See a live view and answer your doorbell from your Alexa device
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
There was a time when different smart home devices didn’t play all that nice together. They tolerated each other but we wouldn’t have called them mates. Some of that has changed with Matter, where devices from different manufacturers do talk to each other better than they used to, but there have also been some improvements within each ecosystem too.
Now don’t get us wrong, if you have a Nest Doorbell, it will still work more seamlessly with the Google Nest Hub, just like Ring Video Doorbells will work better with Echo Show. But, if you have a Nest Doorbell and an Echo Show and you want them to work together, then it is possible.
Below you’ll find a step-by-step guide on connecting your Nest Doorbell and Nest Cams with your Echo Show so you can see a live view of your cameras on your Alexa display, as well as use two-way talk if you have compatible cameras and doorbells. Here’s what you need to do.
What you’ll need
- An Amazon Echo Show
- A Nest Doorbell or Nest Cam
- Your smartphone or tablet
- The Alexa app
- The Google Home app
The short version
- Open the Alexa app.
- Tap on ‘More‘.
- Click on ‘Skills & Games‘.
- Type ‘Google Nest‘ in the search bar at the top.
- Tap on Google Nest.
- Tap on ‘Enable To Use‘.
- Go through the remaining steps as promoted.
Enabling the Google Nest Skill doesn’t just allow you to see your Nest Doorbell or Nest Cam on an Echo Show, Fire Tablet or Fire TV, but Echo speakers also offer some features, like two-way talk, depending on the Nest devices you have. The Echo Show, Fire Tablets and Fire TV will all deliver live video streaming of your Nest Doorbell and Nest Cams, whatever models you have.
You’ll also get motion alerts, two-way talk and doorbell press notifications, if you have compatible Nest Cams and Nest Doorbells. If you have a Nest Cam or Nest Doorbell that launched before 2021, which includes the Nest Cam Indoor, Nest Cam Outdoor, Nest Cam IQ Indoor and Outdoor and Nest Doorbell (wired) – or Nest Hello as it was previously called – you won’t get these features.
You also won’t get Visitor Announcements like you will on Google Assistant speakers, but you will at least be able to see who is at your door and speak to them through your Echo Show and Fire Tablet. The other thing to note is that in order to set up Nest with Alexa, you will need to have migrated to a Google account.
Time needed: 5 minutes
- Find the Google Nest skill
The first thing you need to do to get Nest setup with Alexa is to enable the Google Nest Skill. Open the Alexa app and tap on ‘More’ in the bottom right corner. From here, tap on ‘Skills & Games’ and then type ‘Google Nest’ into the search bar at the top.
- Enable the Google Nest skill
The Google Nest skill should appear at the top of the search results. Make sure you recognise the Google ‘G’ logo so you know you have the official Skill. Tap on Google Nest and then tap on ‘Enable to Use’. You will then be prompted to sign into your Google account and link it to your Alexa account. Make sure you sign into the Google account that your Nest Cam and Nest Doorbell are associated with.
- Select your Nest cameras and doorbells
A list of your Nest devices will then appear as a list. You will need to tick all the Nest cameras and doorbells you want your Echo devices to be able to access. If you want to use the features like two-way talk and Alexa notifying you of events, make sure you have also ticked those to give Amazon’s Alexa access. Once everything is selected, press ‘Next’.
- Setup your device
Once you have linked your accounts, signed in with your Alexa account and picked all the Nest devices you are giving Alexa access to, you will need to setup your Nest device in the Alexa app. You will be prompted to do this but you’ll need to do one at a time. Choose your doorbell (or another Nest camera) and add it to the Alexa room it is in. This will be helpful if you use things like Alexa Routines too.
That should be it! You should now be able to say one of the commands below to see your Nest Cam or Nest Doorbell on your Echo Show, Fire Tablet or Fire TV.
Alexa commands to try with connected Google Nest cameras and doorbells
Here are a couple of commands you can ask Alexa to see your Nest cameras and interact with them:
- “Alexa, show the [camera name] feed”
- “Alexa, hide the [camera name] feed”
- “Alexa, answer the front door”
FAQs
If you’re having issues with your Echo Show or Fire Tablet showing your Nest Doorbell, then you might need to disable and enable the Alexa Skill again. You could also try opening the Google Home app, tapping on ‘Settings’ and then tapping on the arrow above ‘Partner Connections’ in the Services section. From here, tap on the ‘Alexa Skill’ in the list and check your Nest Cam and Doorbell are definitely selected.
Yes, you will be able to see a live view of your Nest Doorbell on an Echo Show, Fire TV or Fire Tablet whatever Nest Doorbell you have. You will only be able to use the two-way talk feature and answer your door from an Alexa device if you have the Nest Doorbell (Battery) or Nest Doorbell (Wired, 2nd Gen). If you have the Nest Hello, two way talk won’t work with Alexa.
