When you are getting started with your Google Nest camera, there are a few settings that you’ll need to familiarize yourself with. One question that we get a lot is ‘why is my Nest camera zoomed in?’ and today we’ll address that.
If your Nest camera is always zoomed in, then it is likely one of two things. Either the ‘Zoom’ was selected and has not been changed or your ‘Enhance’ option is selected. In either case, your image is zoomed and if you are recording, this is the only view that will be recorded.
Today we’ll explain both settings so that you know how to use them and how to remove the Zoom if that is not the view which you want to see. By the end of our little tutorial you should be able to adjust your Next camera as-needed.
Zoom settings: What are they and how do you change them
The first thing that we want to check is going to be your Zoom settings. Zoom just does what it sounds like, allowing you to magnify a view or make it smaller, and if you are viewing your Google Nest camera on your phone this is typically accomplished in 1 of 2 ways:
- Tapping your video feed 2 times will automatically Zoom your camera view. You can look around the perimeter by touching the screen and moving your finger in the desired direction as well.
- Pushing your index finger and thumb onto your screen and pinching them closed or pushing them open will magnify or reduce the displayed image as-needed.
On your computer, adjusting your view is a little different. You’ll want to move your mouse pointer so that it is ‘hovering’ over your video feed and then you should see a ‘Zoom slider’ on the left-hand side of your feed. By selecting and moving the slider up and down you should be able to magnify or reduce the image as you like.
If you are not able to zoom into or zoom back from your feed, then this means that the ‘Enhance’ option is likely selected in your settings. We’ll take a look at this feature next so that you know how to change this setting.
Enhance settings: What are they and how do you change them?
Enhance is a detail view option that you can turn on to get a closer look at a specific spot. This is useful if you are looking to monitor a spot which is far away or of extreme importance and while it is activated, it is going to focus on this specific area – even if you are not watching it!
When ‘Enhance’ is selected, this is what your Google Nest camera will be doing:
- If you are using a Nest Aware subscription to record Nest camera content, then it will not record anything beyond what you are zooming in on. It will stay focused and zoomed until the Enhance setting is disabled and not record other activity that would normally be within camera view.
- Any users, including yourself, who access a live feed from the Next camera will only be able to view the ‘Zoomed-in’ version of your camera feed.
- You will no longer receive motion alerts for a monitored area. Also, if you have set up Activity Zones to specifically monitor certain areas before Enhance was activated, these will not properly until you manually adjust your Activity Zone settings to reflect the enhanced view.
In order to enable yourself and other users to zoom-out for a more comprehensive view of the area monitored by your Next cam, you will need to turn off ‘Enhance’ Use the following steps to disable the Enhance feature:
- Open your Next app on your Smartphone and then select your camera from the list on the opening screen.
- Select the ‘Cancel Enhance’ option, which is a minus sign with 4 inward pointing arrows. If you do not have this option available, simply tap your touchscreen and this should bring up camera controls and your ‘Cancel Enhance’ option.
Once you have selected the option then you will need to be patient. Shortly your view should adjust to show the full area within the camera’s view. You can confirm that Enhance is de-selected by pinching your screen view or widening your fingers across the screen to see if it zooms in and out in response.
In closing: Your camera should now provide a full view
If you have disabled the Enhance option and your Zoom is still not responding then there may be an issue beyond the settings. Aside from reinstalling your Next camera app, contacting Google Nest support will likely be your next step if this does not resolve the issue.
That said, this is a common issue reported by users who are just getting started with their Next cam and changing the Zoom or disabling the Enhance will generally fix the issue. So, give these settings a try and you should have your camera view set to your desired parameters in no time!
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