r/Nest • u/Valuable_Street9878 • May 06 '25

Camera My mom got hacked…

Post image

So my mom’s whole phone got hacked a while back. Every account she had on her phone was taken. She had these google nest cameras I have no idea anything beyond that. I can’t find a factory reset button and she can no longer get into her account and she can’t get into the email used for the account. Is there anything we can do so she can’t use her cameras again? Also picture for reference

36 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

42

u/[deleted] May 07 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

30

u/CosmicCreeperz May 07 '25

Yeah this is the solution. It might be a pain but Google absolutely helps people recover hacked accounts.

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6294825?hl=en

Then FFS teach your mom about 2 factor authentication.

9

u/Vast_Meeting7596 May 07 '25

Several years ago my son lost his Google account (stolen). My husband and I are software developers, we spent several days, trying to get it back over google. You could not just „call google“, there was absolutely no possibility to talk to a person. We tried everything, including google‘s system for lost accounts (AI, probably). Many E-Mails… We did not succeed. Google didn’t care about lost accounts at all.

1

u/Nissan159 May 08 '25

I had the exact same problem with my mother’s account. I realized nest is owned my google and was able to call nest customer support to help recover her account. We weren’t able to use the forgot password button due to her email being used by a very old chrome cast which the nest customer support team was able to troubleshoot

36

u/timelessblur May 06 '25

The devices are trash until you get access to the account to release them.

There is no factory reset on them as it protects against thief as they are outside and easy to take.

5

u/tensixjw May 06 '25

This ⬆️

16

u/ikifar May 06 '25

Looks like you need a paperclip https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9252162?hl=en-CA#zippy=%2Cnest-cam-indoor-and-outdoor-or-nest-cam-iq-indoor-and-outdoor%2Cnest-cam-iq-indoor-and-outdoor

If it doesn’t have a reset button you need to either get into the account or call Google Nest

10

u/schwaggyhawk May 06 '25

The cameras in the picture are 1st gen Outdoor. No reset button. "There is no factory reset button on Nest Cam Indoor and Nest Cam Outdoor. To reset one of these cameras, simply remove it from your account."

9

u/ikifar May 06 '25

Yeah so in that case you’d have to call if you can’t reset your password normally

2

u/CosmicCreeperz May 07 '25

Simply!

2

u/schwaggyhawk May 07 '25

Yup, their words lol.

1

u/right164 May 07 '25

1st gen! The IQ cams are so far superior; trash em & find some on eBay.

4

u/JFKPeekGlaz May 06 '25

Have you tried support? I'm not sure how they would be able to help, but they might be able to point you in the right direction at least.

2

u/anus-georg May 07 '25

Seems weird to tear these down like that because her phone was hacked.

7

u/Youckle May 07 '25

If that hacker has access to the Google account, they may be able to access the cameras too. I wouldn’t let compromised cameras spy on my mum.

5

u/anus-georg May 07 '25

Unplugging works.

2

u/Crysadis May 09 '25

Can attest, this works. There is no reset hole on these older, first gen cameras. Must unplug and add the cam as new via Nest or Google Home app.

2

u/anus-georg May 12 '25

I'm implying that unplugging, not dismantling, these works. Something tells me OP took them.

1

u/Bigzt1385 May 07 '25

On the back of the camera there is a small button using a small screwdriver press and hold til it resets to factory settings

3

u/Bigzt1385 May 07 '25

Ohh nvm 1st generation didn’t see that.

1

u/Plastic_Union8588 May 09 '25

My mothers phone recently got hacked also lots of stuff stolen and they locked her out of her own phone and it was a struggle to get the activation lock off.

1

u/Safe-Garlic7899 May 09 '25

Make a new email and create a new account

1

u/Cyberpower678 May 10 '25

A little known secret about the OG nest cameras is that they can absolutely be paired to a new account when they are offline long enough. The criteria for this is the camera must be powered down at least 2 weeks and when powered on, not be able to discover the previous WiFi network it was connected to. Only then will/should it allow for the camera to successfully pair to a new account. I had acquired a few from an eBay seller where they wouldn’t pair because it was still blocked by the original owner who had ghosted me. Joke’s on them, support told me to leave it powered down for 2 weeks before plugging it in and it should release them. Sure enough, they paired up to my account.

This was however a few years ago and this policy could have been changed since. Worth a shot though.

-8

u/kansai828 May 06 '25

How she got hacked? Was it andriod phone?

3

u/sometin__else May 06 '25

iphone devices can get hacked just like any device. Its just a matter of tricking the victim to click yes/accept to a few prompts. Happens all the time, especially with elderly people falling for refund/ransomware/pig butchering scams.

1

u/SkirtBackground8450 May 10 '25

This is just a moronic take.

-8

u/oklachiisai May 06 '25

You can reset them. I have 9 of these cameras and love them.
To reset use a paper clip end. The best advice I know to tell you is find the instruction booklet that came with them. You will also need to have access to the QR code. If she has a subscription that she pays for storage of her recordings, somehow she will need to get in touch with Google to cancel her subscription.
The cameras are not difficult to reset up but she should get a new account with Google and have Google delete the other account. She will need to have her security questions and answers so she can prove she is the owner of the hacked account.