Google Nest Protect Smoke + CO Alarm

Quick verdict

The Nest Protect is the most polished smart smoke alarm ever made — voice alerts, wireless interconnect, and the pathlight are useful. But Google has discontinued it, and its Home Assistant story is weak: the official Nest integration does not support Protect, so you need an unofficial community integration over Google's cloud. Local-control advocates should look at the First Alert ZCOMBO-G or a Zigbee/Matter smoke alarm instead.

Standout: Wireless interconnect with voice alerts that tell you the type and location of danger across every Nest Protect in your home.

Last checked: 2026-05-31

Compatibility snapshot

Why it stands out

• excellent build quality with voice alerts that tell you what the danger is and where
• multiple Nest Protects interconnect wirelessly so all alarms sound when one detects smoke or CO
• pathlight feature illuminates hallways when it detects motion at night

Reasons to hesitate

• Google has discontinued the Nest Protect — increasingly hard to buy new
• the official Google/Nest integration does NOT support Nest Protect; only an unofficial community integration (undocumented API) works
• premium price for a smoke alarm, significantly more expensive than alternatives

Best for

• existing Nest Protect owners who want to surface alerts in Home Assistant via the community integration
• buyers who prioritize industrial design and voice alerts over local control

Avoid if

• local control and privacy are priorities for you
• you want a currently-supported product with deep Home Assistant integration

Privacy and local-control notes

Highly cloud-dependent for smart features. Nest collects usage data and sends it to Google servers. The device functions as a basic smoke alarm offline, but all smart notifications and integrations require cloud connectivity.

Home Assistant support: supported · integration path: ha-nest-protect (unofficial community; the official Nest/SDM integration does NOT support Protect).

Buying reality check

Price notes: Premium pricing. Now discontinued by Google (existing units remain supported); available while stock lasts in battery and wired models.

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