The difference between Protect's Heads-Up and Emergency Alarms

The sound of smoke alarms is intended to be scary, piercing, and unavoidable. If we hear smoke alarms often, the alarm can cause us to take the batteries out. However, this sound could mean there's an emergency.

This frustration puts all of us in danger. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), in 73% of U.S. homes that experienced a fire, the alarm didn't go off because the batteries were dead, disconnected, or removed.

This is why we created a new kind of alarm. If Nest Protect detects low levels of smoke, it gives you a gentle Heads-Up as an early warning. If the situation gets worse, Nest Protect sounds the Emergency Alarm.

What is a Heads-Up?

Nest Protect gives you an early warning when smoke or carbon monoxide (CO) levels rise. When Nest Protect senses smoke or carbon monoxide below emergency levels, it pulses yellow and notifies you and plays an audio “Heads-Up: there’s smoke in the kid’s bedroom.” It'll also send you a mobile notification on your smartphone or tablet.

Can I silence a Heads-Up?

Heads-Up voice alerts can be silenced by pressing the Nest button. This gives you time to identify and address the problem without the alarm sound. Always make sure you are safe before you silence Nest Protect.

What is an Emergency Alarm?

When smoke or carbon monoxide (CO) reach emergency levels, Nest Protect pulses red, makes a loud sound, and tells you what and where the emergency is. “Emergency: there’s carbon monoxide in the basement. Move to fresh air.” Nest Protect also sends you a mobile notification.

Below are some differences between Heads-Up and Emergency Alarms:

	Heads-Up	Emergency Alarms
When will the alarm sound?	At low levels of smoke and carbon monoxide (CO).	At emergency levels of smoke and carbon monoxide.
What will I hear?	During a Heads-Up, Nest Protect notifies you what and where the danger is: “Heads-Up! There’s smoke in the kids’ bedroom.” or “Heads-Up! there’s carbon monoxide in the kids’ bedroom.”	During an Emergency Alarm, Nest Protect makes a loud sound, and notifies you what and where the emergency is. “Emergency: there’s smoke in the basement.” or “Emergency: there’s carbon monoxide in the basement. Move to fresh air.”
What color lights will I find on Nest Protect?	Yellow light	Red light

Why don’t all events get a Heads-Up?

You may hear an Emergency Alarm without a Heads-Up. This means that emergency levels of smoke or carbon monoxide (CO) have occurred extremely quickly and Nest Protect must sound the Emergency Alarm.

Nest Protect is first and foremost a safety device. It monitors and senses the level of smoke and carbon monoxide in your home, then give you the appropriate Heads-Up or Emergency Alarm.

Can I get two Heads-Up in a row, one for smoke and one for carbon monoxide?

In very specific conditions it is possible to receive more than one Heads-Up. If Nest Protect simultaneously senses both smoke and carbon monoxide levels below emergency levels, you'll hear Heads-Up twice.

Will I get a Heads-Up after an Emergency Alarm?

In rare circumstances, if there is still smoke or carbon monoxide in the room, Nest Protect may issue another Heads-Up or an alarm as needed.

Can I disable Heads-Up and Emergency Alarms?

You can disable Heads-Up for smoke and carbon monoxide from your Nest app, Google Home app, or the Web. For your own safety, Emergency Alarms can't be disabled since they detect dangerous situations that require you to move quickly to safety.

Will I still get nuisance alarms?

Since Nest Protect is an advanced safety device, we designed the Heads-Up feature to decrease the nuisance of unwanted alarms without affecting your comfort or safety. Nuisance alarms occur when there’s a source of smoke — like burning toast — that you know about and have under control.

For low levels of smoke or carbon monoxide, Nest Protect alerts you with Heads-Up. Nest Protect knows what smoke is, but not what is burning. If the smoke level rises, Nest Protect sounds a loud, piercing alarm.