Nest uses Nest Sense™ (an exclusive combination of sensors and algorithms) to notice when you’re away and when you come home. With Auto-Away, Nest turns itself down automatically when you're away to prevent heating or cooling an empty home. Upon your arrival, Nest will return to your regular schedule.

Why Auto-Away?

Auto-Away is useful for the many times you’re unexpectedly out of the house for errands, appointments and trips. With Auto-Away, you won't have to worry if you've remembered to turn the thermostat down. You can check your Energy History in the Nest Web or Mobile apps a day later to see how much energy Nest saved when you were gone.

How soon after installation will Auto-Away become available?

After you’ve installed Nest, Auto-Away will need about a week to tailor to your home. A notification on the display will appear when Nest has learned enough to start using Auto-Away.

When does Auto-Away activate during the day?

First of all, a Nest Learning Thermostat installed in a home won’t go into Auto-Away during the night time. This will only happen if your Nest is installed in a business.

Secondly, when Auto-Away activates entirely depends on you. If you are very predictable in the morning, for instance, and are always out of the door by 8:00am to catch a bus, then Auto-Away will activate as early as 8:30am. But if you are sometimes at home in the morning, and sometimes not, Auto-Away may take two hours to activate when you’re not there.

If you see Nest going into Auto-Away when you're home, just press Nest to return to your normal schedule. This helps Nest learn. Nest will adapt how long it senses inactivity before it goes into Auto-Away based on what it learns from you.

Where can I choose my Away temperature?

During setup, you’ll choose the Away temperatures that Nest will use when it is in Away or Auto-Away.

You can view or change these temperatures any time in SETTINGS > NEST SENSE, either on the Nest Learning Thermostat or in the Nest web or Mobile apps.

Will Auto-Away work if Nest is in an out-of-the-way place?

Nest won’t be able to learn Auto-Away for your home if it's installed in an out-of-the-way place where it can’t sense activity. If this is the case, Nest will send you a notification to let you know.

If possible, consider moving Nest to a more central part of the house. And if you move a bookshelf in front of Nest after it's configured its sensors for Auto-Away, Nest will no longer accurately sense household activity. If this occurs, consider turning Auto-Away off.

You can turn Auto-Away off at any time by navigating to SETTINGS and then NEST SENSE.

How does Auto-Away work if I have multiple Nest thermostats?

If you have more than one Nest Learning Thermostat in your home and they are associated with the same location in your Nest Account, activity information will be shared.

If one Nest knows that you’re home, all the others will too. When you’ve left the house, each Nest Learning Thermostat will go into Auto-Away and each will return to your usual schedule when you come home.

Will my pets affect Auto-Away?

In some homes, the presence of pets may end Auto-Away mode before users have returned home. Whether or not pets affect Auto-Away depends on Nest's location in the home and the size of the pet(s).

In most homes, Nest will maintain Auto-Away even with the presence of pets. To keep pets comfortable, users with pets should select appropriate Away temperatures. If Nest's Auto-Away mode is interrupted due to the presence of pets, users can set Nest to Away mode manually instead, even if Auto-Away is disabled.

What if I want to set Away manually?

Set Nest to Away mode manually by choosing the AWAY option on the Nest menu. When you select Away, Nest will go into Away mode immediately.

When you set Away mode manually, Nest will not return to your regular schedule until you take it out of Away mode by pressing the ring or on the Nest Web or Mobile apps.