Battery chemistries are tricky and confusing. Li-ion and Li-Polymer excel in many factors and is an inevitable part of smartphones and electronic gadgets. However, these chemistries also suffer from weird behaviours in varying environmental conditions. Google’s Nest cameras and doorbell devices offer home security at a reasonable price. However, these devices are also powered by Lithium batteries meaning you might already be in trouble if you bought any one of these devices. Google has now officially confirmed that their new Nest Doorbell and Nest Cam won’t charge at temperatures below 0°C.
Related: Chrome OS will soon run on any machine
No reviewer or developer might haven’t thought of this before. Most of us are often concerned about the battery capacity of our devices. But no one would’ve ever thought of this. The recommended charging temperature and operating temperature of devices are often hard to find. And this might be one of those rare moments a company revealed them on a support page.
Rated charging and operating temperature for the Nest Doorbell and Cam
Here are the recommended operating and charging temperatures for the Nest Doorbell and Cam devices from Google.
- Recommended minimum charging temperature: 0°C or 32°F.
- Recommended minimum operating temperature: -20°C or -4°F.
Even if you’ve connected the Nest Doorbell to the regular doorbell wiring, the device might not work below 0°C. The power supply will only charge the battery inside the Doorbell. So the Nest Doorbell will solely be running on battery power instead of the power supply. As the temperature is below 0°C, the power supply can’t charge the battery. This will cause the battery to drain out. It should also be noted that the efficiency of a Lithium battery reduces as the temperature goes below 0°C. This property will speed up the discharge cycle.
Also Read: How to Cast Airtel XStream to TV
On the other hand, the Nest Cam will continue to work even below 0°C. The reason is the power supply can power the camera. However, the battery on the camera won’t charge below 0°C. Google recommends that you take the Nest Doorbell inside to charge. We can’t think of a better solution. Google also confirmed that the issue will be resolved for the upcoming 2nd-gen Nest Doorbell. They might likely make the device utilize the power supply parallel with the battery.