HomeKit Google Drops Support of DropCams; Considering Logitech Circle View

[cwosigns]

I have a DropCam Pro that has been serving me faithfully for many years. Recently, I lost the ability to enable/disable notification in the Nest App. I submitted a post on the support forums and a few others spoke up who are experiencing similar issues. I was eventually contact from a support team via email.

Our Engineering support responded. They stated that the dropcams are no longer receiving any firmware update and the Nest app is up to date that's why the push notification for the dropcam no longer responds.

So that’s it. Planned obsolescence strikes again. It’s disappointing because otherwise it’s a fine camera, but now does nothing to notify me of activity or my dog barking while I’m away.

I’ve been checking out the Circle View camera on Apple’s website; anyone have firsthand experience with that camera? Would be curious to know your thoughts.

 

[Itinj24]

I have a DropCam Pro that has been serving me faithful many years. Recently, I lost the ability to enable/disable notification in the Nest App. I submitted a post on the support forums and a few others spoke up who are experiencing similar issues. I was eventually contact from a support team via email.

Our Engineering support responded. They stated that the dropcams are no longer receiving any firmware update and the Nest app is up to date that's why the push notification for the dropcam no longer responds.

So that’s it. Planned obsolescence strikes again. It’s disappointing because otherwise it’s a fine camera, but now does nothing to notify me of activity or my dog barking while I’m away.

I’ve been checking out the Circle View camera on Apple’s website; anyone have firsthand experience with that camera? Would be curious to know your thoughts.

Just to clear any confusion, the Circle View is made by Logitech, not Nest as stated in your title.

I have several of the previous version (Logitech Circle 2) for quite some time and they’ve been serving me well so far. They’ve been plagued with Wi-Fi issues in the beginning (a complaint from many people on the forums) but an eero mesh network cleared that up straight away for me. I really appreciate the 180 deg field of view as it provides the most coverage with fewer cameras. They load up very fast when streaming remotely and even faster when on the same Wi-Fi. Their customer support has been superb in my experience. Had a couple of them brick and they sent me new ones without a fuss. When my Circle 2’s take a crap, I plan on upgrading to the Circle View as needed, as the Circle 2 have been long discontinued.

Also, be aware that the Circle View is strictly a HomeKit Secure Video Camera and can only be used via the Apple Home app.

 

[cwosigns]

Update from Google:

We know this is inconvenient and fully understand that changing the technology in your home is hard. To help with this transition and show our appreciation, as a Nest Aware subscriber we’re offering you Nest Cam Indoor (Wired) on us. This wired Nest Cam is part of our next generation of cameras with more helpful features like HDR and built-in intelligence that can differentiate between a person, animal, and vehicle, and send you an alert. We hope you will continue to trust us to help you at home.

 

[floral]

Update from Google:

We know this is inconvenient and fully understand that changing the technology in your home is hard. To help with this transition and show our appreciation, as a Nest Aware subscriber we’re offering you Nest Cam Indoor (Wired) on us. This wired Nest Cam is part of our next generation of cameras with more helpful features like HDR and built-in intelligence that can differentiate between a person, animal, and vehicle, and send you an alert. We hope you will continue to trust us to help you at home.

How generous of them ^-^

 

[cwosigns]

How generous of them ^-^

I honestly wasn’t expecting that. If nothing else, 2023 has destroyed any remaining faith I had in in customer service and people just generally giving a **** about their job.

 

[BeatCrazy]

I have the Logitech Circle View. It is pretty good, and very stable with the latest HomeKit architecture.

Don't be tempted by the older Circle 2. They are more finicky.

 

[sparky672]

I am glad you're getting a free camera. They should send every single Nest Aware user free hardware upgrades until they fix the software side of the Nest ecosystem - so everything works together in the same app. Half the Nest crap only fully works in the Nest app, half only works in the Google Home app, and a subset kinda sorta works with both.

Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on Google... they only just acquired Nest 9 years ago.

 

[cynics]

I've had a Logitech Circle View for over a year now. I have it mounted outside in by my rear slider door. Its been pretty good.

I've had issues with its notifications though. I have a detection perimeter set and it set to people detection notification only. It likes to send me notifications when cars drive down the road 100 yards away (outside the perimeter and clearly not a person).

I actually just turned the notifications back on to see if its "fixed"....