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Google and Yale announced the Nest x Yale smart door lock back in 2017, with the smart features of the lock controlled through the Nest app. However, the company sunset the Nest app in favor of the Google Home app in 2021. Despite “transitioning” to the Google Home app, Google never really managed to get full feature parity with the Nest app. An upcoming Google Home app update could help bridge some of the gaps, finally giving Nest x Yale smart door lock users the ability to use passcodes through it.

In the latest Google Home app v3.19.1.3 update, we found the following strings that reference passcode functionality:

<string name="choose_a_lock_header_description">A guest passcode will be created for this lock</string>
<string name="create_label_header_description">Labels help you identify and organize passcodes</string>
<string name="choose_a_lock_header_title">Choose lock</string>
<string name="create_passcode_label_hint">Passcode label</string>
<string name="edit_label_header_description">Tap label to change. Labels help you identify and organize passcodes.</string>
<string name="create_label_header_text">Create label</string>

The strings reveal that the Google Home app will get passcode-related features. These features will extend to labeling and creating guest passcodes, though there is always room for adding more features in the future.

Now, the strings do not directly reference the Nest x Yale locks. So, there is a chance that Google is building functionality for some future hardware products. However, there’s also a chance that this feature is finally an attempt at bringing feature parity to Nest x Yale lock users, and we believe that to be more likely the case.

Google’s support documentation on Nest x Yale Lock passcodes continues to reference the Nest app for creating and changing the passcodes used to lock and unlock the Google Nest x Yale Lock. We’ve also spotted exasperated Nest x Yale lock users on Reddit trying to figure out how to manage passcodes for their lock in the confused mishmash between the Nest app and the Google Home app. The Nest app redirects them to the Google Home app, but the Google Home app seems to lack functionality around passcodes. So it’s likely that Google could be looking to finally bridge the gap here for existing users. However, this remains speculation on our end.

We’ve reached out to Google for a statement on this finding. We’ll update this article when we hear back from them.

Buying a good Father’s Day gift can be tough if you’re on a budget, especially if your dad is already on the tech-savvy side. Sometimes they may claim they don’t want anything, other times they might buy the thing you’re looking to gift without telling anyone. If you need help jogging your brain, we’ve rounded up a few of the better gadgets we’ve tested that cost less than $50. From mechanical keyboards and security cameras to luggage trackers and power banks, each has the potential to make your dad’s day-to-day life a little more convenient.