Getting Started with Nest and Google Home: A Beginner's Smart Home Guide
Curious about smart home devices? Start here.
How to set up a connected, automated, and secure smart home.
Turning your home into a connected space can have loads of benefits for most households: making the day run more smoothly, staying connected to one another, helping save energy, and keeping your home safe and secure. And most devices are easy to set up with Fast Pair for Matter devices, so creating a smart home is simpler than you might expect.
The Cook family’s smart home started with a gift. John Cook wanted his wife to have an easy way to listen to music when she was getting ready for the day. He got her a Nest Audio speaker, so she can use her voice to play music. Soon, the whole family was asking Google for the weather and news instead of reaching for their phones.
Shortly after, the Cooks bought a
for the kitchen and then added more speakers throughout the house. They topped it off with a , , , and more.“At the beginning, you go, ‘Wow, this is really cool.’ But then after a while it’s part of your daily life,” Cook says.
Here’s how to choose the Google devices that are right for you, connect them with other products – and automate your home with confidence.
See what’s going on inside and outside your home. The combination of
and a can let you know that everything is fine at home. The latest cameras and doorbells each have an ultra-wide, ultra-tall field of view, letting you see visitors from head to toe or packages left in stubborn blind spots. Nest Cam Indoor and Nest Cam Outdoor have you covered for any other areas of interest inside the home or out. Some popular spots are back and side doors, pathways, and hallways.Hear alerts wherever you are. If you’re in another part of the house where it’s hard to hear the doorbell, the new
(coming in spring 2026), Nest Mini, and other Nest speakers can be paired with the Nest Doorbell to play the chime throughout your home – so you never miss a visitor.Get more from your cameras and doorbells. Save, search, and understand the video from your devices with a
subscription. With a Standard plan, you get 30 days of event-based video history and intelligent alerts like familiar face recognition – and with doorbells, package detection. For all that and more, choose the Advanced plan. It offers everything Standard does, plus 60 days of event-based history, 10 days of continuous video, detailed alerts, event descriptions, and daily summaries. Stay informed without scrolling through hours of footage by using Ask Home to search with natural language like, “When was my package delivered this week?” And get detailed alerts for events that matter, like activity at your front door, plus a daily Home Brief of everything that happened at home while you were away.
Big improvements to the entire Home app. The Home app has been re-engineered to be faster and more dependable – from quicker loading when you first open it to easier control of your
and . You’re now able to seamlessly navigate through your camera history with simple gestures, crop your camera view so that you can keep an eye on exactly what you want, and view animated previews of your alerts close up, helping you quickly understand the event.Automate safety. Set up automated security actions in the Google Home app with the “Help me create” feature when you add a Standard or Advanced plan of
. Create an automation that turns your porch lights on automatically each night at sunset and off at sunrise. And in the morning, set your shades and curtains to open when your outdoor lights turn off.
Keep an eye on your home at all times. Through the Google Home app, set
so your Nest Cam can notify you if motion is detected when no one is home. Wired Nest Cams provide continuous video recording so you don’t miss any of the moments that matter. With a Standard plan of Google Home Premium subscription, you can review 30 days of recorded event history to find what you’re looking for, and the Advanced plan lets you easily search 60 days to pinpoint a specific moment. can pick up the camera’s live video stream for easy viewing right from your wrist. So you never miss a package delivery, try adding camera livestream tiles to your favorites.
There are so many movies, TV shows, and songs to choose from.
and make it easier to find the ones you want, then watch or listen whenever from wherever you’d like.
While the Google Home Speaker (coming in spring 2026) makes it easy to play your dance party playlist when you want to celebrate your promotion,
lets you stream videos like that dance tutorial you’ve been watching on repeat. You can also bring it all together for movies and more with the . Not only does the Google TV Streamer work seamlessly across Google products, it works with your other , too.The home panel brings you extra convenience, too. View cameras and control lighting and other smart home devices, right on your screen while you’re watching a show. You can also cast content from compatible Android or iOS apps, transfer media to your TV, and see your favorite memories from Google Photos.
Find shows quickly and easily. Just ask your
for the show or movie you want to watch. With the voice remote, you can say things like, “Show me some new sitcoms” or “Find a scary movie,” without scrolling or typing. It learns from your viewing habits, pulling content from your streaming subscriptions onto one screen, and then makes recommendations based on your subscriptions, viewing history, and content you own. Want to watch something from your phone? The Google TV Streamer allows you to stream content from other devices connected through Bluetooth.
Create an audio system for your entire home.
provide powerful sound that responds to the acoustics of the rooms they’re in. With the new (coming in spring 2026) refined 360-degree optimized acoustics, everything from a subtle piano track to spoken word sounds balanced and immersive. Link Spotify or YouTube Music to play your favorite songs. Never miss a moment with speaker groups, which let you bring your music, podcast, or audiobook with you as you move around the house.Enjoy a family movie night. By connecting smart lights to your Google Home app, you can build an immersive setting while watching a favorite flick. Select a specific color palette, or just soften the intensity to create a cozy and comfortable scene. With “Help me create,” you can set up a family
to dim the den lights, start the TV, and send an announcement to your family through Google and Nest speakers and displays – no step-by-step setup required, and it can all be activated with one simple voice command.
Let the devices handle basic tasks. Your
can help start your day off right. Create an automation that starts the kettle every day at sunrise and turns the lights to 50% brightness. Just type “Help me create a morning routine,” and Gemini will ask follow-ups to create the automation that works best for you. It can even suggest tailored automations based on your needs, like sending your robot vacuum out to clean your floors while everyone’s away, so you return to a tidy home.Help save energy. The
and are packed with proven energy-saving features, like turning down when you’re away so you don’t waste energy on an empty home. And Adaptive Eco, which helps find an energy-saving temperature based on the temperature outside. So you save when you’re away, and come back to a comfy home.
Keep your home comfortable. With a
(included with the 4th-gen Nest Learning Thermostat), your smart home can automatically open or close your compatible smart blinds based on the indoor temperature. And as the day progresses, your home helps you stay cool. Make changes instantly from your customizable Home tab.Set up a series of events. You can also set “device starters” that know what you plan to do when you turn on one smart home device. For example, with just one voice command to turn on the TV, a set of actions can also include turning on the lights, setting them to yellow, and dimming the brightness to 50%. A doorbell ring can also serve as a starter – set the speaker volume to 50% when it rings, and the porch lights to turn on if it’s after 7 PM. You can also set schedules according to your daily needs and
. And you can now create light groups such as “hallways” for easy navigation at night, “bedroom” for convenient adjustments, or “patio lights” to create an outdoor ambience – plus a group for all lights to ensure none are left on. And with the Automations tab, you can see exactly when those routines will happen and discover new ideas to try.3Maintain your lawn and garden so it’s always ready for guests. Whether you’re planning a summer cookout or hosting family and friends for a soiree, the Google Home app can ensure your yard is always ready to entertain. Set a weekly schedule for your smart sprinkler and set up an announcement on your speaker for when it’s done.
The best place to start with a smart home is wherever your need or interest is greatest. Over time, you’ll see how adding devices increases the benefits: A
is a good way to keep tabs on the front door, and when you pair it with a smart lock, you’ll also be able to let someone in. A smart speaker provides help and entertainment on its own – or pair it with smart lighting to create automations for the morning and evening that turn the lights on and off. And with or your , you get a central dashboard to manage and sync your devices.Ready to get started? This checklist should help:
Consider which everyday challenges you’re trying to solve.
Explore Google’s connected home products and select your devices.
Download the Google Home app and sign in with your Google Account.
Plug in your devices and follow the setup instructions in the Google Home app.
If you’d prefer expert assistance,
.Use the Google Home app,
, or to manage compatible devices like smart thermostats, lights, and more with your voice.Set up routines to automate your home and complete multiple actions at once.
