Google Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen) + Nest Temperature Sensor (2nd gen) - Obsidian

Love the look of this thermostat. It was easy to install but I also had a google nest before this one. The thermostat has all the functions you need and pairing it with your phone helps you track not only the temp in your home, but also how your furnace is functioning.

I had purchased a previous version of the Nest Thermostat (3rd Gen) and had issues with it holding a charge and connecting with Wi-Fi. So I returned the older model and splurged for the latest version in the Gold finish. OMG! I am still blown away at how amazing it looks. The mirror finish is stunning and its very easy to read when the dial turns on. Installation was actually easier than the 3rd Generation model (which was pretty easy) and set up was done in about 10 minutes. It connected to my Wi-Fi immediately and did a quick software update. The remote temperature sensor was added in less than 5 minutes. I travel a LOT for work and having total control of the HVAC system through the Google Home app is easy and I can see both the t-stat and the sensor in the bedroom. You may think that I have been bribed or compensated by Google, but you would be wrong. I simply want everyone to know that this is a very high quality product that looks amazing and WORKS.

Had to replace my Nest Thermostat 3rd gen with this Google Nest Learning Thermostat 4th gen. My cat loved to jump up on wall to knock the 3rd gen off wall so he could play cat hockey with it. This activity finally killed the 3rd gen. The installation was so easy and fast after I removed the 3rd gen. Very nice thermostat.

When one of our 3rd Gen Nest Thermostats stopped working, I decided to replace it with a 4th Generation Nest unit. Oddly, the mounting hardware for the 4th Generation is completely different from the 3rd Generation, which is annoying. The wiring backplate is incompatible, as the 4th Generation has a different electrical connector to the thermostat. One nice thing about the new backplate is that there is a light built into the bubble level which signals voltage on the Rh or Rc wires from the HVAC unit, implying you won't need a dedicated C wire for power. Unfortunately, this is many times not the case for the 4th Generation, lit bubble level or not. When I properly mounted and connected the 4th Generation thermostat, the setup app on my phone reported that there was "no power" on the R wire, even though the bubble level was lit, and I could measure the voltage on a multimeter. There was no way to get around the error message in the app. A call to Google support was completely useless. The support person clearly didn't know why the setup app falsely reported "no power", or whether or not the 4th Generation thermostat required higher voltage on the R wires than the 3rd Generation thermostat for operation without a C wire. An internet search revealed numerous people posting on Reddit and other web sites of the same issue I was having. How could Google support not be aware of this? Depending on your view, the difference between the R wire voltage requirements for the 4th Generation from the 3rd Generation thermostats is either an undocumented design change, or a design flaw. Personally, I consider it a significant design flaw, especially that it is not documented in the setup instructions, and there is no warning of this anywhere in Google's documentation. After spending about two hours removing the 3rd Generation mount, installing the 4th Generation mount, waiting for the callback from Google, and figuring out the root cause myself, I unmounted the 4th Generation Nest, packaged it back up, and returned it. I ordered a new 3rd Generation Nest from Amazon, and it works flawlessly with the HVAC unit. One attraction of the 4th Generation Nest is that the "maintenance band", the temperature variance range at which the AC compressor cycles on and off, is manually programmable, while on the 3rd Generation Nest it is not. There have been complaints that the 3rd Generation Nest's maintenance band is only two degrees F wide, which in some climates and homes cycles the compressor too often, and is blamed for excess wear and premature failure on the compressor. (AC units and heat pumps both use compressors.) So if you have a C wire in your compressor-based system, I recommend trying to use a 4th Generation Nest. Another trick which works with both generations is to use a remote sensor in a different part of the room or another room where the ambient temperature doesn't vary as quickly, to reduce compressor cycling. I use this trick for our 3rd Generation Units, and it also works for 4th Generation thermostats. Note that using a remote sensor this way may require some experimentation to get the desired result, while the feature to manually adjust the maintenance band makes it quicker and simpler. I really like the Google Nest thermostats when they're working the way they're supposed to, but the lack of backward functional capability from the 3rd Generation model to 4th Generation model is inexcusable, since there's no warning about it. And Google support is ineffective in helping less technical buyers. The least Google could do is document the issue properly on their web site.

Beautiful new Nest thermostat. Replaced an older model so that I could get “Matter” functionality (and have the option to control in Apple Home). That part works great. It was easy to swap the old unit out too. Was worried it would also delete or disassociate all my various room sensors, as I rely on those, but that wasn’t the case. Those are all tied to my Google Home account directly, and linked right back up. Wish I could take off half a star because the old Nest app will no longer work with this… Google Home is fine and I’m pretty sure I’ve figured out how to do everything that I used to with the old Nest app, but for anyone who has difficulty with “change”, or who has a bunch of Nest cameras that you also manage with that app, be warned. You will have to switch to the Google Home app to operate this new thermostat, at least initially, before porting it over to Apple Home (if that’s your bag). Even then, full functionality and control will only live within Google Home.

Programming nest generation 4 was extremely difficult and took way to much time and a lot of Utube videos to figure it out. How ever once we worked through that process it is very useful.

I wanted to give this fewer stars as I ran into installation issues, but a search got me what I needed. Recently bought a new house and wanted to upgrade the thermostat to something in this century. My old one had a Y, G, Rc, C, O/B. Because the way the prior thermostat was wired, it appeared I did not have a heat pump. The orange wire was connected to W/O/B on the other thermostat. I tried W to no avail - it would blow only cold air. I then did a search and found I might have a heat pump. Did a factory reset and setup again with this wiring and it worked perfect. This is the nest I was expecting. I wasn't able to use the Nest App that I used with my Gen 3 and had to use Google Home - no big deal actually. Works like a charm and the sensor picks up my bedroom temperature easily.

Amazing device for saving energy and comfort. It was easy to install and looks great in my living room!