Learn more about thermostat mid plates

Removing your thermostat’s cover

Important: Turn off the power before exposing any
wiring or attempting to make any adjustments to your
thermostat to help keep you safe and help prevent
damage to your thermostat and your system.

Most 24V thermostats have a cover that is easily
removed. After your thermostat cover is removed, you
should see your thermostat’s base.

The wires that run from your heating and cooling
system attach to the base of your thermostat, and
your thermostat’s base is often screwed to the wall.

If you see wiring labels

After you remove the cover of your thermostat you
might see wires attached to your thermostat base.

If you see labels on these terminals like R, G, Y, or W
you can use these labels to check if you’re compatible 
with the Nest Thermostat.

Tip: If you see more than one label for each wire, find
out which label you should use.

If you don’t see wiring labels

If you remove the cover and you don’t see any wire
labels, your thermostat might have a mid plate.

Mid plates are screwed to your thermostat’s base or
attached directly to the wall and can hide your wire
labels.

You’ll need to remove the screws and look on the other
side of your mid plate to see your thermostat’s wire
labels.

Once you find the labels you can use our compatibility tool to check if you’re compatible with the Nest Thermostat.