Part of the reason this post is titled the way it is: I’m nodding to an old aphorism — “complaining without offering a solution is just whining.” And yes, I’ll admit up front that I don’t have a solution for what I’m complaining about.

The news this month? Google will no longer support the first- and second-generation Nest thermostats. Here’s the official language:

Starting Oct. 25, 2025, Google will no longer support the Nest Learning Thermostat (1st gen), introduced in 2011, and the Nest Learning Thermostat (2nd gen), launched in 2012.

Over the years, we’ve brought out newer thermostats with even more ways to help you save energy and stay comfortable. As part of our ongoing efforts to provide the best possible smart home experience, we are transitioning our thermostat infrastructure to a new platform offering significant advancements in performance, reliability and features that will greatly benefit our customers.

Unfortunately, we’re not able to move our older thermostats to this platform.

I’m not trying to say “I told you so,” but I’ve had this concern ever since Big Tech got into the smart home business: What happens when they decide the category no longer aligns with their broader goals?

Let’s be honest — Google has a long and well-documented history of killing off legacy products.

Sidebar: This website claims to list every Google product they’ve discontinued: killedbygoogle.com.

Even when they first introduced the Google Home ecosystem, this possibility was top of mind for me. Now it’s reality.

It’s disappointing, especially when you consider that the lifespan of a “dumb” thermostat is typically measured in decades. Most in-building infrastructure — HVAC, for instance — runs for decades. And even among smart thermostats, there are Crestron units that have been working reliably since before the end of the last century.

Not to pat myself on the back, but when I was shopping for a smart thermostat for our new house, Google’s track record with product shutdowns made me pause. I went with an Ecobee.

To be fair, the main reason I chose Ecobee was because, after years of juggling dueling smart home ecosystems, our household has gradually standardized around Apple HomeKit. Ecobee integrates well with HomeKit; Nest doesn’t. HomeKit isn’t perfect, but of all the platforms I’ve tested, it’s the least unreliable.

Thinking about all those early Nest adopters now left in the cold (figuratively, I hope), I’ll acknowledge that this is a first-world problem. Your fancy thermostat reverting to a dumb one is a drag, but it’s not the end of the world.

That said, even though Google is offering affected customers a discount on a new, supported model (for now, anyway), I get why some Nest owners are frustrated. I saw one internet commenter put it perfectly:

“You’re paying to own a product, but in the end, you’re just renting it.”