or debris. Learn how to clean your Nest camera.
- If your video feed is still blurry or has spots and smudges after a quick clean, restart the Nest camera or doorbell.
Nest Cam IQ Indoor or Outdoor
You may get stripes that cover the screen.
Restart the camera to help resolve the issue. Unplug the camera from its power source, wait 30 seconds, and plug the camera back in.
Nest Cam (battery), Nest Cam (wired), Nest Doorbell (battery)
You may get dark bands over the images. This happens when the refresh rate of the light source matches the camera's exposure rate.
The camera tries to detect and correct this issue, so you can choose to wait for the issue to resolve. If it doesn’t resolve itself:
- If the light can be dimmed, set the brightness to a different level.
- If possible, test a different brand and power level of light.
- Adjust the camera field of view away from the light source.
If the video shown on your device is low-quality:
- Confirm that the quality and bandwidth settings are correct.
- If the video pauses or buffers due to slow internet, the camera will slightly lower the picture quality. It also automatically adjusts its resolution and compression based on how much bandwidth is available. You can change the quality and bandwidth settings:
- In the Google Home app (for newer versions of camera and doorbell):
- Tap Home
Cameras
- Tap More
- Max setting uses more bandwidth.
- High setting uses a smaller amount of bandwidth
- Tap Home
- In the Nest app:
- On the home screen, select the camera you want to change settings for.
- At the top right, tap Settings
- Tap Low to use the smallest amount of bandwidth.
- Higher settings use more bandwidth.
- In the Google Home app (for newer versions of camera and doorbell):
- If the video pauses or buffers due to slow internet, the camera will slightly lower the picture quality. It also automatically adjusts its resolution and compression based on how much bandwidth is available. You can change the quality and bandwidth settings:
- Make sure to check the stream through a good Wi-Fi connection that has sufficient bandwidth.
- Streaming through 4G or LTE has 720p max resolution.
- Streaming with 3G or lower has 224p max resolution.
Cameras 
Tips:
- When you use a cellular connection to stream, expect a lower resolution. For the highest quality, you should save a clip or check the stream while connected to Wi-Fi.
- Learn how much bandwidth Nest cameras and doorbells use.
- If you stream more than 4 cameras through Spaces view in the Nest app, your video stream won’t be available. For homes with more than 4 cameras, Spaces view provides still images every few seconds and not a continuous video.