Nest thermostat air conditioner not turning on

If your home is running on the Nest Thermostat you have probably read about the recent issues and may be living in fear of losing your home’s heating abilities in the dead of winter.

We are here to calm your fears!

For more detailed instructions, go to Nest Support page. For a quick overview, keep on reading:

Nest Thermostats that were updated at the end of 2015 or beginning of 2016 to software version 5.1.3 or later have been having some issues, including becoming unresponsive, not effectively charging the battery, or shutting down completely. Nest suggests recharging and restarting your thermostat to rectify the issue and get it up and working again.

Signs of this issue include the following:

• the thermostat not working in the Nest application and disconnected from the Wi-Fi
• the thermostat alerts you that the battery is low and it needs to turn off
• the thermostat’s animated features are slower than usual
• the thermostat shows an alert that says, “Please remove the thermostat from its base, then reattach it;”
• the thermostat’s display is black and unresponsive (you may also see a blinking red or green light above the display)
• the thermostat can’t control the corresponding HVAC system(s)

If your Nest Thermostat is on but you can’t control it or it’s acting sluggish, try manually restarting it by turning the thermostat off and then back on again. If your Nest Thermostat is off and won’t turn on, take the thermostat off the base and charge it using a a USB charger plugged into the wall or a computer.

ATTENTION: Do not try to power on or off your thermostat while it’s still connected to a computer for charging. (They didn’t elaborate why, but if Nest Support says don’t do it, DON’T.)

After around 10 minutes of charging, unhook the Nest Thermostat from the USB cord. If the unit has turned on during this time, turn it off and then turn it back on again, manually restarting the system. Once it has fully restarted, plug it back in to finish charging. After an hour of charging, unhook the Nest Thermostat and reattach it to its base.

If you have attempted both of these processes and the Nest Thermostat is still showing signs of problems, you will need to bring in some backup. Enter us! If Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning installed your Nest Thermostat, please reach out to us at 866-397-3787 or schedule an appointment online.

Additionally, do not let this matter panic you about your Nest’s reliability. By owning and properly operating Nest, your thermostat is really saving money for you daily. When set it up appropriately, Nest intelligently learns your lifestyle, then alters your heating and cooling use to optimize energy savings constantly, which typically results in payback within a year. And, Nest is still one of the only thermostats under $300 on the market that does this. So don’t let one complication get you down. You were smart to invest in a Nest, because a smart thermostat is still one of the top investments in your home that you can make.

Smart technology is all the rage now and for a good reason - it makes our day-to-day lives a lot easier. The same can be said about Google’s amazing gizmo, the Nest Thermostat. 

This device takes advantage of AI to automatically adjust the cooling of your AC based on the temperature of the rooms, instead of waiting for your input. It’s not just super convenient though - it also provides the best energy efficiency which will save you a lot of money on your energy bills.

However, when your Nest Thermostat doesn’t turn on, you might curse technology and regret the day you parted with your old-school version. 

To get you out of this pesky issue, we put together a troubleshooting guide. Follow the steps below and you’ll quickly get to the bottom of why your Nest Thermostat doesn’t turn on.

Before You Start

If you just installed the Nest Thermostat and it’s not powering on, nine times out of ten, the incorrect wiring is the main culprit. 

In case you had your Nest for a while and it suddenly stopped controlling your AC, you have to dig deeper to identify the root of the problem. The first step should be finding out if it’s the thermostat or your AC at fault.

We suggest you uninstall the thermostat and reinstall the old one. If the system works fine with the ancient piece of technology, your Nest is to blame. If it doesn’t work with the old thermostat, you’ll have to call an AC professional to check your system because the air conditioner itself likely has a serious problem.

If you successfully completed this step and confirmed that it is indeed your smart device causing the issue, you can proceed with troubleshooting.

You should try doing this:

1. Check The Thermostat Battery

In the event that your Nest Thermostat doesn’t turn on, you should check if the battery level is low. Generally, this device needs about 3.6 volts from the battery to work properly so if you’re going through any issues, charge the battery,

If that doesn’t rectify the issue, you might need to replace the battery with a fresh one. Batteries don’t last forever so when reaching the end of their lifespan, they fail to provide sufficient power to regulate your AC properly.

2. Clean The Thermostat

Dust and smart devices are not a good match, so if your Nest Thermostat doesn’t turn on, maybe it’s just too dirty. Because of the dust accumulation inside the device, it might require more power to function properly. As a result, the normal amount of power might simply not be sufficient enough to activate your AC.

Try removing the Nest’s faceplate and gently remove any dust with canned air or a soft brush.

3. Check Your Wi-Fi

Since the device requires access to the internet to take control of your AC, a problem with the connection might leave it practically powerless. To check if this is true, take a look at your router. It might simply be too far away for the thermostat, thus causing connection issues. 

The solution is to either move the router closer to the thermostat or to invest in a new router. We recommend getting a stronger antenna.

4. Reboot The Thermostat

We already mentioned how your Nest Thermostat doesn’t turn on if the power is insufficient. This is why the next thing you should try is rebooting the thermostat. Before you do, however, you’ll have to check the current amount of voltage. Here’s how:

1. Click on the settings on the Nest display

2. Navigate to Device Information and go to Power

3. Tap on the Battery Label option and you’ll see the amount of voltage

If you see the voltage is below 3.6 volts, you’ll have to reboot the device. Do this:

1. Press the ring on the thermostat, hold it for 10 seconds, and wait for the screen to go black before releasing the ring

2. Power on the thermostat by pressing the ring and holding it until you see the screen turn on

Next, you’ll have to switch to the cooling mode by following the next few steps:

1. Open the Nest app

2. Tap the Thermostat button

3. Tap on Heat

4. A pop-up list will appear, tap on Cool

5. Choose the desired temperature and exit the app

Finally, you can try switching on the AC with the thermostat:

1. Press the thermostat’s ring

2. Turn the wheel to the thermostat and push on the icon

3. You’ll see a similar list of options as in the app

4. Turn the wheel to Cool

If your Nest Thermostat doesn’t turn on your AC again, you’ll have to keep troubleshooting.

5. Set Your AC to Auto Mode

If your AC is running at all times, it might confuse the smart device and cause it to read the temperature wrong. You can solve this by switching all the systems such as a heater, boiler, and fan to auto.

Once you do that, your AC will power on only when the temperature in the room is different from your desired temperature.

6. Check the Circuit Breaker

In case there was a power surge or anything similar (circuit breakers can be touchy), it might have tripped the thermostat’s circuit breaker. Make sure to check the breakers, turn the relevant one on, and see if it stays on. 

Whenever a circuit breaker trips, you have to click it off before putting it on again. 

If it trips once again, there might be a serious issue with your AC, the breaker, or the Nest Thermostat itself and you’ll have to call a licensed HVAC technician.

What If None of This Worked?

Smart devices can sometimes misbehave, and when that happens, we all usually hurl insults at them and call them ‘’not so smart’’.

Thankfully, the fix is usually simple. Hell, just turning any device on and off again will usually mend any issue you have. If that’s not the case and you tried all the fixes we described to no avail, you’ll have to call a professional.

Here at Aztil AC, we troubleshoot misbehaving AC systems all the time. We’ve fixed every issue that exists - including Nest Thermostat that has chosen not to act ‘’smart’’.

Call us at (888) 729-8452, or send an email to [email protected] and we’ll try our best to restore your AC and your Nest Thermostat into working order.