The Nest stayed on the wall. Its smart features left the house.

Google says first- and second-generation Nest Learning Thermostats stopped working in the Nest and Google Home apps on 25 October 2025. Affected units were removed from the apps, losing remote control, notifications, third-party assistants and certain connected features. Google says users can still control temperature and schedules on the thermostat itself.

That distinction is technically important and emotionally beside the point. The original device is not a brick, but the connected experience—the reason many households paid more for it—became a vendor-controlled add-on with an end date.

Offline is the escape hatch

A responsible end-of-support policy preserves a useful local mode, publishes an open migration path and gives owners enough time to act. It should not require a new account, a new cloud contract or a replacement device to keep basic household control intact.

This is the issue Louis Rossmann’s consumer-rights work is useful for surfacing: a product can remain physically intact while the service layer withdraws the rights that made it valuable. The source of record still has to be the manufacturer’s own support notice.