Does The Nest Camera Work Without WiFi?

The Google Nest cameras are some of my favorite security cameras for my home. 

Not only are they affordable, but they have many features and options. 

These cameras are intended to work with WiFi, so what happens when your wireless internet dies? It’s not good, but I’ll walk you through it.

Does The Nest Camera Work Without WiFi?

A nest camera does require wifi or an internet connection to work. If your WiFi is dead or inconsistent, then your Google Nest camera won’t function properly. While it may not work, that doesn’t mean that you’re helpless. There are several troubleshooting steps that can help you get your WiFi and these cameras back online.

Google Nest cameras need WiFi to function properly, so you might be worried about what happens if your wireless internet dies. 

I’ll let you know exactly what happens and what you can do to fix this problem.

Nest Cameras and Dead WiFi

Google Nest security cameras are amazing when it comes to capturing footage, saving it to the cloud, and allowing you to view it from your phone or another device. 

Some security cameras have storage systems that will save footage if your WiFi is dead.

Nest unfortunately doesn’t offer this option.

While the Nest camera won’t function if the WiFi is dead, you might be wondering what exactly happens and how you’ll know if the camera isn’t working.

I’ll let you know exactly what happens once these cameras go offline.

Initial Notification

How do you know your Nest camera is offline? The good news is that you won’t be left guessing. 

You will receive a notification on your phone about how the camera is offline. 

Just make sure that your notification settings are active, you may not receive this message if notifications are disabled.

This notification will tell you that the camera is offline due to not having WiFi. 

You will also receive an image showing the very last thing recorded before the camera died. This is good as it allows you to see if anyone was interfering with the camera.

Past Recordings

You might be wondering if you can access the camera and look at past recordings while WiFi is down.

I was surprised to see this, but you are unable to access past recordings if your WiFi is down.

The Nest app will only display an error showing that the WiFi is offline. 

You can’t see anything from the camera, past recordings, saved images or anything else.

Weak or Inconsistent WiFi

What happens if you have weak or inconsistent WiFi? Things are going to be largely the same as your WiFi being offline. 

Nest cameras need consistent WiFi in order to properly work. 

The camera will stop working whenever the WiFi dies or if the signal is too weak.

Not only that, but I found it really annoying because I got numerous notifications whenever the camera died.

Troubleshooting Steps

Nest cameras without WiFi are basically just paperweights. 

They don’t do anything at all until the WiFi is fixed. 

The problem is usually with the router itself, but it can also be the camera or something else.

I’m going to walk you through the troubleshooting steps so that you can fix this problem. 

It shouldn’t take long to get your WiFi working again if you follow all these steps.

Restart the Modem or Router

The very first thing you should do is restart the modem or router. 

Push the power button to turn the router off. 

Allow it to stay off for about two minutes. Turn it back on and wait for the router to start up.

This usually takes a minute or two.

Try using the Nest app to see if the camera is working again. 

You can also load any browser on a connected device and navigate to a random website. 

If the WiFi is working, then the website will load.

Another benefit of restarting your router is that it will also restart any WiFi extenders you have in your home.

Restart the Nest Camera

Much like restarting your router, this can be helpful if the connection isn’t working properly. Start by unplugging the Nest camera’s power cable. 

Wait for at least 10 seconds before plugging it back in.

The camera might need a minute or so, but you should see a green light on the camera. This signifies that the camera is back on. 

Try the connection again with your phone to see if the camera is receiving the WiFi signal.

Router Settings

Sometimes your WiFi is functioning properly, but the router settings themselves are preventing the connection. 

If this is the case, then the camera won’t work from the beginning or it will stop working when you change the settings.

The settings you’ll want to check are the firewall, parental controls and active devices.

Every router is slightly different, but you can usually access these settings right from the Start menu. 

Start by typing in “firewall” or “parental controls.” The correct function should appear.

Check the settings and see if any of them are preventing the connection from working.

It’s rare for this problem to occur randomly. 

If you recently changed any settings, then you may want to change them back.

Perform a Speed Test

A speed test checks your home’s internet connection and rates the download and upload speeds. 

The benefit of this is that it shows you how well your network is functioning.

If the WiFi speed is significantly lower than it normally is, then this can occur for several reasons.

It could be that too many devices are connected to your wireless network, that the router isn’t working properly or that the network is congested for some other reason.

You can then go through and find out exactly what is causing the speed to drop. 

Look online for a speed testing program. 

There are also many apps that do this.

Call the Internet Provider

Sometimes your WiFi isn’t working for reasons that are beyond your control. 

In this case, it would be a good idea to call your internet provider to see if they can fix the problem.

I’ve had many times where the provider is able to fix the problem from their end. If not, then they can often tell you why the problem is occurring. 

Maybe a tower is out and they are working on it.

I usually save this for the last step because everything else just takes a few minutes. 

Most internet providers are very busy and you might need to wait for a representative to become available.