Nest Labs has halted sales of its smoke and carbon monoxide detectors over company and customer concerns that users could unintentionally disable the device by waving their hands in front of it.
One of the most praised features from reviewers is that you could disable the alarm with a simple wave for those instances where you burnt toast or allowed your husband to cook dinner. The issue is that under a combination of circumstances this could happen unintentionally. We call those software 'bugs'.
"This could delay an alarm going off if there was a real fire," Fadell said. "We identified this problem ourselves and are not aware of any customers who have experienced this, but the fact that it could even potentially happen is extremely important to me and I want to address it immediately."
There is currently no recall issued for the device.
Customers who own a Nest detector should ensure that the device is connected to their in-home wifi in order to receive the software update being pushed out this weekend. The update is intended to disable the 'wave' feature on the devices. Sales of the devices in stores have been halted until further notice.
We recommend purchasing a battery smoke detector and placing it next to your Nest detector until you are assured that the 'wave' feature is disabled by the software update. You can receive a FREE smoke detector from any Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Station simply by giving them a call.
The Associated Press adds:
"The Nest Protect costs about $130. In comparison, other smoke and carbon monoxide detectors typically range between $50 and $80. ...
"Consumers with a Nest Protect connected to a Nest account with Wi-Fi will automatically have Nest Wave disabled within 24 hours. No action needs to be taken and their smoke alarm will continue to work. Those with a Nest Protect not connected to a company account should immediately connect to their Nest account so the company can remotely disable Nest Wave.
"For individuals with a Nest Protect not connected to an account and that don't have access to Wi-Fi, Nest recommends that they immediately stop using the alarm and contact the company for a complete refund."
