Google has formally turned these Nest thermostats again into dumb thermostats


A primary thermostat can handle your house’s heating, air flow, and cooling system for many years with out requiring alternative. By comparability, good house equipment have a finite lifespan. Accessories that depend on battery energy can be in bother when their batteries degrade. Similarly, devices that rely on the cloud for internet-connected features have an expiration date that’ll come when these cloud servers inevitably shut down.

This is not only a concept — the first- and second-generation Nest Learning Thermostats have been formally dropped by Google final yr. Nest Learning Thermostats hook as much as your house’s electrical wiring, so there is not any battery to fret about. But key Nest Learning Thermostat features rely upon Google companies to work. Three thermostat fashions have been minimize off from these companies for good, they usually’ve transitioned into “dumb” thermostats.

If you personal one of many affected fashions, you is likely to be completely happy to study {that a} free and open-source software program challenge restores your Nest Learning Thermostat’s cloud performance as soon as once more.

These Nest thermostats misplaced their good options

Is a decade-plus of assist sufficient for a wise thermostat?

It’s straightforward to overlook that Nest has been making thermostats for a very long time — years earlier than the model was bought by Google. The unique Nest Learning Thermostat launched in 2011, with the second-generation mannequin arriving a yr later in 2012. A European model of the second-generation Nest Learning Thermostat got here out in 2014. Each of those three Nest Learning Thermostats reached end-of-life standing in October 2025.

Google introduced the change in a community post, noting that the three Nest Learning Thermostat fashions have been every supported for over a decade. That’s wonderful assist for client electronics, however not-so-great for a thermostat you intend to make use of till it breaks. Here’s what Google needed to say concerning the assist cutoff on the time:

To absolutely spend money on these developments and convey you probably the most cutting-edge options on our newest era of Nest thermostats, we can be transitioning away from supporting three of our oldest units, every over a decade previous.

The firm introduced additional that these fashions would “not obtain software program updates,” which sounds affordable sufficient. It’s not real looking to anticipate an organization so as to add new options and bug fixes to growing older merchandise eternally. But the disappointing half got here subsequent. Google mentioned customers would not be capable of management these thermostats remotely or via Google Assistant (now Gemini) previous the cutoff date.

Essentially, any characteristic that relied on cloud companies or Google Home and Nest connections stopped working as of Oct. 25, 2025.

They’ll work as dumb thermostats

But you possibly can overlook about utilizing app or voice management

An iPhone on a table showing smart thermastat controls. Credit: Bryan M. Wolfe / MakeUseOf

Without ongoing software program assist and entry to cloud-based Google Home and Nest options, the dropped Nest Learning Thermostat fashions hardly qualify as “good” thermostats in 2026. Here’s the short checklist of core options these Nest Learning Thermostat variations misplaced, straight from Google’s official support document:

  • Checking the standing of your thermostat within the Nest or Home app
  • Remotely controlling the system
  • Receiving notifications
  • Changing settings out of your telephone or pill

Without entry to the Home and Nest apps, extra performance grew to become unavailable. Connections to third-party assistants and Nest Protect equipment have been damaged for good. Features like Home/Away Assist, multi-device Eco Mode, and emergency shut off not work. Just about the whole lot that made a Nest Learning Thermostat a Nest Learning Thermostat is gone, and the first- and second-generation fashions now have a gutted characteristic set.

The silver lining — if there’s one — is that these Nest Learning Thermostat fashions weren’t fully bricked. You can nonetheless management them manually, together with by setting the temperature, altering the cooling mode, or making a customized schedule. The options and settings that do not depend on Google Home and Nest servers to run nonetheless work, albeit solely on the thermostat itself.

Without app assist and distant management, these Nest Learning Thermostats misplaced their core options primarily in a single day. Google did present customers with superior discover of the shutdown, and even provided affected customers low cost credit for upgrading their thermostats. But when the cloud integrations vanished, so did many Nest Learning Thermostat options.

Nothing modifications for homeowners of the third-generation Nest Learning Thermostat, Nest Thermostat E, Nest Thermostat, or fourth-generation Nest Learning Thermostat fashions. At least, for now. Google set the precedent that the internet-connected options for Nest thermostats aren’t assured to final eternally.

This open-source challenge revives them

Self-host your Nest Learning Thermostat’s cloud options

The open-source Nest Learning Thermostat project's website. Credit: NoLongerEvil

It’s been a yr since Google formally ended assist for 3 Nest Learning Thermostat fashions. If you’ve got hung onto your outdated Nest thermostats, there’s a method to regain the internet-based options they misplaced. An open-source challenge known as No Longer Evil, developed by Cody Kociemba, brings again distant management and dashboard administration options.

It’s a neat challenge made for DIY-ers of all ability ranges. If you do not need to undergo the trouble of establishing a self-hosted server, you should use No Longer Evil servers as a substitute. Flash the brand new firmware onto your thermostat, create a free account, and use the online dashboard. Remote management, scheduling, and auto-away options can be obtainable indefinitely through the challenge.

Or, you possibly can self-host it your self. There’s a No Longer Evil add-on for Home Assistant, and your deprecated Nest Learning Thermostats will fit right into your self-hosted smart home server. Or, you possibly can construct your individual No Longer Evil server with a customized IP and port. Whichever route you select, it is good to know that these Nest thermostats aren’t assured to finish up in a landfill simply but.



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