Test your system with a Nest thermostat

During setup, you’ll have the option to test your system with your thermostat. Note: If it’s too hot or cold to test your system, your thermostat may prevent you from testing a mode. This is to help prevent damage to your system. For example, you might not be able to test heating on a hot summer day. When the weather becomes more temperate, you can try to test again.

Your thermostat will automatically guide you through each step. 

1. Choose Test Now once it shows on the thermostat screen. 

2. Depending on your region and system, you can choose a specific system function to test such as: Heating, Cooling, or Fan. Select Continue to go back to the Equipment menu.

2. Your thermostat will tell you what to look for during the test. For example, if it says “Radiators should be warming up,” go and feel if the radiators are getting warm.

4. Select Done if your system responds to the test correctly.

It's a good idea to test your system before the seasons change and you have to rely on heating or cooling for that season.

You should test heating on a cool day at the end of the summer to make sure it's working before that first cold snap hits. In the spring, you should test cooling on a warm day before the first heat wave hits.

That way, you'll know that your system is in good shape. Additionally, if something is wrong, you won't have to wait for an appointment with a professional who's fully booked when everyone turns on cooling or heating for the first time during the hot or cold season.

You can test your system anytime after the initial setup.

Nest Thermostat and Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen)

1. Open the Home app.
2. Tap Favorites or Devices.
3. Tap your thermostat.
4. Select Mode .
5. Pick the system component you want to test: Cool, Heat, or Fan.
6. For heating, turn up the target temperature until it turns orange. For cooling, turn it down until it turns blue. 
7. Wait about 5 minutes and check the air coming from the vents, radiators, or whatever your system uses. If you have a system that takes a long time to warm or cool, such as an in-floor radiant system, you may have to wait 30 minutes or more for a noticeable temperature change.
   • If your system doesn’t heat, cool or run the fan as expected, go to
     Troubleshoot strange heating or cooling behavior.
   • If the display shows an error message, check Troubleshoot thermostat errors for help diagnosing the issue.

Nest Thermostat E or Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd gen or earlier)

1. On the Quick View Menu, choose Settings .
2. Go to Equipment to show the wires that your thermostat has detected. 
3. Select Continue.
4. Next, it'll show the system components that you can test. Select Test to begin testing.
   • You can choose a specific system function to test such as: Heating, Cooling, or Fan. If your system doesn’t have one of these options, it won't show it.
   • If it’s too hot or cold to test your system, it'll show a message letting you know. When the weather becomes more temperate, you can try to test again.
5. The thermostat will tell you what to look for during the test. For instance, if it tells you “Radiators should be warming up,” go and feel if the radiators are getting warm.
   • If your system doesn’t heat, cool or run the fan as expected, go to Troubleshoot strange heating or cooling behavior
   • If it shows an error message on your thermostat that begins with T (such as T03), go to Troubleshooting system test errors for help diagnosing the issue.