The Google Nest Hub Max is about to get an update that paves the way for Matter, the smart home standard that promises to make our smart devices play nicer with each other. Unfortunately, the update will also make life more difficult for Next x Yale Lock and Nest Detect owners, although Google is promising not to leave users in the lurch.
In a post on the Nest community website, Google said that the coming update, which is due in late July, will nix the ability for the Google Nest Hub Max to act as either a bridge or range extender for the Nest x Yale Lock or the Nest Detect window and door sensor, which was part of the now discontinued Nest Secure alarm system.
Neither the Nest x Yale Lock nor the Nest Detect can connect directly to Wi-Fi on their own; instead, they rely on a bridge to connect to the internet. Among the bridges that work with the Nest x Yale Lock and Nest Detect are the Nest Connect range extender, the Nest Guard (an illuminated keypad that, like Nest Detect, was also included in Nest Secure), and–for a little while longer, anyway–the Google Nest Hub Max.
Once the coming Matter update for the Google Nest Hub Max is deployed, the Nest Hub Max won’t be able to connect the Nest x Yale lock or the Nest Detect to the internet anymore, leaving the Nest Connect and Nest Guard as the only bridge options.
Without internet connectivity, neither the Nest x Yale Lock nor the Nest Detect sensors will be able to communicate with the Nest app, and that means no locking or unlocking of doors or being able to see whether your doors or windows are open or shut.
Also, if you were using the Nest Hub Max as a range extender for the Nest x Yale Lock or Nest Detect, the update will deep-six that functionality, too.
That’s the bad news; the good news is that if you’re a Nest x Yale Lock or Nest Detect user who’s using the Google Nest Hub Max as a bridge, Google will contact you in “mid-June” (so, any day now) with details on how to get a free Nest Connect, which can take over bridge and range-extender duties from the Nest Hub Max.
If you have questions about the update or you haven’t heard from Google about your free Nest Connect, you can contact the Google Nest Help team here.
