Nest Outdoor Camera will not connect to T-Mobile Wifi

[KA44]

I am setting up my new nest camera with floodlight and I cannot successfully connect it to my T-Mobile Gateway internet. I have done all of the trouble shooting recommended by Google customer service over the phone and nothing is working. The error message is “Couldn’t connect to Wi-Fi. Try again or tap get help for more solutions. 0.65” I have seen some other posts on this community about this issue—one solution offered was to get a different router. Has anyone else found other solutions? 

[EmptyNester]

Hello,  I have Nest cameras and was thinking about switching to T-Mobile Gateway.  If you find out what the problem is and how you resolved it please post it here.  I would love to know.

In the mean time I found this with Gemini.  Have you tried either of these?

Yes, there are known issues and common difficulties reported by users when trying to connect and maintain a stable connection with Google Nest cameras and other smart home devices on a T-Mobile Home Internet Gateway.
The primary challenges revolve around the network configuration of the T-Mobile Gateway.
Common Issues & Troubleshooting
The issues often stem from how the T-Mobile Gateway handles Wi-Fi bands and networking features that Nest devices are sensitive to.
Combined 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Network (Band Steering):
T-Mobile Gateways often use a single Wi-Fi network name (SSID) for both the 2.4 GHz (longer range, slower speed, used by many older/smart devices) and 5 GHz (shorter range, faster speed) bands.
Many Nest camera models, especially older ones, are only compatible with the 2.4 GHz band. The gateway's "band steering" feature attempts to place devices on the best band, but this can confuse the Nest camera during setup, causing connection failures.
Fix: You can often resolve this by using the T-Life app to split the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks into two separate SSIDs (names). Then, you should connect your Nest camera specifically to the 2.4 GHz network.
Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) Channels on 5 GHz:
Some users report that T-Mobile routers, even when set to 5 GHz only, may send out a DFS tag which can cause issues with Google Home devices.
A reported workaround involves creating an additional 5 GHz Wi-Fi network with a different name on the gateway to prevent the original from sending out the problematic DFS tag.

[KA44]

Hi, yes, we saw that this is an issue and we have made sure we are only connecting to 2.4 GHz network for this! Still doesn’t work. 

[EmptyNester]

Soooo I have another thought for you to consider.   I just added (2) of the brand new Nest Outdoor (Wired) cameras to my system and there are a lot of improvements.  They are on sale on Amazon right now for $120.00.  They work on the 5.8Ghz WIFI as well as the 2.4.  They have much improved image quality and the low-light image is much improved as well.   The Outdoor Spotlight you are buying does not use this newer camera.  I would expect Nest would upgrade it as some point.  But for now you could go this way and just not have the spot light.   But then you could put some other kind of motion sensor light out there to deal with the need to light up the area.  

... just a thought. 

[EmptyNester]

Wow,,,, I'm at a loss on this one.   And you have gone way beyond for trouble shooting.   Can you return it for a refund and then buy another one?   Maybe there is something defective about it?

If you buy a 2nd one and have the same problem then we can conclude some kind of incompatibility. 

For what it's worth I have the Eero mesh routers that also merge the WIFI Name for both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz into one name and I have never had a problem with Nest cameras not wanting to connect.

[kcruzgonzalez]

Hello @KA44,

Thank you for posting on the community and confirming the difficulty you are having connecting your Nest Camera to your T-Mobile Gateway. Let me help you with this.

Since the advanced community troubleshooting steps did not resolve the issue, and this is a known compatibility concern with the T-Mobile Gateway, we need to transition your case to our dedicated escalation team.

The team would like to learn more about this behavior. When you get a chance, please fill out this form and let us know when you're finished. We'll have someone reach out to you via email from there and provide you with the options to help you with this.

Once you have completed and submitted the form, please reply here to confirm that your case has been transferred.

Regards,

Kevin

[mistystephnie]

If your Nest Outdoor Camera won’t connect to T-Mobile WiFi, the issue is often related to network compatibility or signal restrictions. T-Mobile’s home internet sometimes uses CGNAT and non-traditional routing, which can cause problems with smart devices of backyard laser tag OC that rely on specific ports and stable upload speeds.