Nest issues recall for 440,000 smoke detectors... sort of
The Nest Protect is hailed as the smoke detector of the future, with Wi-Fi connectivity, a connected app for your iPhone or iPad, and fancy features like being able to silence the device with a wave. Unfortunately, that last feature isn't so smart after all, as the company learned back in April when it issued a warning about the Nest Wave functionality and its potential to silence a crucial alarm erroneously. Now, the company is taking the formal step of issuing a recall.
The recall, in this case, doesn't necessarily mean you'll need to tear your pricey smoke sniffer off the wall, since Nest Protect smoke alarms that are connected via Wi-Fi have already received an update to disable the feature entirely. For those who have taken their device offline, Nest advises you to reconnect the gadget to your Nest account in order to receive the update. Anyone who is unable to update their Nest Protect, for whatever reason, are encouraged to discontinue use of the device entirely and the company will provide a full refund.
Nest says they are working on a fix for the Nest Wave feature and will roll it out to existing devices whenever it's ready. In the meantime, Nest has taken the extra step of halting sales of the Protect until a fix is developed.
