Nest Cam (battery) notifications are late, missing or excessive

The checks in more detail

Do not disturb and focus modes silence alerts, so check them. In the app, open the camera's settings, Notifications, and check that the types you want, such as people, packages, animals and vehicles, are on, and that the schedule does not mute them. The Familiar faces and sound alerts features need a subscription, so check which alerts your plan covers. Too many alerts are tuned with activity zones. In the camera's settings, draw zones to cover the areas that matter and leave out a road, a tree that moves or a neighbor's door.

Reduce the sensitivity if wind and shadows trigger events, and choose which kinds of events send an alert. For missing alerts, check that the camera is online, since an offline camera cannot notify, and that the battery is charged; a battery camera in low power conserves its use and may sleep deeper. A camera in a spot with weak Wi-Fi sends late alerts, because the clip uploads slowly. Alerts that arrive but without a picture indicate a slow upload, and improving the signal helps.

If notifications stopped after an update, sign out and in again in the app, or reinstall it. Check that the right account is signed in on the phone, since a family member's phone needs its own access and its own notification setup. For notifications on speakers and displays, enable them in the speaker's settings. Test with a walk in front of the camera and watch the timing. If notifications still fail with a charged, online camera and correct settings, contact Google support with the camera's serial number.