Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Update: If the 'downvotes' are coming from Nest employee accounts (my sincere apologies if not, but it's suspicious they all came at the same time and almost instantly as soon as this review became live), I suggest you redirect your efforts to provide a better consumer service experience for everyone else rather than attack an honest review reflecting a real life experience. This is an all-out honest review from a real person with home heating issues, who has used your product, wanted to truly appreciate it, and went to great lengths to make it work without success, so I will continue to criticize if your product needs improvement and send praises for quality where credit is due. You've nailed the aesthetics and usability, neglected on reliability and customer service. If you have a specific rebuttal to any of the above points, or reject any of the above claims, feel free to provide them in the comments section and I will be happy to participate in the debate. Otherwise move along and improve these weak areas. I purchased the nest with high anticipation that it would be a stylish and automated replacement for my existing Honeywell. But alas, a malfunctioned unit, high damage potential to the heating system, nightmarish customer service support, and a forced return of the device will leave me waiting for something else to come along. Aesthetics - 4/5 Very pleasing, it is like having HAL 2000 in your room. The iOS app and web based interface are very pleasantly designed, and can be accessed remotely. The remote interface includes humidity and outside temperature levels (which are curiously absent from the device's display). As easily mistaken by others, the large 'crack' on the surface is actually a divider to house the sensors, but is something a device aiming for a seamless and unibody look should really address. The Nest does connect to the internet/cloud and receives outside temperatures based on your location. It would have been a nice touch to display humidity and outside temperatures on the unit itself, or at least provide the option to do so, something many 'cluttered' thermostats provide. Installation - 5/5 A piece of cake for my thermostat, since it had only a power and heat (Rw) cable. The online installation confirmed the wiring was correct, and the online guide explained well that jumpers were not required on the Nest, even though the old thermostat had them. Adjusting the device's temperature and listening to the heater activate was good assurances that the two wires were in the correct location and the unit had power. Build Quality - 3/5 A quality looking device, with solid feeling mechanics. Unfortunately, the unit I received had an aesthetic defect where the LCD would 'bleed' outside its circular edge and cause a dark rainbow effect (I've uploaded the image of the LCD bleeding in the Amazon image gallery). While an obvious and very visible defect, especially in a device that touts its polished look, Nest support insisted that the unit is supposed to look like this. They did not acknowledge why the advertised version on their website is shown without this defect. A feature of the device is the proximity sensor, which detects when you're nearby and turns on the display. To get the display to activate however was somewhat of a chore. I had to be about 1 foot away from the device, and make various hand gestures to activate the device. This follows the other reviewers mentioning the new generation's proximity sensor's sensitivity is far lower than the last versions. Technical support attempted to explain the situation, indicating the Nest adjusts its sensitivity in high traffic areas. The thermostat was installed in a low traffic region (perhaps up to 5 movements in a day), and after a few days it still required the same hand gesture routine to get the display to turn on. The response time is nothing like the commercials and needs considerable tweaking. An option to adjust the sensitivity in the menu would greatly help, as temperature display is a core function. Functionality - 0/5 The unit itself worked fine for the first 2 days, maintaining the desired temperature based on schedule, but after day 3 we woke up to the sound of the thermostat cycling on and off very fast and having the temperature drop to near freezing conditions. Like any device, power cycling at this rate would eventually cause permanent damage, but I suspect a heater would be even more susceptible to permanent damage due to rapid heating and cooling cycles. We had no choice but to quickly remove the unit from its base wall mount or risk further damage to the heater. The wires were confirmed to be securely in place as the unit was accurately to the desired temperature setting for the few days before the failure. This is the unit's showstopper; even if the menu and display malfunctioned, a thermostat must at minimum be capable of maintaining heating levels or your house temperature will soon plummet. Support - 0/5 Nest fails miserably on support, and it is clear the company is in the customer support infancy stage. Email support is not too bad, at about 24 to 48 hour response times. It's clear they will fight tooth and nail to exchange the device, and despite confirmation that the unit is defective, Nest requires you to call them to return or exchange any device, despite the fact that they have all your information available and the diagnosis is complete that the unit is fective. This generally involves navigating a convoluted phone menu system, eventually connecting you to someone outsourced to CSS Corp. I don't have much experience with this support service but it felt not too distant from something a large computer manufacturer would outsource to overseas, but it was painfully clear I wasn't talking to a Nest engineer or anyone from Nest for that matter. Attempts to persuade the rep to simply provide a replacement device proved futile, as the rep, armed with basic wiring schematic combinations, wanted me to go back home and do some basic troubleshooting with the device, disregarding the fact that the unit worked fine for a few days and assumes correct wiring. In the end I was forced to return the unit by using the 30 day satisfaction guarantee, by coming up with the generic reason of 'I don't like look of the device' to fulfil their requirements. I can't recall any other retail in memory that would refuse an exchange with an obvious visual defect as well as a confirmed malfunction. The 1 star rating reflects the overall experience of receiving a defective unit, the high potential to cause permanent damage to the thermostat, and the high degree of difficulty with technical support attempting to exchange the device. Design and aesthetics aside, managing heating is this unit's core function and responsibility. This is not an iPod, which can safely prioritize fashion over function, as the most damage it could cause in case of a failure is a slightly dull train ride or workout session. Having a device potentially destroy your heater in the middle of the night can quickly lead to an emergency, and subsequently an expensive aftermath in repair bills is not a risk you need. I applaud Nest for attempting to produce a better thermostat, but it is clear that from start to finish, the company is in its infancy and needs a lot of time to mature to produce a solid device. For now, I'll reinstall my clunky beige Honeywell with its monochrome LCD screen, since it's winter now and having something that reliably produces heat really comes in handy.