April 4, 2014: Nest Issues Consumer Safety Notice
Feature on Nest Protect Smoke + CO Alarm Could Cause Alarm Delay
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Nest Labs Inc. has issued a consumer safety notice for its Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector after recent laboratory testing showed the Nest Wave feature, which enables the user to turn off the alarm with “a wave of the hand,” could be “unintentionally activated,” causing a delay in the alarm going off in the event of a real fire.
In a letter to registered Nest Protect owners, Nest CEO Tony Fadell said the company feels “the best and safest thing to do is to immediately disable the Nest Wave feature to resolve the issue and remove any safety concerns,” even though they are “not aware of any customers who have experienced this.” In the meantime, Nest has halted sales of all new Nest Protect alarms “to ensure no one buys an alarm that needs an immediate update.”
Fadell also issued the following instructions to Nest Protect owners in order to resolve the safety issue:
•If you have a Nest Protect connected to a Nest Account via Wi-Fi: Within 24 hours, Nest Wave will be automatically disabled. You don’t need to do anything and even with this feature disabled; our smoke alarm will continue to work very effectively, monitoring for increased levels of smoke and CO in the home. For more information, click here.
•If you have a Nest Protect that is not connected to a Nest Account, or have since taken it offline: It’s very important that you immediately connect your Nest Protect to your Nest Account so we can remotely disable Nest Wave. Here are detailed instructions on how to connect your Nest Protect to the Nest Account quickly and easily. Our Customer Support team can also help you. For more information, click here.
•If you have a Nest Protect that is not connected to a Nest Account and do not have access to Wi-Fi: If you are unable to immediately connect to a Nest Account, please discontinue use of your Nest Protect and we will give you a complete refund. To claim your refund, visit nest.com/contact/refund. For more information, click here.
•If you want to buy a Nest Protect: Nest Wave is on by default in every alarm we sell. To ensure no one buys an alarm that needs an immediate update, we’ve decided to stop all sales while we fix this issue. For updates on availability, please check nest.com.
Fadell said the Nest Wave feature will be enabled again “once we have a solution that ensures Nest Wave works as intended,” which “will only happen after extensive testing and once we have received approval from safety agencies in the U.S., Canada, and U.K.” Fadell said the process will take at least two or three months and apologized for the inconvenience while offering a complete refund to those who do not wish to keep their Nest Protect.
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Information courtesy of Nest Labs Inc., www.nest.com. NEWS Legislation Editor Jen Anesi contributed to this report.
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