(Credit: No Longer Evil)
A community project is looking to rebuild the connectivity features of first- and second-generation Nest Learning Thermostats, which Google recently axed.
As TechSpot reports, the No Longer Evil project is open-source and free to join, providing members with access to custom firmware that restores the devices' lost smart features.
Google pulled all smart functionality from its early Nest devices at the end of October, turning them into dumb thermostats that only offer manual temperature adjustment via the built-in dial. Owners can no longer connect to them via the Google Nest or Google Home apps.
"When Google announced they were sunsetting Nest Gen 1 and Gen 2 thermostats, I knew I wanted to do something about it," says Cody Kociemba, project founder and CEO of Hack/House. "Your thermostat shouldn't become e-waste because some corporation decided to flip the kill switch. Your phone shouldn't be locked down to prevent you from accessing your own device. This is about taking back control."
Kociemba was also inspired by a similar effort on FULU, a crowdfunding service focused on restoring digital ownership and user control. Anyone who comes up with a workable solution wins the funds (or "bounty"). It's not a huge financial reward, but that "lit a fire" under Kociemba, he says, and No Longer Evil was born. (The name is a nod to Google's former motto: Don't be evil.)
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The project's GitHub page describes firmware that reroutes the Nest's communication traffic to a custom server that hosts a replica of the Nest API. That makes the thermostat think it's still communicating with Google servers, providing remote connectivity functions without the need for Google to take any action.
It does come with a warning that this is still experimental and may not work correctly. Flashing the custom firmware could completely brick the thermostats, so Kociemba warns against using it on a thermostat that is critical for heating or cooling needs. He also cautions that it only works with first- and second-generation Nest thermostats, and specifically does not work with blue-label third-generation devices yet.
The GitHub page provides full instructions on how to install the firmware update if you would like to try it. The guide suggests completing the update via a Linux system; macOS and Windows are also viable, but with some potential difficulties.
The project's long-term goals are to replace Google's firmware entirely and handle all smart functions independently, including temperature adjustments, real-time smart home integration, and mode switching.