On April 8, 2024, Nest will no longer support Nest Secure. It will not be accessible in the Nest app and will no longer connect to the internet. You will not be able to use the Nest app to check the status of your Nest Secure, control your Nest Secure devices, or receive notifications from your alarm system.
For more information, go to this Community Forum post.
With Google Nest Secure, you can change the amount of time you have to disarm your system when you first get home. You can also set different times for Google Nest Guard and each of your Google Nest Detects to customize it for your home. If you change your mind, you can reset these settings.
The countdown times you pick will apply to everybody who uses your Nest Secure system.
You can change your entry and leaving countdown times for Guard and all your detects.
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On the Nest app home screen, select Nest Secure.
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Tap Settings .
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Select Security Levels.
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Select Home and Guarding or Away and Guarding , then select the countdown time you wish to change.
The options you see will depend on the security level you choose:
- For Home and Guarding, you can only change the entry countdown.
- For Away and Guarding, you can change your entry countdown and leaving countdown times.
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Pick the countdown time that works best for you.
Keep in mind, if you choose “No delay” the alarm will sound immediately if your Detect senses motion or a door or window opening.
Advanced settings
How to customize the entry countdown time for Guard and individual detects
How to customize the entry countdown for Nest Secure
You can set a different entry countdown time for Guard and each of your Detects. This may be useful if you want to set a shorter countdown time for a Detect installed on your back door, but set a longer countdown time for a Detect at your front door. That way, you have more time to disarm Secure when you arrive home. Keep in mind, the countdown time starts based on the first activity your system detects.
For example, if you open a door that has a 1 minute countdown time, and then you’re detected by a motion sensor set to a 30 second countdown, your system will still follow the 1 minute countdown time of the door since it was the first activity. However, if you choose “no delay” for Guard or any of your Detects, the alarm will sound immediately regardless of other settings.
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On the Nest app home screen, select Nest Secure.
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Tap Settings .
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Select Security Levels.
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Select the security level you want to customize countdown times for: Home and Guarding or Away and Guarding , then select Entry countdown.
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Tap Advanced.
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Select the Guard or Detect you want to change the entry countdown for.
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For Guard, tap Motion detected and tap the switch to turn motion detection on or off and set a countdown time.
The options you see will be different depending on where you've placed your Detects:
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For Detects on a door, you can set a countdown time for motion detection and a countdown time for open detection.
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Motion detection: Tap Motion detected and tap the switch to turn motion detection on or off and set a countdown time.
Tip: Motion detection should not be set to "No delay" on a door that you regularly intend to enter through.
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Open detection: Tap Door opened and tap the switch to turn open detection on or off and set a countdown time.
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For Detects on a window, you can set a countdown time for open detection only. Detects installed on a window can’t detect motion.
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Open detection: Tap Window opened and tap the switch to turn open detection on or off and set a countdown time.
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For Detects on a wall, you can set a countdown time for motion detection only.
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Motion detection: Tap Motion detected and tap the switch to turn motion detection on or off and set a countdown time.
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Troubleshooting
How to go back to the entry countdown's basic view
If you accidentally switched to the advanced entry countdown settings view or changed your mind and want to set the same entry countdown time for Guard and all your Detects, it’s easy to go back to basics.
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On the Nest app home screen, select Nest Secure.
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Tap Settings .
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Select Security Levels.
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Select the security level you want to rest the advanced entry countdown time for: Home and Guarding or Away and Guarding .
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Tap Return to Home/Away and Guarding Defaults.
Motion detection keeps setting off alarm in Home and Guarding
When your home is set to Home and Guarding , make sure you only turn on motion detection for Detects that are installed in areas that you don’t frequently pass by. Otherwise, you may accidentally trigger the entry countdown and set off the alarm. You can turn off motion detection in Home and Guarding for individual Detects in busy areas of your home.
Note: If you turned on Limited Settings for a UL certified installation, you won’t see as many choices for the countdown timer. Learn more about Limited Settings in the following article.
How to set up Nest Secure to comply with certification standards >