Google has officially turned these Nest thermostats back into dumb thermostats

A essential thermostat can oversee your home's heating, ventilation, and cooling scheme for decades without requiring replacement. By comparison, astute residence accessories have a finite lifespan. Accessories that depend on power division power volition be in difficulty whenever their batteries degrade. Similarly, gadgets that rely on the haze for internet-connected features have an expiration date that'll arrive whenever those haze servers inevitably close down.

This isn't fair a theory — the first- and second-generation Nest Learning Thermostats were officially dropped by Google final year. Nest Learning Thermostats hook up to your home's electric wiring, so there's no power division to concern about. But key Nest Learning Thermostat features depend on Google services to work. Three thermostat models were cut off from those services for good, and they've transitioned into "dumb" thermostats.

If you own among the affected models, you power be blessed to study that a liberated and open-source application project restores your Nest Learning Thermostat's haze functionality formerly again.

These Nest thermostats misplaced their astute features

Is a decade-plus of assistance adequate for a astute thermostat?

It's uncomplicated to ignore that Nest has been making thermostats for a lengthy period — years before the brand was purchased by Google. The first Nest Learning Thermostat released in 2011, alongside the second-generation example arriving a twelvemonth afterward in 2012. A European type of the second-generation Nest Learning Thermostat came out in 2014. Each of these three Nest Learning Thermostats reached end-of-life position in October 2025.

Google announced the alter in a community post, noting that the three Nest Learning Thermostat models were all supported for complete a decade. That's outstanding assistance for person electronics, but not-so-great for a thermostat you scheme to use until it breaks. Here's what Google had to say concerning the assistance cutoff at the time:

To completely allocate in these advancements and bring you the most cutting-edge features on our latest generation of Nest thermostats, we volition be transitioning distant from supporting three of our oldest devices, all complete a decade old.

The business announced additional that these models would "no longer obtain application updates," which appears sensible enough. It's not realistic to anticipate a business to add new features and bug fixes to aging products forever. But the disappointing part came next. Google stated users wouldn't be capable to authority these thermostats remotely or via Google Assistant (now Gemini) former the cutoff date.

Essentially, any characteristic that relied on haze services or Google Home and Nest connections stopped operating as of Oct. 25, 2025.

They'll activity as dumb thermostats

But you can ignore concerning using app or sound control

Credit: Bryan M. Wolfe / MakeUseOf

Without ongoing application assistance and admission to cloud-based Google Home and Nest features, the dropped Nest Learning Thermostat models barely meet requirements as "smart" thermostats in 2026. Here's the quick catalog of center features these Nest Learning Thermostat versions lost, direct from Google's official assistance document:

• Checking the position of your thermostat in the Nest or Home app
• Remotely controlling the device
• Receiving notifications
• Changing settings from your phone or tablet

Without admission to the Home and Nest apps, additional functionality became unavailable. Connections to third-party assistants and Nest Protect accessories were damaged for good. Features akin Home/Away Assist, multi-device Eco Mode, and emergency close off no longer work. Just concerning everything that made a Nest Learning Thermostat a Nest Learning Thermostat is gone, and the first- and second-generation models now have a gutted characteristic set.

The argent lining — if there is one — is that these Nest Learning Thermostat models weren't entirely bricked. You can motionless authority them manually, including by environment the temperature, changing the cooling mode, or creating a tradition schedule. The features and settings that don't depend on Google Home and Nest servers to run motionless work, albeit lone on the thermostat itself.

Without app assistance and distant control, these Nest Learning Thermostats misplaced their center features basically overnight. Google did provision users alongside advanced notice of the shutdown, and equal offered affected users discount credits for upgrading their thermostats. But whenever the haze integrations vanished, so did many Nest Learning Thermostat features.

Nothing changes for owners of the third-generation Nest Learning Thermostat, Nest Thermostat E, Nest Thermostat, or fourth-generation Nest Learning Thermostat models. At least, for now. Google set the precedent that the internet-connected features for Nest thermostats aren't guaranteed to final forever.

This open-source project revives them

Self-host your Nest Learning Thermostat's haze features

Credit: NoLongerEvil

It's been a twelvemonth since Google officially ended assistance for three Nest Learning Thermostat models. If you've hung onto your outdated Nest thermostats, there is a way to regain the internet-based features they lost. An open-source project called No Longer Evil, developed by Cody Kociemba, brings rear distant authority and dashboard administration features.

It's a neat project made for DIY-ers of all accomplishment levels. If you don't desire to go through the hassle of environment up a self-hosted server, you can use No Longer Evil servers instead. Flash the new firmware onto your thermostat, create a liberated account, and use the web dashboard. Remote control, scheduling, and auto-away features volition be accessible indefinitely via the project.

Or, you can self-host it yourself. There's a No Longer Evil add-on for Home Assistant, and your deprecated Nest Learning Thermostats volition fit correct into your self-hosted astute residence server. Or, you can build your own No Longer Evil server alongside a tradition IP and port. Whichever path you choose, it's nice to cognize that these Nest thermostats aren't guaranteed to end up in a landfill fair yet.