Nest Camera Baby Monitor Review
The Nest camera wasn’t built to be a baby monitor, but using a Nest to keep an eye on your baby isn’t such a bad idea. While it lacks some of the basic options that dedicated baby monitors provide (think lullabies and diaper alerts for example), the Nest Wifi camera does come with a broader connected home package from a brand that is known for its reliability and product excellence.
The Nest camera is cheaper than the Nanit Plus smart camera and the iBaby Care M7, but the Nest will give you more flexibility if you decide to use the camera for something else once your child doesn’t need a baby monitor anymore.
Continue reading our review of the Nest indoor camera to see if it could be right for you.
Our Rating: 8.0/10
Price: $176.99 $199.99
Summary
We Like
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Very sturdy and reliable package at a good price
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Can be repurposed for other things when you don’t need a baby monitor
We Don't Like
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It lacks features that dedicated baby monitors usually offer
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No music lullabies
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No comfort nightlight
Where to Buy It
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Alternatives
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The Nanit Smart Camera if you want the best WiFi video baby monitor with improved video quality and insights to help improve your baby sleep ($199.99 on Amazon).
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The Nanit Plus version if you want a HD high definition version of the Nanit ($224.00 on Amazon).
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The Infant Optics DXR-8 is the best baby video monitor if you don’t need the Wifi connection ($165.99 on Amazon).
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The Angelcare AC517 if you want a more comprehensive package with breathing and movement monitoring and a larger display ($157.96 on Amazon).
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The iBaby Care M7 if you want the next best Wifi baby monitor at a more affordable price with similar features minus the data-driven insights ($168.86 on Amazon).
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Owlet Smart Sock 2 if you want a product that can monitor the baby's pulse along with other vitals ($199.99 on Amazon)
Overview Nest Camera Baby Monitor
Health & Safety
9/10
Audio Quality
8/10
Privacy
9/10
Video Quality
9/10
Range
9/10
Battery
9/10
Features Nest Camera Baby Monitor
Infrared Night Vision
YES
Play Lullabies
NO
Remote Zoom
YES
VOX
YES
Room temperature
NO
Night Lights
NO
Multiple Cameras
YES
Humidity
NO
Video Recording
YES
Two-Way Talk
YES
Remote Pan & Tilt
NO
Our Hands-on Review of the Nest Camera Baby Monitor
Picture this: it’s late at night and your baby is crying. You go to their room to hold and soothe them and realize that you out of diapers. Just whisper “Hey Alexa, order some diapers from Amazon Prime and get delivered first thing tomorrow morning.” to your Nest cam while holding your baby and you’re all set. Baby fell back asleep and you can go back to your room worry-free.
Yes, the Nest camera wasn’t built to be used as a baby monitor, and it lacks some of the most basic functionalities that other monitors can offer (more on that below), but it’s also so much more than just a baby monitor. With Nest, you get a smart camera that can connect with a range of other services, such as Amazon Prime and Google assistant.
It also means that you’ll be able to repurpose the Nest camera once you don’t need it as a baby monitor anymore. Instead of trying to sell your used video monitor on eBay, the Nest camera can become part of your home security system.
And then there is the price. For $80 less than the iBaby Care M7, you get a camera that’s just as good as the best in class with full 1080p HD video.
Using a Nest camera as a baby monitor isn’t for everyone, but if you like tech gadget and already have other IoT devices around your house, it’s a very serious contender for the top stop on our list of best baby monitors. If it’s something simpler and less expensive that you’re looking for, we recommend you check the Infant Optics DXR-8 or the Philips Avent SCD630 instead.
Audio and Video quality
The audio and video quality with the Nest cam is excellent. In fact, it’s on par with the iBaby Care M7. You get a 1080p high definition picture, which is more than any non-Wifi baby video monitor can produce. Assuming that you bought your mobile phone in the past 4 years, the picture will look great on your screen.
You’ll need a decent Wifi connection at home to fully enjoy it, but it wasn’t a problem in our tests. And because it can stream on the Internet, you can access the video feed even if you’re not home. If you’re having dinner outside, you can just check on your baby with your phone to make sure the babysitter managed to put them to bed on time.
The Nest camera offers infrared night vision so you can clearly see your baby even in the dark or low light. Here again, Nest outperforms the competition with a crystal clear picture. The camera will automatically switch to night mode if the light is too dim in your baby’s room.
Another good feature of the Nest cam is the ability to remotely pan, tilt, and zoom the camera as needed via the mobile app. And the zoom is particularly impressive as it goes all the way up to 8x the default image! The Nest camera is a 130° diagonal wide–angle, so the zooming can be useful to see your baby more clearly.
Really, this is the best camera that you can get at the moment.
Two-way communication
The Nest camera has an option to talk to your baby through the camera’s speaker if you want. The two-way talk function can easily be accessed by pressing the microphone button in the Nest mobile app. The sound only goes to the camera that is currently selected, so don’t risk waking up your child in the other room in case you have multiple cameras around the house.
Here again, Nest leaves the competition in the dust in terms of voice quality. In fact, you’ll need to make sure that you’re not speaking too loudly in your phone, as it could startle your baby. Keep in mind that this was built to tell potential burglars that you see them, not to soothe a baby to sleep.
Play white noise, lullabies and music
Nope. Nothing like that with the Nest indoor camera. You need to look at other options on our list of best baby monitors if that’s what you’re after.
Security: Nest Camera Baby Monitor hacking
Because the Nest indoor camera is using your Wifi connection to stream the audio and video, it’s potentially more prone to hacking. Unlike an encrypted radio signal, such as FHSS or DECT, Wifi baby monitors do not require you to be in physical proximity of the camera to see what’s happening.
That means that if a hacker manages to breach your router security, they could tap into your baby monitor. You should read this article on baby monitor hacking to make sure that you understand the risk and learn how to appropriately protect yourself.
That said, the Nest ecosystem is one of the most secure around. We would trust Nest over any other Wifi baby monitor brand.
Nest Camera Health and Safety
Since the Nest camera uses your existing Wifi network to stream its audio and video signals, it reduces the total number of electromagnetic exposure to your baby. Which is a good thing, of course. Baby monitors that use FHSS or DECT signals need to emit their own radio signals on top of your Wifi connection, which might rapidly exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommendation. Read our article on electromagnetic field if you want to understand what it means in terms of health and safety for your baby.
Just make sure to keep the Nest camera at least 6 foot / 1.8 meters away from our baby’s bed to limit the exposure to EMF.
Things to know before using Nest as a baby monitor
We’ll say this one more time: the Nest indoor camera was not built as a baby monitor. It will give you the best picture quality and the most flexibility and integration with other IoT devices around the house, but you need to understand the limitation that Nest can have.
The biggest drawback in our tests is that the Nest mobile app is not meant to be used for an extended period of time. The video stream on your phone can start to be delayed or choppy if you leave it on for more than 30 min. This is because you’re supposed to only look at it when something triggered an alarm in your home. Or if you want to replay something that already happened after the fact.
If you want to keep a constant eye on your baby when they sleep, you should consider a dedicated video baby monitor like the Infant Optics DXR-8 or Angelcare AC517. It comes with lullabies and a voice-activated mode. It also has a separate parent unit so you can watch your little one sleep as long as you want.
Nest Camera Baby Monitor: What's in the box
Wondering what’s in the box? Here’s everything that will be included in the Nest Indoor Camera package:
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1 x Indoor camera unit
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1 x Power Adaptor
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1 x Magnetic camera stand
Nest Camera Baby Monitor Price
Nest Camera Baby Monitor iOS and Android Mobile App
You can download the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor mobile app on the iOS App Store and Android Play Store.
Alternative Options
-
The Nanit Smart Camera if you want the best WiFi video baby monitor with improved video quality and insights to help improve your baby sleep ($199.99 on Amazon).
-
The Nanit Plus version if you want a HD high definition version of the Nanit ($224.00 on Amazon).
-
The Infant Optics DXR-8 is the best baby video monitor if you don’t need the Wifi connection ($165.99 on Amazon).
-
The Angelcare AC517 if you want a more comprehensive package with breathing and movement monitoring and a larger display ($157.96 on Amazon).
-
The iBaby Care M7 if you want the next best Wifi baby monitor at a more affordable price with similar features minus the data-driven insights ($168.86 on Amazon).
-
Owlet Smart Sock 2 if you want a product that can monitor the baby's pulse along with other vitals ($199.99 on Amazon)
Nest Camera Baby Monitor: Most Frequently Asked Questions
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Question: Do I need to keep the app always open on my phone?
Answer: No. You’ll be alerted if the Nest indoor camera picks up movements or sound in your baby’s room.
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Question: Can I talk to my baby through the device?
Answer: Yes. You just need to press the microphone button in the app on your phone to speak through the device in your baby’s room.
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Question: Can I use the Nest Baby Monitor with multiple cameras?
Answer: Yes. You can use as many Nest cameras as you like. Note that you can only see one camera video at a time though.
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Question: Can I pair the Nest Baby Monitor with two phones?
Answer: Yes. You can pair the Nest Indoor Camera with multiple phones or tablets, so you and your partner can both watch over your baby.
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Question: What is the Nest Indoor Camera warranty?
Answer: The Nest camera comes with a standard two years warranty. We recommend you contact Nest if you experience any issue with your model after purchase. You can call them during normal office hours or email their customer support team.
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Question: What is Nest’s customer service number?
Answer: If you’re calling from the US, you can contact Nest by phone: 1‑855‑469‑6378. You can also contact them via their website.
Model reviewed: Nest Camera Baby Monitor
Our rating: 8.0 / 10
Summary: Nest wasn’t built to be used as a baby monitor, but using a Nest camera to keep an eye on your baby isn’t such a bad idea. The Nest camera comes with a broader connected home package and product excellence.
Reviewed by: Emilia Hart
Last updated: February 15, 2019
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