topic Re: Google wifi in Nest Wifi

Google wifi

Djdrichards — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 22:16:02 GMT

I just purchased the Google mesh wifi system and I was just wondering how can you tell which devices are getting signal from which mesh point. Do you just have them in the same room on google home app?

Re: Google wifi

Juzdu — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 23:01:54 GMT

I don't believe there's a way to tell which mesh point your wifi device is connected to.

I can't figure out why you'd have them in the same room on the home app, rather than having them in the room they're actually in. The room thing on the home app is just a way of sorting the devices logically, it doesn't have any effect on the device itself or change which point anything connects to.

Re: Google wifi

MichaelP — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 16:19:24 GMT

Hello @Djdrichards

If you open the Google Home app, tap the "Wi-Fi" bubble, then "Devices", and then tap on the device you're interested in, and finally the "Info" tab for that device, you can see which access point it's connected to at the bottom of the "Device information" section.

Just a note that devices decide which access point to connect to and when to switch between them (including when to switch between 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands). Some devices do a better job of this than others.

Which "room" the are assigned to in the Google Home app has no impact on this – it's just a way to organize the access points.

Re: Google wifi

Juzdu — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 22:36:50 GMT

@MichaelP thanks for that...when i look at Info for one of my devices though, under "Nest Wifi Router" it just says "Point". I have a router and 2 points, so that doesn't tell me which point I'm connected to. I have descriptive names for both my points too, which it's ignoring and just saying 'point'. Do you know of a way to tell which point?

Re: Google wifi

MichaelP — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 14:35:01 GMT

Ah, yeah – I find the layout of the UI confusing, there, too. "Point" is the label for the field, and "Nest Wifi Router" is the name of the access point that device is connected to. It looks like that is your primary unit (the one connected to your internet service). You may be able to check some other devices and see if they indicate one of the secondary units you've named differently if they are closer to them.

Re: Google wifi

Juzdu — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 00:59:09 GMT

Ack, you're right of course, the labels and values are the other way around from what I expected. I think what really threw me is that I'm sitting at my desk right next to one of my wifi points, with my router being about 30 feet (and 2 rooms) away, yet my phone is connected to the router rather than the much closer point. I guess it must prioritise and hold onto that direct router connection until it absolutely has to use a point instead.

Re: Google wifi

MichaelP — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 15:07:40 GMT

As I said above, devices decide which access point to connect to and when to switch between them (including when to switch between 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands). Some devices do a better job of this than others. Google/Nest WiFi provides devices with some extra information they can use to make better decisions, but not all devices support this. Apple devices do, and they seem to do a good job of handing off between access points and bands. But, only some Android devices and some Windows devices support it, and they can end up getting "stuck" to an access point and/or band that still works well enough even when another one is closer.

Re: Google wifi

MFord — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 06:15:19 GMT

Hello, I'd like to tack on a somewhat related question.

The first wifi point in my five point system says "Online and connected to 4 wifi points". Does this mean the first point has a direct connection to the each of the other four points or are some of the points functioning as repeaters for the more distant points? Points two, three, four and five all report a great connection.

Re: Google wifi

MichaelP — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 14:28:01 GMT

It can be difficult to discuss mesh topologies without getting into some more complex topics. But, the "next hop" selection algorithm prefers paths with the fewest hops – even if that means the connection isn't strong. This is usually better, since going through an intermediate node means sending the traffic over the same channel again, which reduces the capacity of the channel, so it isn't necessarily better. So, all of that means it's extremely likely your four secondary WiFi points are talking directly to the primary. Getting a "great" connection on the mesh test is a good sign.

By the way, the above behavior is why the placement advice recommends putting the primary as close to the center of your home as possible, with mesh secondary points one or two rooms away from there – close enough to get a strong connection for themselves, and where they can provide connectivity to more distant clients.

Re: Google wifi

MFord — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 16:00:51 GMT

Can ethernet cable act as a "bridge" between two points? I'm tryng to get wifi from the edge of the house to an outbuilding.

Re: Google wifi

MichaelP — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 16:13:13 GMT

This question gets asked occasionally, and the answer gets complicated really quickly. But the safest answer is that to get coverage to an outbuilding, running an Ethernet cable from a Google WiFi (or another Nest WiFi Router) unit in the outbuilding all the way back to the primary Google WiFi (or primary Nest WiFi Router) LAN Ethernet port (or to any switch port on a network built out from that unit's LAN port) should work. However, connecting two secondary Google WiFi units (or two secondary Nest WiFi Router units) to each other via Ethernet may not work reliably. Note that the Nest WiFi Point units do not have Ethernet ports, so they can't be part of a solution like this.

Re: Google wifi

EdwardT — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 18:35:39 GMT

Hi folks,

@MichaelP and Juzdu, thanks for the help!

@Djdrichards and MFord, how's it going with your Google WiFi? Still need our help?

Thanks,

Edward

Re: Google wifi

MFord — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 01:02:41 GMT

My project is going well. Thanks for the help.

Re: Google wifi

Jeff — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 23:17:05 GMT

Thanks for checking in with an update, MFord.

Djdrichards, how are things going in your situation? Are you still seeing the same issue? Do you need any more help on this?

Re: Google wifi

Jeff — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 18:57:05 GMT

Hi, everyone.
Just one quick final check in here since activity has slowed down. We'll be locking the thread in the next 24 hours, but if you still need help, I would be happy to keep it open. If there's more we can do, just let me know.
Thanks.

Re: Google wifi

Jeff — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 22:09:48 GMT

Hi, everyone.
As we haven't had any activity here recently I'm going to go ahead and close the thread. If you have more to add, feel free to start a new discussion.
Thanks