Nest Protect Recalled: Smoke And Carbon Monoxide Alarm To Receive Software Update To Remedy ‘Next Wave’ Defect

Nest Labs will be recalling over 440,000 units of its Nest Protect Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Alarm, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on Wednesday.

The recalled units include those purchased at Best Buy, Home Depot and other retailers or online at nest.com, amazon.com, bestbuy.com and homedepot.com from November 15, 2013 to April 3, 2014, the CPSC detailed in its report.

The recall follows Nest’s announcement in April that it was halting sales of the Nest Protect alarm due to issues with the feature that allows users to turn the alarm off. According to Nest, the alarm is controlled through motion detection and users have to wave their arms in order silence notifications from the alarm. The “Nest Wave” feature can be trigged accidentally, which could in turn delay its response to an actual fire.

With the recall, Nest will be sending out an automatic electronic update that disables the Nest Wave feature. Below are detailed instructions from the CPSC on how customers can update their alarms. Nest Protect units must be connected wirelessly to the Internet and linked to a Nest account in order to receive the update.

Consumers who have not connected their Nest Protect devices to their wireless network and linked them to a Nest account should immediately do so. The devices will automatically receive the update that disables the Nest Wave feature. Customers should confirm that their devices have been updated by going to Nest Sense on their Nest account mobile or web application and ensuring that the button for Nest Wave is off and grayed out. Instructions on how to connect to a network and disable the feature are available at http://support.nest.com/article/Nest-Protect-Safety or by contacting Nest Labs.

Consumers whose Nest Protect devices are connected to their wireless network and linked to a Nest account should immediately confirm the receipt of an automatic repair that disabled the Nest Wave feature by going to Nest Sense on their Nest account mobile or web application and ensuring that the button for Nest Wave is set to “off” and grayed out. No further action is required and consumers can continue to use their devices.

Nest Labs has reportedly not received any reports of incidents, injuries or property damage because of the defect. Customers can contact Nest Labs at (800) 249-4280 or online at www.nest.com and click on Nest Protect Safety Notice for more information.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) announced in January that it was acquiring Nest Labs for $3.2 billion.

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