Google pulls the plug on first and second gen Nest Thermostats

[Shawn Knight]

Sounding off: Google has quietly discontinued first- and second-generation Nest Thermostats, relegating what were once internet-connected smart devices to basic, manually operated models. For those who paid a premium for early Nest units, this isn't the outcome they expected when investing in smart home technology years ago.

Google announced the end of support for early Nest Thermostats in a support document earlier this year that largely flew under the radar. As of October 25, first and second generation units released in 2011 and 2012, respectively, will be unpaired and removed from the Google Nest or Google Home app.

Users will no longer be able to control their thermostats remotely via their smartphone, receive notifications, or change settings from a mobile device. End-of-support also disables third-party assistants and other cloud-based features including multi-device Eco mode and Nest Protect connectivity.

To be clear, early adopters can still use their thermostats – they're just losing the remote connectivity that made them appealing to begin with.

Google said owners of affected devices should have received an email notification regarding the end of support and a special offer to purchase a newer model. With the discount, impacted users can purchase a fourth-gen Nest Learning Thermostat for $149.99 – close to half off the normal $279.99 cost.

Some are miffed, and rightfully so. Having to replace costly hardware due to core functionality being stripped out is frustrating, especially when said hardware worked perfectly fine for years on end. On the other hand, one can understand why Google doesn't want to continue to pour resources into an ancient platform just to keep it on life support.

If nothing else, it's yet another reminder of the risks that come with being a modern-day early adopter. As a rule of thumb, you can safely assume that anything connected to the internet will eventually go dark. Game servers, IoT devices, you name it – if the manufacturer has to keep spending money just to keep the lights on, the day will come when it's no longer financially viable to do so.

Image credit: Dan LeFebvre, Getty Images

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Google pulls the plug on first and second gen Nest Thermostats

 

[Squid Surprise]

They got over 10 years of functionality… that’s more than most devices you can buy… and they still work anyways - once you’ve set them remotely, you rarely have to reprogram them anyways.

The “alert” function was almost never useful - I disabled it on mine ages ago.

I have a newer model - but I’m sure it will eventually be discontinued - and I’ll replace it with whatever is best then…

 

[brucek]

On the one hand, these days you're lucky to get 10 years out of a new A/C system anyway (old ones lasted much longer), and if you're just thinking of this as one electronic device for $149, maybe that's not a huge deal.

Bigger picture, if tech wants to be built-in to more parts of a home, then no it is not reasonable for big chunks of home infrastructure to change working state on the supplier's whim. What if this was the entire lighting system for the home? And then all the appliances? Or one day plumbing systems too? Or what if we're talking about something bigger than a home, like an office building?

I think it's not going to take many iterations before builders realize that either this all gets to a stable open platform built for the same lifespan buildings are -- decades -- or they stop putting any of these things in.

 

[Squid Surprise]

On the one hand, these days you're lucky to get 10 years out of a new A/C system anyway (old ones lasted much longer), and if you're just thinking of this as one electronic device for $149, maybe that's not a huge deal.

Bigger picture, if tech wants to be built-in to more parts of a home, then no it is not reasonable for big chunks of home infrastructure to change working state on the supplier's whim. What if this was the entire lighting system for the home? And then all the appliances? Or one day plumbing systems too? Or what if we're talking about something bigger than a home, like an office building?

I think it's not going to take many iterations before builders realize that either this all gets to a stable open platform built for the same lifespan buildings are -- decades -- or they stop putting any of these things in.

It's not the system that needs replacing... it's the CONTROL of the system. The actual furnace/AC will run with ANY thermostat. Swapping out the control isn't that hard - or that expensive.

Most automated systems work this way. My house has a lighting system, thermostat, audio, etc that can be controlled remotely. Eventually those controls will stop working - and I'll have to upgrade / replace them.

Same goes for my roof, the paint on my walls, etc... nothing is "built to last" any more. You're expected to upgrade / replace everything nowadays. Gone are the days when your fridge can last for decades... now 10-15 years is about the max you can expect on any appliance.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

It's not the system that needs replacing... it's the CONTROL of the system. The actual furnace/AC will run with ANY thermostat. Swapping out the control isn't that hard - or that expensive.

Most automated systems work this way. My house has a lighting system, thermostat, audio, etc that can be controlled remotely. Eventually those controls will stop working - and I'll have to upgrade / replace them.

Same goes for my roof, the paint on my walls, etc... nothing is "built to last" any more. You're expected to upgrade / replace everything nowadays. Gone are the days when your fridge can last for decades... now 10-15 years is about the max you can expect on any appliance.

If you dont buy junk, you dont have to keep upgrading.

My old thermostat was 45 years old. Still worked right. I replaced it so I could set schedules, with a new, simple, thermostat that doesnt need any silly cloud to function. My roof comes with a 30 year warranty. Apartment grade appliances have no issue running decades.

 

[Burty117]

We need more systems that integrate with Home Assistant, buy a little Raspberry Pi for £40 to run it from, attached to your router, now everything will work until the end of time.

No need to throw perfectly working hardware away because a company has decided it doesn’t want to run the servers anymore.

I find it interesting how disinterested governments are about unnecessary waste, it’s in everyone’s best interests to not throw away working stuff surely?

 

[Squid Surprise]

If you dont buy junk, you dont have to keep upgrading.

My old thermostat was 45 years old. Still worked right. I replaced it so I could set schedules, with a new, simple, thermostat that doesnt need any silly cloud to function. My roof comes with a 30 year warranty. Apartment grade appliances have no issue running decades.

If you buy a house, most stuff is “free with purchase”. And there are no appliances that last decades being included - even if they’re Subzero or Wolf…
Honestly though, $150-250 every 10-15 years on a new thermostat isn’t that unreasonable…

I’m more p1ssed off when my Bosch Dishwasher craps out after 3 years…

 

[Theinsanegamer]

If you buy a house, most stuff is “free with purchase”. And there are no appliances that last decades being included - even if they’re Subzero or Wolf…
Honestly though, $150-250 every 10-15 years on a new thermostat isn’t that unreasonable…

I’m more p1ssed off when my Bosch Dishwasher craps out after 3 years…

$150??!?!? Bruh I paid $20 for my thermostat and fully expect it to last long into retirement. Replacing such a good every 10 years is ABSOLUTELY unacceptable. It's a thermostat, it shouldnt need routine replacement.

There are absolutely appliances that still last. Stop buying expensive fridges with double screens and fancy drawers, go buy commercial basic models for apartments. They last.....forever and ever. Their basic design is the same since the 90s.

Your consumer behavior has been brainrotted by throw-out culture. Stop purchasing expensive consumer crap. Buy quality products instead for those silly prices.

 

[Squid Surprise]

$150??!?!? Bruh I paid $20 for my thermostat and fully expect it to last long into retirement. Replacing such a good every 10 years is ABSOLUTELY unacceptable. It's a thermostat, it shouldnt need routine replacement.

There are absolutely appliances that still last. Stop buying expensive fridges with double screens and fancy drawers, go buy commercial basic models for apartments. They last.....forever and ever. Their basic design is the same since the 90s.

Your consumer behavior has been brainrotted by throw-out culture. Stop purchasing expensive consumer crap. Buy quality products instead for those silly prices.

I’m all ears - what dishwasher can I get to replace my piece of crap Bosch? Totally serious here, I have no idea where to get “apartment grade” appliances… but I’d love a dishwasher that will last 40 years

 

[hahahanoobs]

Longer support than Radeon 5000 and 6000 series drivers!

 

[Tantor]

Something wrong there. I bought a Bosch BECAUSE it's reliable. Over 7 years and not a single issue.

Before that I had a Kenmore Elite. Utter garbage. We had 6 service calls within the first couple of years. The tech didn't even know what to do. So I checked Consumer Reports and picked the most reliable, a Bosch.

Still, 40 years is not realistic. A friend had a refrigerator for 30 years, until the plastic liner started cracking. The plastics just gave up. She bought a new fridge and was amazed how quiet it was.

 

[OortCloud]

I've said it before Google always nerf their old products. They have murdered all the 'old' Pixel phones with constant crazy updates that make the battery charging no longer work or kill the GPS sensors etc once the phones are a couple of years old. When I say old, latest updates are now killing 8 and 9 series phones. Never buy hardware from Google if you want it to work for more than a couple of years - they are possibly the least trustworthy company in a rogues-gallery of thieves.

The latest Pixel issue (1, 2,3,4,5 and 6 phones already killed with earlier updates):
https://piunikaweb.com/2025/09/30/android-16-qpr1-pixel-battery-complaints/

 

[lonetac]

I've got a nearly 100 year old house, my thermostats still work. Jokes on them.

 

[JaymondoGB]

And before you know, it will be a new unit every 3 years or so, or when ever Google wants its next cash injection. A Thermostat isnt an Iphone.

 

[scavengerspc]

$150??!?!? Bruh I paid $20 for my thermostat and fully expect it to last long into retirement. Replacing such a good every 10 years is ABSOLUTELY unacceptable. It's a thermostat, it shouldnt need routine replacement.

There are absolutely appliances that still last. Stop buying expensive fridges with double screens and fancy drawers, go buy commercial basic models for apartments. They last.....forever and ever. Their basic design is the same since the 90s.

Your consumer behavior has been brainrotted by throw-out culture. Stop purchasing expensive consumer crap. Buy quality products instead for those silly prices.

Man, it's nice to know there are still people out there that will never accept just getting bent over. Brainrotted is a perfect description.

 

[kaosken]

The old Gen 1 and 2 are the most elegant devices, ever. The new Google devices just suck.

 

[AnilD]

There should be a middle point here somewhere... companies shouldn't have to suppport devices they sell forever, but 10-15 years for a smart household item is cutting it a tad short.

How about companies have to say upfront, we will support our smart device for 10 years, or 20 years... Proper software and security support.

After that, you are on your own, but now you know what you're dealing with. Not what middle management at some random point in time decides is good enough.

 

[godrilla]

Cronies love contributing to e waste.

 

[geekie]

This is BS google and you know it. A lot of companies stop supporting products but they still function. Sure the thermostat still works but what about the software that I purchased as part of the package? I still have MS-DOS software, unsupported by anyone but it still works. Keep treating your customers this way and the first chance they get, they'll find another company to fill your shoes

 

[GTvon]

This is precisely why you don't join the Google Home ecosystem.

 

[Lunar Power]

The same with those robot vacs . . . You are left with an electronic brick

 

[Cabuzzi]

I’m all ears - what dishwasher can I get to replace my piece of crap Bosch? Totally serious here, I have no idea where to get “apartment grade” appliances… but I’d love a dishwasher that will last 40 years

Unfortunately, Bosch may be the worst dishwashers on the market. When they first came out, I was like "Man, Bosch makes dishwashers? It must be great". Then I read the reviews and got a Whirlpool instead. Sorry they got you.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Unfortunately, Bosch may be the worst dishwashers on the market. When they first came out, I was like "Man, Bosch makes dishwashers? It must be great". Then I read the reviews and got a Whirlpool instead. Sorry they got you.

Mine came with the house… once it dies, I’m getting something better.

 

[ATXFerret]

Longer support than Radeon 5000 and 6000 series drivers!

They just moved them to legacy support, which only means they won't be adding further features. Except they have now stated that new features and game optimizations will still be released.

 

[acrossthestars]

The iPhone 4S was the most recent iOS device to be released, when the 1st Generation Google Nest was sold. To give a sense of how long ago that was, 802.11n 2.4GHz—Wifi 4―is the most advanced protocol supported by Nest.

My guess is that either the root security certificate is expiring soon (which creates an open security vulnerability in any network Nest is deployed in; most people would not know or care to section it off into its own VLAN, to avoid a breach) or Google figured that nobody is seriously using 2.4GHz-only internet anymore. Since the Nest NIC hardware is probably not upgradeable, it's better to get ahead of the inevitable issues with keeping its legacy internet-facing functionality operational and simply deactivate them, for the vast majority of its user base. We're not talking about a simple laptop or smartphone here, or even a smart TV. This involves functionality literally built into people's domiciles. There are fundamental structural insecurities with this sort of arrangement, if proper hardening measures are not taken.

What Google could do, is release a separate app for its older thermostats―call it "Nest Legacy" or something―that offers IoT functionality to hardware enthusiasts: people who understand the risks inherent in using older hardware that has no vendor support or even security updates, from Google, who intend to use continue using their Nest thermostat "as is". This app would then be updated with subsequent "releases", every time a version of Nest is deprecated. But, maybe that's wishful thinking...