A lot of things get better over time. Leather jackets, your kids piano playing, pretty much all technology. Sadly, that hasn’t applied to smoke alarms. The alarm that’s been on your ceiling for 10 years hasn’t gotten better.

But Nest Protect can. Unlike other alarms, it updates automatically, getting improved software and new features.

Over the next two weeks, all Wi-Fi connected Nest Protect smoke and CO alarms will get new 2.0 software that cuts down on false alarms from steam, gives you insights into your home and helps you stay safe. Here’s what you’ll get with this update:

Steam Check: Steam sets off most smoke alarms, regardless of what kind of sensor they use. It’s completely counter-intuitive, but water particles and smoke particles don’t look very different to smoke alarms. Now, Nest Protect will know better.

It will use its built-in humidity sensor and new algorithms to understand the difference between steam and smoke. Even with a very conservative approach – Nest Protect has to be 100% sure there’s no fire – Steam Check cuts down nuisance alarms from steam by more than half. That’s based on data from real homes, not lab testing.

Want to know more about how Steam Check algorithm works? We’ve written a white paper.

Safety History: Check the Nest app to see what caused Heads-Up or Emergency Alarms over the last 10 days. Keep track of where and when they happened, so you can figure out how to avoid setting off alarms.