Google ends updates for first-generation Nest thermostats

Google has ended software and security updates for first- and second-generation Nest Learning Thermostats, cutting off support for devices that helped turn the smart thermostat into a mainstream home product. Eligible users in the United States and Canada were offered a discounted upgrade to the fourth-generation model for $149.99 in the U.S. and CA$219.99 in Canada.

The decision lands hard on one of Google’s most visible connected-home products, because Nest’s pitch was simplicity: a thermostat that learned routines, saved energy and took one more household chore off the list. Google has said Nest thermostats have saved users an estimated $14 billion and 200 billion kilowatt-hours of energy since 2011. Google previously cited independent studies showing average savings of 10% to 12% on heating bills and 15% on cooling bills, and said millions of homes worldwide were using the device by 2014.

Nest itself was built on a Silicon Valley origin story. Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers co-founded Nest Labs in May 2010, and the company announced its first product, the Nest Learning Thermostat, in October 2011. Google acquired Nest in January 2014 for $3.2 billion, folding the device into a larger Google Nest strategy that tied home hardware more tightly to the company’s software ecosystem.

That promise, however, has always depended on constant maintenance. Google has continued to update Nest thermostats over the years, including a software release in June 2023 that added Matter support, bug fixes and improvements for Nest Thermostat, Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat models from the third generation or earlier. Ending updates for the first two generations makes the older devices more vulnerable to obsolescence in a category meant to run quietly in the background for years.

The broader Nest story is now split between early optimism and long tail risk. Fadell left Nest in June 2016 amid internal turmoil, poor results and staff departures. Google launched a fourth-generation Nest Learning Thermostat in August 2024, and the latest support cutoff makes clear that even flagship smart-home devices can move from premium appliance to stranded hardware once the software lifecycle runs out.