Nest thermostat automation is scheduling plus presence. The thermostat can learn a schedule, or you can set one, and Home/Away Assist and Eco Temperatures save energy when no one is home. Google's Eco article explains that the thermostat switches to Eco Temperatures when it senses no one is home, and you choose whether it does so when your home is set to Away. Google's Home/Away Assist article explains presence settings and its presence automation article covers when automations do not fire, usually a phone location or account issue.
The checks in more detail
Google's Eco troubleshooting article notes that placing a Nest Stand on a low surface may cause the thermostat to detect pets and stop it going to Eco, and that it should sit between 0.75 and 1 meter above the floor. You can disable learning for the temperature schedule if you prefer a fixed schedule. If automations do not run, check the thermostat is online, members' phones report location, the home is set to Away when you expect and the schedule is not overridden by a manual hold. Time-based automations follow the home's time zone. Keep automations simple and review them each season.
Change one setting at a time and wait a full day before judging it, since a thermostat learns slowly. A schedule that does not match your life may be one the thermostat learned from an odd week, so reset the schedule. Review your schedule at the start of each season. Give a new schedule two weeks before adjusting it, because a thermostat that learns from your changes needs consistent behavior to find a pattern. Write down the temperatures you actually want at wake-up, away, return and bedtime before you touch the schedule, since a thermostat set from a clear plan behaves better than one nudged up and down by whoever is cold.
Do not stack many changes at once: adjust Eco settings, then wait a few days, then adjust the schedule, since a thermostat that learns needs a steady pattern to work from and several simultaneous changes make results hard to read. A Nest Stand placed low can make a pet look like a person and keep the thermostat out of Eco, so if energy use seems high in an empty house, check the stand height and the pets' routes before changing any schedule.
Differential
Likely causes of “Nest thermostats routine, schedule or automation is not running”, and how to tell them apart
- 1
A low stand location
What separates it The thermostat never goes to Eco because its stand is low, and it senses pets or movement
How to confirm Move the thermostat higher, so that it does not sense movement of small pets
- 2
Missing phone location
What separates it The home does not know when you are away because phone location is missing for members
How to confirm Enable location on each member's phone, so the thermostat can work out who is home
- 3
Eco when away off
What separates it There are no Eco temperatures because the Eco when away option is switched off
How to confirm Turn on Eco when away in the settings, so the thermostat saves energy when nobody is home
- 4
A manual hold
What separates it The schedule is ignored because a manual hold is set
How to confirm Cancel the hold, so the thermostat returns to following its schedule
- 5
Shared login
What separates it Home and Away make errors because several people share one login
How to confirm Use separate accounts for each person, so that presence is worked out from each phone
Before you touch a setting
Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence
- The schedule and the settings that are chosen
- Where the thermostat is placed, such as on a stand
- Whether the members' phones report their location
- What the presence state currently shows
Try in this order
0 of 7 completedCheck Eco settings
ReversibleCheck the Eco settings for when you are away, and make sure that they are switched on.
Check presence
ReversibleCheck presence, meaning the members' phones, since Home and Away depend on where they are.
Move the stand higher
ReversibleMove the stand higher, to between about 0.75 and 1 meter, so it sees the room better.
Cancel manual holds
ReversibleCancel any manual holds, so that the thermostat returns to following its schedule again as normal.
Decide on learning
ReversibleDecide whether you want learning or a fixed schedule, and set the thermostat to match.
Review each season
ReversibleReview the settings each season, and adjust the temperatures as the weather changes through the year.
Contact Google
ReversibleContact Google if it still fails, and tell them the schedule and the presence settings.
Model-specific
What is true of this model and not of its siblings
- Devices this page covers
- Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen) and Nest Thermostat (2020). Google writes one help article per fault for its thermostats; the notes name where the rechargeable 4th gen and the battery-backed Nest Thermostat differ.
- Learning
- The thermostat learns a schedule over days.
- Eco
- Switches when it senses no one is home.
- Tools and supplies
- The Google Home app on an up-to-date phone, a small screwdriver for the wire connectors, a phone camera for photographing wiring, a flashlight and a pen and paper to label wires. Turn off the HVAC breaker before touching any wires.
- Repair cost
- Most fixes cost nothing. Figures: a Nest Power Connector is $24.99, and a professional C-wire installation runs about $160 to $380 (Angi and HomeAdvisor data), often one to two hours of an electrician at $50 to $150 an hour. Check the limited warranty first.
Stop boundary
When this stops being a self-service repair
- !If automations never run, contact Google Nest support
- !If presence is wrong, fix the location settings on the members' phones
- !If comfort suffers, adjust the safety temperatures so the home stays comfortable
Evidence ledger
Sources behind this answer
Eco temperatures.
Home and Away.
Presence problems.
Schedule learning.
The company and its products.
Exact questions
Common questions
What is Eco Temperature?+
Eco Temperature is an energy saving temperature that the thermostat uses when nobody is home.
Why doesn't it go to Eco?+
It may not go to Eco because of pets, or because a low stand sees too much movement.
How high should the stand be?+
The stand should be about 0.75 to 1 meter high, so the thermostat has a good view.
Can I stop learning?+
Yes, you can stop learning, and set a fixed schedule of your own.
What is Home/Away Assist?+
Home and Away Assist controls the thermostat based on whether people are at home.
Can a manual hold override?+
Yes, a manual hold can override the schedule, until you cancel the hold.