A battery-powered Nest Cam shows its events on a timeline, and when the hours on that timeline do not match your day, three separate things can be responsible: the Home's address, the way the phone displays times, and the camera's own sleep schedule. Take them in that order. The address comes first because Google Home uses the Home's location to pick the time zone for every device in it, so open Home settings, then Home address, and check that the street and city are the ones where the camera hangs;
The checks in more detail
an address left at a previous home, or typed with a wrong state, gives every clip the wrong offset. Next, open your phone's Settings and make sure its own date and time are set automatically, since a phone set by hand will show correct clips at the wrong hour. If both are right and a clip is exactly one hour out, it is a daylight saving change that has not reached the camera yet.
A battery camera spends most of its time asleep and wakes when it sees motion, which makes it slower to pick up a change than a plugged-in model. After you correct the address, trigger the camera by walking past it, then look at the new event time against your watch; old clips keep the time they were recorded with and will not change. If the camera was taken off the Home or had its battery out for days,
it resyncs the time when it reconnects, so give it a few minutes on Wi-Fi. Check also that the camera is not in a schedule that turns it off at hours you expect it to be on, because that looks like missing events at the wrong time. Finally restart it by removing and refitting the battery, which clears a stuck state. If the timeline is still wrong, ask Google support, quoting the Home address and the time difference.
Differential
Likely causes of “Nest Cam (battery) shows the wrong time, state or sensor reading”, and how to tell them apart
- 1
A wrong Home address or time zone
What separates it Events show the wrong hour
How to confirm Correct the Home address in Home settings
- 2
A camera that just reconnected
What separates it The time is out for minutes
How to confirm Wait for it to resync online
- 3
A schedule in the wrong zone
What separates it Home and Away fires at odd times
How to confirm Check the schedule against the correct zone
- 4
A stale status
What separates it The app shows Idle or offline when it is not
How to confirm Refresh the app
- 5
A phone time zone set manually
What separates it Event times look shifted
How to confirm Set the phone to automatic time zone
Before you touch a setting
Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence
- The time shown against the true time
- The Home address saved
- Whether the camera was offline recently
- The phone's time zone setting
Try in this order
0 of 8 completedCheck the Home address
ReversibleIn Google Home, Home settings, Home address.
Check the phone's time zone
ReversibleSet it to automatic.
Let the camera resync
ReversibleKeep it online for a few minutes.
Check schedules
ReversibleReview any Home and Away or quiet hours.
Refresh the app
ReversibleClose and reopen it.
Send feedback
ReversibleFrom the app if the time stays wrong.
Compare a fresh event with your watch
ReversibleWalk past the camera and compare the time on the event with a watch.
Review the history after changing the address
ReversibleEvents recorded before the fix keep the old time stamp, so look at new ones.
Model-specific
What is true of this model and not of its siblings
- The Home's zone
- The camera follows the Home address, not the phone.
- After offline periods
- The camera resyncs when it reconnects.
- Old events
- Past events keep the time stamp they were recorded with.
- Lag versus clock
- A delayed live view is not a clock fault.
Stop boundary
When this stops being a self-service repair
- !If the time stays wrong after the address is fixed, contact Google Nest support
- !Report the issue with feedback in the app
- !Check schedules
Evidence ledger
Sources behind this answer
Exact questions
Common questions
Why does my Nest Cam show the wrong time?+
The Home address or time zone is wrong.
Do events show my phone's time?+
They show the Home's time zone.
How long does it take to resync?+
A few minutes online.
Do schedules depend on the time?+
Yes.
Will correcting the zone change old events?+
No, only new ones.
Why is the live view delayed?+
Network lag.