Google is killing older Dropcam and Nest home security products

TL;DR: Google is moving along with its plan to merge the competing Nest and Google Home smart devices. Some of the older Nest and Dropcam products will stop working in a year, while Mountain View is trying once again to convince users to keep spending money every month on its cloud offerings.

The infamous Google Graveyard will soon welcome some new devices the Alphabet company is preparing to kill for good. A message posted on the Google Nest official community is informing users that, thanks to the power of the not-so-infinite cloud, Nest Secure and Dropcam devices will stop working from April 8, 2024 – even if the hardware itself is still functioning.

The hardware is working, but the cloud servers it relies on will no longer be reachable: Google will stop supporting the Nest Secure home security system (keyboard, window and door sensors, motion detectors and keychain sensor) in a year. After April 8, 2024, users will not be able to access the system – and thus, keep using it for their home security – through the official Nest app.

Google hasn’t offered new Nest Secure hardware for a while, as the company is now investing its home security money in the home automation provider (and security company) ADT. Mountain View says ADT provides better solutions for “greater customer peace of mind and choice,” and the company is providing users an exclusive offer to get a Self Setup System from ADT for free (up to $485 value) or $200 to use on the Google Store.

The next “obsolete” technology on the chopping block is the original Dropcam line of cameras, which Google says were “one the first smart cameras on the market” when they launched over 10 years ago. Support for Dropcam cameras will be no more after April 8, 2024 as well, and users won’t be able to check camera status or even see their video history after that date.

For Nest Aware subscribers, Google is offering a new Nest Cam as a replacement to the existing Dropcam line. Nest Cam is the “next generation” of Google’s cameras with features such as “HDR and built-in intelligence,” Mountain View said. Non-Nest Aware subscribers will also get a 50% discount for purchasing a new indoor (and wired) Nest Cam.

Works with Nest, the original Nest-branded smart home ecosystem, will finally shut down on September 29, 2023. The system retirement was long overdue as Google announced its demise in 2019, and the company is now offering a new smart home integration with thermostats, sensors and such through the “Works with Google Home” brand and mobile app. That app will eventually replace the Nest app for good.

Google says that keeping all these old products and services updated became “increasingly challenging,” so the company is essentially forcing users to adapt to the newer products and features capable of delivering “even more help and security” for people’s homes. Mountain View would like users to keep spending their monthly fees on these newer offerings, while the cloud will eventually shut them down in a decade or so.