Nest Secure was a rather short-lived product under Google‘s Nest lineup of smart home and security solutions. The alarm system debuted in September 2017 with a hefty price tag of $499. It never picked up traction on the market like other Nest products. Three years later, Google abruptly announced that it is discontinuing the Nest Secure alarm system. The announcement came in October 2020 with the company providing no reason or a substitute product. Google promised to continue supporting existing customers, though. As part of this support, the company offered optional professional monitoring in partnership with Brinks Home. The subscription service added an extra layer of security by having a trained agent “confirm that the alarm isn’t false by calling you or your emergency contacts”. The agent “can also contact the police to respond if needed”. Brinks Home stopped accepting new sign-ups immediately but the service continued for existing subscribers. That’s ending next year. Brinks Home recently sent an email to Nest Secure professional monitoring subscribers notifying them about this impending service withdrawal (via). Until December 31, 2023, the company promises to continue offering the same level of service with critical security updates and software fixes. But it’ll move all annual subscribers to a month-to-month contract so they can plan a switch to an alternative. Ring and SimpliSafe are among the most common alternatives for Nest Secure.
Google doesn’t appear to be making a new alarm system
When Google discontinued Nest Secure in October 2020, the company said it is “committed to providing our existing customers with the same feature support, software fixes, and critical security updates”. Brinks Home has reiterated that in its email to customers. Of course, there’s no mention of new features. The companies are only promising to maintain what users already have. While the hardware is still functional, it’s unfortunate that it will not get better at providing security for your home. Google, meanwhile, doesn’t appear to be making a new alarm system. The company has partnered up with ADT to build “the next generation of smart home security solutions”. But an alarm system doesn’t seem to be coming anytime soon. Maybe things will change in the coming months now that Brinks Home is pulling the plug on professional monitoring for Nest Secure. We will keep you posted.
