On the covered Google Nest Protect alarm, a red ring: Emergency means emergency. Google says smoke or carbon monoxide has reached emergency levels in the room named. First, get out of the house immediately. Then: Google's instructions: press the center button to silence or reset Protect only after you are safe, call your fire department or 911, move everyone to fresh air, and do not re-enter until emergency services tell you to.
Differential
Likely causes of “Google Nest Protect alarm showing a red ring”, and how to tell them apart
- 1
Smoke has reached emergency level
What separates it A loud siren with a voice naming the room and a red ring
How to confirm Look and smell for smoke or fire, but get out first
- 2
Carbon monoxide has reached emergency level
What separates it The voice says carbon monoxide and the room name
How to confirm Move everyone to fresh air; do not search for the source
- 3
A cooking or steam false alarm that crossed the limit
What separates it Steam or burnt toast near the unit
How to confirm Only after you are safe and emergency services have cleared the home
Before you touch a setting
Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence
- The room the voice named
- Whether it said smoke or carbon monoxide
- Who was in the home and whether anyone felt unwell
- What fuel appliances were running
Try in this order
0 of 6 completedWhat to do first
ReversibleGet out of the house immediately.
Correct only the documented fault domain
ReversibleGoogle's instructions: press the center button to silence or reset Protect only after you are safe, call your fire department or 911, move everyone to fresh air, and do not re-enter until emergency services tell you to.
Get everyone out
ReversibleMove all people and pets to fresh air immediately. Do not stop to look for the cause.
Call the fire department or 911 from outside
ReversibleGive the address and say whether the alarm announced smoke or carbon monoxide.
Silence the alarm only when safe
ReversibleGoogle says to press the center button to silence or reset the Protect only after everyone is safe.
Wait for clearance
ReversibleRe-enter only when emergency services tell you to, and have a technician check fuel appliances if it was carbon monoxide.
Model-specific
What is true of this model and not of its siblings
- Shown as
- Red light ring, siren and a voice message.
- Applies to
- Google Nest Protect smoke and CO alarms.
Stop boundary
When this stops being a self-service repair
- !Leave and call the fire department or 911 from outside
- !Do not re-enter until emergency services say it is safe
Evidence ledger
Sources behind this answer
Exact questions
Common questions
What does a red ring: Emergency mean on a Google Nest Protect alarm?+
Emergency. Google says smoke or carbon monoxide has reached emergency levels in the room named.
How is it different from yellow?+
A yellow ring is a Heads-Up warning that levels are rising. Red is the emergency stage.
Can I hush a red alarm?+
Only press the button after you are safe, and treat the cause as real until emergency services say otherwise.