Why Is Nest Thermostat Blinking Green When Charging?

Nest thermostat blinking green when charging and you don’t know what this means?

Users report that the blinking green LED on Nest while charging, is one out of three things. System restart, update, or simply because it is still starting up.

In this post, we’ll discuss ALL three occasions and help you determine and fix the problem.

If your Nest thermostat’s LED blinks green while plugged into the power, it could either be stuck in a boot loop or completely fails to start up. Depending on how long the green light is blinking you can easily tell whether there is a problem or not.

Let’s first review the three possibilities in-depth and then proceed with the solutions you can use to solve the problem as soon as possible.

Why Is Nest Thermostat Blinking Green When Charging?

If the green LED on your Nest blinks for longer than usual, it is possible that your device got stuck in a restart or boot loop.

This means that the thermostat will keep rebooting, therefore the green light will keep flashing, indicating an ongoing software task.

Note: Your thermostat might just be updating so you should wait at least 15 minutes before taking any action!

Nest Thermostat Is In Reboot Loop

The first of the three possibilities is a potential reboot loop. This issue, in particular, can be caused by many instances, including problems with the charging.

Even if your thermostat is plugged into the power by the time you’re reading this, we suggest double-checking if electricity is going in your thermostat correctly.

Nest Thermostat Fails To Boot

Same as with the previous bullet, the thermostat might be failing to boot due to a fault with the battery and not just the charge.

The best solutions against boot problems are the ones tackling its power supply.

Nest Thermostat’s Software Got Bricked

Particularly when charging, the thermostat’s power is compromised if the power flow isn’t correct.

Power fluctuations can impact an ongoing software update process and brick your thermostat’s interface. That can be solved with a hard reset that we’ll definitely perform.

Now when you’re aware of what might be going on, and 15 minutes have elapsed it’s time to start troubleshooting the issue.

How To Fix Charging Nest Thermostat Blinking Green Light?

The solutions below are listed in a way that will address each and every possibility.

We highly recommend not skipping anything, since you might bypass something essential.

With that being said, you should proceed with the first solution:

Solution #1 Reconnect The Charging Adapter

The Nest thermostat must be taken off its base in order to be charged. We assume that you have already done that and by the time you’re reading this, your thermostat is already charging.

Except that it might not be charging. We recommend unplugging it from the power source and plugging it into another wall outlet. Make sure to remove any power dividers and plug it directly.

Wait for a few minutes to determine if the green light will continue to blink endlessly and proceed with the next solution.

Solution #2 Try Re-Attaching To The Base

If the blinking doesn’t stop after reconnecting the charging adapter, we suggest re-attaching your Nest thermostat to its base and then charging it again.

This will help refresh the memory set of your Nest thermostat and prevent any power fluctuations.

1. Simply unplug your Nest thermostat from the charging port
2. Insert it back into your base.
3. Slide its adjustable screen 2 times to enter the menu.
4. Determine if the thermostat works now.

Once you’re done, take off the thermostat from the base and reconnect it with the power adapter. If the green LED still blinks, then move to the next solution.

Solution #3 Re-Add Your Thermostat To The App

If the green light still blinks on your thermostat, then you should try re-adding your Nest to the mobile app.

If the device is in a reboot loop, it might not be able to control the heating/cooling of the devices in your HVAC system, therefore it will indicate via green light.

To re-add your Nest thermostat to the app, follow these instructions:

1. Open the mobile Nest app on your phone and go to the Devices tab.
2. Select the problematic Nest if you have multiple ones and choose “Forget”.
3. Next, re-attach your Nest to the base and click “Add New Device” in the app.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your Nest back with the app.

Note: Make sure that both your Nest app and phone are updated to their latest version. If the Nest app is outdated, you might find yourself unable to set up the thermostat.

Solution #4 Hard Reset The Thermostat

If your Nest thermostat is blinking green when charging, we suggest performing a hard reset before continuing any further.

This type of reset will reboot the entire thermostat system, along with ALL services, and hopefully prevent the green light from blinking indefinitely.

Important: Your thermostat must be DETACHED from the charging adapter during the restart.

Nest has listed this as a warning, to avoid potential complications with the software.

Follow these steps to apply a hard reset on your Nest thermostat:

1. Unplug your thermostat from the charging source.
2. Press the ring on your thermostat and hold it down for 10 seconds.
3. Release the button and then press it once to start your thermostat.

Note: If the logo shows up on your Nest, then this means that the device has successfully booted.

Try re-attaching it to the charger to determine if the blinking green light will continue the weird behavior.

Solution #5 Examine The Internal Batteries

It is possible that your Nest’s green light is blinking due to a fault with the internal batteries.

Even if the device doesn’t require separate batteries to function, you would still charge the internal units once you’ve plugged the device into a charger.

To examine the batteries, follow these steps:

1. Disconnect your Nest thermostat from the charger.
2. Press the ring button for 10 seconds to shut down the thermostat.
3. Grab a screwdriver aligning with the screws on the back of your Nest.
4. Loosen the screws and eject the battery compartment cover.
5. Examine the compartment for battery leaking or any sign of amortization.
6. Reinsert the batteries and install the compartment again.

Try booting your Nest and plugging it into the charger. If the green light is still blinking, that could mean that the internal batteries might be dead and have to be replaced.

However, before looking for a new battery, there is one more thing you can try.

Solution #6 Reset Your Thermostat

If nothing worked so far, we suggest performing a factory reset on your Nest thermostat.

This process would practically erase all settings to their default state which can potentially resolve any charging issues.

To reset your Nest thermostat, follow these steps:

1. Disconnect the thermostat from the charging depot.
2. Re-insert it into the wall.
3. Open the Quick View menu and go to the Settings.
4. Tap on “Reset” and choose “All Settings”.
5. To activate the reset, tap the ring once.

The process might take a while and once it is done resetting, carry out the setup prompt. After configured, re-attach Nest to the charger and check if the green LED would still blink.

In case it’s still blinking you can take one last shot against the issue by replacing the batteries.

If that, however, does not help, well, you might have to bring the device for repair service.

Read Next: Why the Room Temperature Doesn’t Match the Thermostat Setting?

Bottom Line:

Thus, to fix the Nest thermostat green light, start with re-attaching it to the base and reconnecting it to the charger. Then you should re-add it to the mobile app, perform a  hard reset and examine the internal batteries. If none of this helps, you can perform a factory reset.

Now that you know why Nest thermostat blinking green when charging, try to use some of our solutions to resolve the issue.

We hope that our post was helpful enough to solve your issue and if you’re experiencing other problems with your device, our blog will definitely help!