Nest is temporarily ceasing sales of its Protect smoke detectors, citing a potential safety issue related to the device’s motion control features. Nest CEO Tony Fadell made the announcement Thursday via an open letter on the Nest blog.
At Nest, we conduct regular, rigorous tests to ensure that our products are the highest quality. During recent laboratory testing of the Nest Protect smoke alarm, we observed a unique combination of circumstances that caused us to question whether the Nest Wave (a feature that enables you to turn off your alarm with a wave of the hand) could be unintentionally activated. This could delay an alarm going off if there was a real fire.
The company has issued a software update to all existing Nest Protects which disables the Nest Wave feature entirely until a better solution is found. Nest is asking all customers to make sure their Protects are connected to the Internet to receive the update. Customers unable to connect the device to a network can request full refunds.
Mr. Fadell states that there are no reports of customers affected by this issue, and that the cessation of sales is a precautionary measure. Existing Nest Protect customers can check out the company’s FAQ to learn more about the issue and to receive steps on ensuring that each Nest Protect is updated to disable the Nest Wave feature.
Nest Protect was first introduced last October. It is the second major product from Nest, primarily known for its Internet-connected thermostats. Google acquired Nest in January for $3.2 billion, but continues to operate the firm independently.
