Mechanical chime stopped working - is it safe to remove chime puck for good?

[riniboo]

I installed the 2nd Gen Nest doorbell (wired) about six months ago, and it has been working fine. However, today the mechanical chime (existing doorbell inside the house) stopped working when someone was at the door. I followed all the troubleshooting steps and found that if I disconnected the Google Nest chime puck, everything started to work again.

So, I contacted Google support. The representative said Google doesn't have a replacement part for the chime puck alone, and they would have to issue an RMA for the whole doorbell unit for me. This means I would need to pay for the new unit first (credit card hold) and then send back the old one. Additionally, I would have to reinstall and reconfigure everything. Arrgg.... The email from Google also mentioned that the replacement unit could be a refurbished item.

On the other hand, the Google support representative said an alternative solution is to remove the chime puck completely. I don't understand what the chime puck does exactly. I read that you may need it if you are using the battery version of the Nest doorbell (for charging?) or if you are using a digital doorbell instead of a mechanical one. Some articles said it helps to eliminate the chime from buzzing (which I don't have an issue with). So, is it safe to remove the chime puck for good? Anyone not using the chime puck?  Or should I go ahead with the RMA? What do you guys think?

[mdr2]

Hello,  To the best of my knowledge you do not want to remove the Chime Puck because it prevents the internal solenoid in the mechanical doorbell from being partially energized with electricity when sitting idle.  You will notice this problem if you put your ear up to the mechanical chime and you hear it buzzing.  This means it is getting power 24/7 and will burn it out.

I have had to swap mine out with the RMA process and it has worked out great.  As long as you return the old one quickly you will not get charged.

For years Google has refused to sell parts for their camera products.  It makes no sense and shows what a bad company they are when it comes to serving their customers needs.   

[MplsCustomer]

@riniboo 

The chime puck is NOT used for the battery doorbell.

The chime connector is supposed to provide constant power to the doorbell and its camera:

("The chime connector allows the chime's wires to deliver constant power to the Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen) and Nest Doorbell (wired) and protects your chime from damage. In addition, without the chime connector, you might experience chime buzzing or unexpected chimes.": https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9247132.)

I don't know whether the 2nd gen doorbell will work without it (except in the case where you are using a 3rd party plugin adapter like OhmKat's and do NOT have an indoor doorbell chime).

It's unfortunate that Google Nest forces you to replace the entire unit; there have been a few posts in this forum where customers have gone through the process of replacing the entire unit, but then instead of reinstalling and reconfiguring, they just replaced the chime puck and sent the replacement doorbell back instead. (You still have to go through the RMA process and hope that the process works.)