Nest Thermostat Schedule Keeps Changing: 6 Permanent Fixes

Does your digital thermostat have a mind of its own, turning up and down automatically?

If so, then you’ve come to the right place.

The Nest Thermostat has many settings to help you feel comfortable in your home.

However, what do you do if your temperature schedule keeps changing? 

Here are six fixes for a Nest Thermostat schedule that keeps on changing on its own:

1. Control your Nest thermostat with the app.
2. Troubleshoot when it doesn’t turn on or it’s frozen.
3. Reset your temperature schedule and other functions.
4. Set up an auto-schedule feature.
5. Disable learning for the temperature schedule.
6. Hold the temperature on the Nest Thermostat.

Nest thermostats take the time to learn your habits for energy-saving comfort throughout the seasons.

There are several reasons why your Nest thermostat keeps changing on its own, but the most likely cause is understanding the proper program function.

Read on as I’ll go through the steps you can take to fix this issue.

1. Control Your Nest Thermostat With the App

Once you add your Nest thermostat to the Home or Nest app, you can easily control it even when you’re not at home on any iOS device, such as an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, and on the Android platform. 

To access the Nest Thermostat remotely, the thermostat itself needs to be within range of a Wi-Fi connection.

To learn how to control your Nest thermostat in the app, check out this video tutorial:

2. Troubleshoot When It Doesn’t Turn On or It’s Frozen

You may notice the system is either always on, won’t turn on, turns off repeatedly, or makes strange noises.

Like all technological devices, heating and cooling systems can behave strangely, and you may need to troubleshoot the issue at hand. 

During normal usage, your screen may turn off if it doesn’t sense motion for some time; it turns back on when someone is nearby or during app use to control the thermostat.

When your Nest doesn’t turn on or is frozen, it’s likely due to power issues, such as dead or low batteries.

Most thermostats power off the display, the Wi-Fi, and other features to save the battery in light of power issues, and it may turn on automatically once you insert new batteries. 

Replacing Battery When Power Usage Is Low

When batteries begin to drain and get low in power, the thermostat will power off its features, including motion detection, to preserve the battery before shutting off completely. 

If your thermostat is unresponsive when you use the thermostat touch bar, remove and replace the batteries by going through these steps:

1. Take it off the base to remove both batteries
2. Insert two new alkaline batteries 
3. Place the thermostat onto the device base, press until it clicks, and wait for the device to turn on and restart.

If an assistance message appears on the Nest or in the app, don’t panic.

All you need to do is follow the troubleshooting steps with these error codes. 

Restarting Nest Thermostat When Frozen

A simple restart could be the answer to get your system back to normal.

To restart your Nest Thermostat, go to the settings panel on the screen and select the Restart and Factory Reset option. 

If that doesn’t work, you can also conduct a manual restart.

Just remember, if you manually restart your Nest, you could lose some unsaved information. 

To do this, take your Nest off its base device, then take out and re-insert both AAA batteries.

Once the thermostat is back on the device base, it’ll take a few seconds to turn on and restart itself.

Blinking Lights and No Display

If your Nest thermostat won’t turn on, but you notice either a red or green blinking light (or no light at all), there could be an issue with the power function.

It’s also possible that it froze during a software update. Check out the instructions here. 

If these steps don’t resolve the problem, you should contact a local Pro.

An issue may cause a problem with your system.

3. Reset Your Temperature Schedule and Other Functions

Before resetting your thermostat, first, take the time to write down the wiring information in case you need to quickly re-enter it.

To reset it, go to the Nest settings icon and select Equipment. (You can also do this for other functions including system heating type and Safety Temperature.)

Some or all of its information can be erased depending on the option you choose.

The thermostat then restores its factory default settings.

Resetting All Nest Thermostat Functions

Resetting the Nest Thermostat erases all information previously saved about schedules, routines, and Wifi network information.

To perform a full reset on all of your Nest functions:

1. Go to Nest Settings
2. Select Restart or Factory Reset.

Once you’ve confirmed a reset, you’ll need to re-activate all of your settings again and add them to the app again, similar to when you initially installed the program. 

Resetting Nest Account Connection

To reset or reprogram your Nest Thermostat’s account connection:

1. Go to Nest Settings
2. Select Account
3. Select Disconnect

Keep in mind, resetting your account connection may delete it from the Home app, thus removing access to any of the control features or current settings.

4. Set Up an Auto-Schedule Feature

Your Nest Thermostat can learn your heating or cooling preferences over a short period and adjust the temperature through auto-schedule.

This function ‘teaches’ the thermostat what temperatures you like throughout the day.

After several days of understanding your habits, the thermostat offers a recommended schedule for you.

Although auto-Schedule learning is on by default, you can check this setting in the app or on the thermostat. 

• On your Thermostat: Go to Settings, select Nest Sense, then select Auto-Schedule.
• On the app: On the Nest app home screen, choose your thermostat, then Settings and Auto-Schedule.

5. Disable Learning for the Temperature Schedule

If you’d rather program specific temperatures during a fixed schedule, you can turn Auto-Schedule off and make manual changes.

To turn Auto-Schedule off from your thermostat: 

1. Choose Settings
2. Select Nest Sense 
3. Select Auto-Schedule 
4. Toggle to Off

To turn Auto-Schedule off from the app: 

1. Select your Nest thermostat 
2. Go to Settings
3. Select Auto-Schedule
4. Tap the switch to turn it off

6. Hold the Temperature on the Nest Thermostat

Setting your Nest Thermostat to hold the temperature will maintain a specific temperature for as long as you want.

Controlling the temperature is a great way to ignore scheduled or automatic temperature changes if you prefer to stay at a specific temperature outside your regular schedule when you are at home or have visitors.

To set on your thermostat: 

1. Go to the menu
2. Select Hold
3. Select Current temp or Eco
4. Choose a time and select Confirm

To set from the app: 

1. Open the home screen on the app
2. Select your thermostat 
3. Verify thermostat is set to Heat or Cool mode accordingly
4. Select Hold temperature
5. Determine the end time of the hold temperature 
6. Tap start to begin the temperature hold

Conclusion

The Nest Thermostat can offer convenience and the ultimate comfort around your home by automatically controlling a home.

Now that you know how to troubleshoot a Nest Thermostat, you’re ready for any challenge that may come your way.