Are you staring down an endless aisle of home security options, scratching your head at the SimpliSafe integration with Nest dilemma? You’re not alone. In today’s fast-paced world of smart homes, compatibility is the name of the game. Gone are the days when you were locked into a single system—welcome to the era of seamless integration!
Now, let’s tackle one of the most pressing questions I hear all the time: “Does SimpliSafe work with Nest?” On the surface, SimpliSafe and Nest appear to be direct competitors. But here’s the kicker: In our modern ecosystem of interconnected devices, even competitors find ways to play nice.
Does SimpliSafe work with Nest? SimpliSafe works with the Nest thermostat. However, it may not support some of the other Nest products. That being said, SimpliSafe can be used with Google Assistant, and Nest products also work with Google Assistant, which means that Google Assistant can be used to manage SimpliSafe and Nest products.
So, can you create a super-charged security setup featuring both SimpliSafe and Nest? You bet, and this guide will tell you exactly how.
We’re not just skimming the surface; we’re diving into the technical details, compatibility layers, and even some hacks to get the most out of these systems. This is your one-stop resource, verified by experts in the field and backed by rigorous testing.
Ready to unlock the ultimate home security setup? Let’s get into it!
How Does Nest Work?
Nest started as a hardware company—back in 2010—and is most famous for its thermostats and cameras, although since then, the company has expanded and started offering other smart home security devices and products.
Although currently, Nest still functions as its own independent entity, it should be noted that in 2014, it was successfully acquired by Google.
Those of you who are more informed may recognize these two brands for another reason. Despite the Google Home app still being named that, Google also offered a smart speaker product line known as Google Home, which after merging with Nest, was renamed to—and is currently called—Google Nest.
A few examples leap to mind; Google Home Mini was renamed to Google Nest Mini, and Google Home Hub is now called Google Nest Hub.
The take over by Google came about with certain complications.
Nest products used to have what was known as the “Works with Nest” program. This referred to the possibility of other third party products to access and manage Nest products.
After the acquisition, it was stated that this program would be canceled. This was a cause for a lot of concern within the Nest community.
Since then, the “Works with Nest” has been replaced by “Works with the Google Assistant”, which can be used to control different compatible smart products.
As mentioned earlier, Nest is still operating as a separate company; however, it may not be a stretch to consider the possibility of Google completely overtaking the company and shutting them down somewhere in the future.
Especially knowing that existing Nest users are slowly being prompted to migrate to Google. (And new Nest customers are directly guided to go through Google.)
Alas, even this is not a smooth experience for all users as a lot of people have reached out, saying their accounts didn’t migrate properly. What happens is that once having migrated to Google, the Nest devices will not appear on the app.
This is why it is also worth exploring whether SimpliSafe works with Google Assistant and Google Nest, and if it does, how good is the integration.
How Does SimpliSafe Work?
SimpliSafe is one of the popular and sought after providers of smart home security systems. There is a good reason why SimpliSafe is a good choice; it offers high-quality and reliable security systems at very reasonable prices.
Their prebuilt systems start at as little as $183 for the most basic one and go up to $500 for the most expensive one. However, you can always enjoy the freedom of fully-customizing your own security system according to your needs. Of course, the total cost will vary in this case, depending on how many devices you purchase.
That being said, SimpliSafe definitely does not shy away from offering a full product line of different security devices. You can choose from different sensors, cameras, smart key locks, video doorbells, and so much more.
You can choose from three monitoring services:
- The Standard plan offers basic 24/7 alarm and environmental monitoring with a cellular backup. It costs 50 cents a day.
- The Interactive plan offers the best possible professional monitoring with 24/7 alarm and environmental monitoring. You get a cellular back up connection, video storage, and verification in case of an emergency, private notifications, and so much more. You will also benefit from full integration with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple Watch, and August locks. The Interactive plan costs 83 cents per day.
- And lastly, you can choose not to pay for any professional monitoring plan whatsoever. However, this significantly limits the capabilities of your SimpliSafe security system. In addition to that, SimpliSafe usually applies very decent discounts when the security system is purchased with a monitoring plan.
SimpliSafe security systems are controlled and adjusted through the use of the SimpliSafe app, which is user-friendly and easy to use.
What Smart Devices Does SimpliSafe Work With?
As mentioned earlier, after subscribing to the Interactive monitoring plan, you can make use of the full integration capabilities of the SimpliSafe system.
SimpliSafe systems can be used with Amazon Alexa and Google Home. You can check the status of your security system or arm your system when you are away. For security measures, owners can arm but cannot disarm the security system through Amazon Alexa or Google Home.
Since SimpliSafe does work with Google Home, this should, in theory, mean that it might work with Nest products, too.
The good news is that SimpliSafe does work with the Nest thermostat. The system has been designed to communicate with the Nest thermostat and offers seamless automation.
For example, when you return home and disable the SimpliSafe security system, this will automatically tell the Nest thermostat to adjust accordingly and bring your home temperature according to your liking. And vice versa.
When you leave and arm the security system, this will let the Nest thermostat know that it does not need to work as much anymore since nobody is at home—thus lowering the electricity use while you are away.
Despite the fact that SimpliSafe works with the Nest thermostat, there are a few caveats worth being mentioned here.
Since Google’s acquisition, it has been known that there are some problems with the integration between SimpliSafe and the Nest thermostat, where it may not work on older SimpliSafe base stations.
The integration usually works well with the new base stations; however, you need to go through the Google Assistant in order to connect the Nest thermostat to the SimpliSafe system. (In other words, you will have to give Google Assistant your SimpliSafe account details.)
Since SimpliSafe can be used with Google Assistant and, on the other hand, Nest is now acquired by Google, this brings us quite nicely to the next topic.
Do You Need SimpliSafe to Work With Nest?
So far, we have established a few things.
SimpliSafe works with both the Nest thermostat and with Google Assistant.
At the same time, Nest is owned by Google, and naturally, Nest products work with Google Assistant, as well.
So can we use Google Assistant to manage and control both SimpliSafe and Nest products at the same time?
Google Assistant is a virtual assistant that can be voice-controlled if you have a smartphone, a smart TV, or a Google-Assistant-enabled speaker.
Google Assistant is activated by saying “Hey, Google” or “Ok, Google” and it will perform the tasks given to it. By using your Google Assistant, you can control your smart home devices, search for information online, and more.
The problem is that SimpliSafe works with the Nest thermostat, but there are other Nest products that people can purchase, too, which do not work with SimpliSafe.
So by using the SimpliSafe system alone, you will be limited to managing only the Nest thermostat.
By using the Google Assistant, you will be able to control the majority of Nest products, however, you will be limited in terms of what you can do with your SimpliSafe system.
Depending on what you are looking for, Google Assistant may offer the best of both worlds.
