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Forum Discussion
iNexxFear
May 24, 2020Apprentice
Nest Thermostat Batteries LOW on a new ORBI AX setup
I have a brand new ORBI AX wifi setup (RBR850 and 2 satellites) that i got configured and updated to the latest firmware (V3.2.15.25) about 10:00 last night with all nodes up to the version with a bi...
- Oct 03, 2021
No.
Only thing I found was that with mine, being so close to the RBR, 5 feet, was having problems with the NEST. I found that when I moved the RBR away from the one NEST controller, 20-25 feet, the NEST controller started working with out draining the battery. Also was said that this is also a NEST controller issue as well that NEST needs to fix it on there side as these controllers ping pong back and forth on there own when there is more than 1 signal source in play, i.e. RBR and 1 or 2 RBS. Its also recommemeded to install the C power wire to your NEST from the main central AC system to help avoid the battery draining. You'll need to consult your systems mfr wiring diagram to find out which connection that is.
FURRYe38
Aug 03, 2021Guru
Ok. Not sure if this is a problem with these 3rd GEN NEST at some closer distances or combination of distance and Orbi AX FW.
Since I moved the RBR850 over to my desk, the NEST has been stable at 3.86volts. I'm going to let it run into the weekend.
I'll send this info to NG.
Please try as far as possible between the RBR/RBS and NEST if you can. 25-30 feet.
Thanks for the feedback.
FURRYe38
Aug 17, 2021Guru
Just FYI, past couple of weeks I have tested my 3rd gen NEST connected to the RBR850 and a SXR30 while located at my desk 25-30 feet away from where the NEST is located. Both routers and distance seem to not impact the NEST battery levels. I do noticed that when I'm fiddling around with wifi signals or bringing RBS online afterwards, the NEST battery level seems to be effected some, however once everything is left alone, the NEST and battery stablizes. As of this past weekend I swapped in my 8 series at my desk for the 30 series router and the NEST has been connected to it and battery is stable. I thought I saw a minor drop yesterday in battery voltage at 3.77v however checking today it's at 3.86v. Have seen no low batteries when at this distance. I did have to do a reset on the NEST and setup from scratch as I had seen low batteries after a day or two and forgot that something caused the NEST to disconnect from the router at my desk and reconenct to the router nearest the NEST thus would cause the low battery to be seen. After I reset the NEST fully to forget all prior SSID profiles, the NEST has remained connected to the router at my desk and seems to work well. NG has also mentioned some duty cycle information regarding NEST activity during the day and controlling the environment. Were looking into this for additional information. Not sure where this duty cycle information is on NEST. Will find out. However just from these simple distance configurations and working between two different Orbi AX systems, just seems that if the RBR is too close to the NEST, some unknown processes are causing the battery to drain. If at 25-30 feet from the NEST, the battery doesn't seem effected. Only seems to be with Orbi AX systems also. :smileyfrustrated: Orbi AC system doesn't see this. :smileywink:
I've also looked into the C wire and luckily we had installed the extra wire cabling for the thermostats so eventually, we will be connecting the NESTs to this wired and should no longer have this problem. http://support-assets.nest.com/images/pro-faq/Nest-Pro-Installer-Guide.pdf
I have one more wifi router system to check before hand.
- philshengOct 03, 2021AspirantI’m still having the same issue. I have disconnected Nest Thermo from router to prevent the battery drain but now cannot control it remotely. No fix from Netgear??
- turbojimmy2Oct 03, 2021Guide
Unfortunately the only real fix is not to use the Nest thermostat with the Orbi. I don't know whether it's a Nest issue or Netgear issue or both but they're not going to fix it. I tried all of the suggestions here only to end in frustration. And I needlessly spent $$ on the Nest power supplies.
I dug out my old WiFi router and set up a separate network connected to the Orbi. Connected the thermostats to this new WifFi network. Problem solved.
- philshengOct 03, 2021AspirantThanks. That’s certainly frustrating. The thermo was working fine with my Orbi setup for a while so I set up my entire property with the Orbi ecosystem. Really disappointed reading all these posts going back over a year and still no resolution.
- philshengOct 03, 2021AspirantSo you were able to connect an old wifi router to the Orbi and no issue with battery drain? So old wifi router connected via Ethernet cable to the back of the Orbi with a different SSID, and connecting thermo to old wifi router?
- FURRYe38Oct 03, 2021Guru
No.
Only thing I found was that with mine, being so close to the RBR, 5 feet, was having problems with the NEST. I found that when I moved the RBR away from the one NEST controller, 20-25 feet, the NEST controller started working with out draining the battery. Also was said that this is also a NEST controller issue as well that NEST needs to fix it on there side as these controllers ping pong back and forth on there own when there is more than 1 signal source in play, i.e. RBR and 1 or 2 RBS. Its also recommemeded to install the C power wire to your NEST from the main central AC system to help avoid the battery draining. You'll need to consult your systems mfr wiring diagram to find out which connection that is.
- Bosjoe65Oct 03, 2021TutorMy solution has worked. It's on the previous page by adding an adapter. If your handy, mine has had no issues since July. It is crazy a whole year and not a simple fix, especially for people who just want plug and play solution without going through all these hoops, to make it work
- turbojimmy2Oct 03, 2021Guide
philsheng wrote:
So you were able to connect an old wifi router to the Orbi and no issue with battery drain? So old wifi router connected via Ethernet cable to the back of the Orbi with a different SSID, and connecting thermo to old wifi router?Correct. That solved the problem for me.
- philshengOct 03, 2021AspirantThanks. Annoying but simple enough solution until Netgear figures it out.