Nest Cam (battery) video is blurry, dark, frozen or delayed

Video quality problems on a Nest Cam (battery), such as blurry, dark or choppy video, usually come from the connection, the lens or the lighting. A weak Wi-Fi signal reduces the quality the camera can upload, so check the signal at the camera. The lens collects dirt, spiderwebs and water drops outdoors, which blur the picture; wipe it with a soft cloth. At night the camera uses infrared, and a reflective surface close to the lens, such as a wall or a window, washes out the image, so aim it away from reflections. A camera behind glass reflects its own infrared light. Sun in the frame causes glare. In the app, the video quality setting may be set to a lower level to save battery, so check it.

Live view that is choppy points at the network. Check the live view over mobile data as well as Wi-Fi: if the picture is crisp on mobile data and choppy at home, the problem is your home network's upload speed, not the camera. If the camera is clean and the signal good, compare day and night footage, because poor night footage points at infrared reflections while poor day footage points at glare or the lens. The camera also lowers quality on purpose to save battery when it is low on charge or on a weak network, so a camera that looks soft only when its battery is low is behaving as designed and recharging it restores the picture.