"Cannot connect to assist device"

[Lotusman]

I fully expect Google/Nest to delete this post since they have disabled replies to the other primary thread on this subject.

Bought two new indoor/outdoor cameras to add to my existing (and previously marvelous) pre-Google Nest setup including multiple other devices; followed setup to the letter and got the now familiar and widely reported "Cannot connect to assisting device" freeze and timeout (game over). Came here to find a solution, some folks have had success disconnecting all their older devices adding new then re-adding old but since I have 10 of them, some up tall ladders I didn't want to do that.

Why is this happening to us?

Well I actually managed to talk to someone at Nest who was not willing to lie to me for the, and so I got to the truth (or at least part of it)  through some careful questioning.

These new cameras look for an assisting device ideally a thermostat (apparently) on the current wifi network to which that or those devices are connected. You cannot manually enter wifi details (like you could before) if the new device finds any existing devices on the network (that's why the disconnect them all workaround works). IF IT DOES see any other devices it will ONLY pull wifi credentials from one of those devices.

WHY, why no manual option any longer?

It has to do with the Nest Aware subscription. Google in their infinite greed are making it so that you can only have ONE network i.e. wifi connected to a Nest aware subscription. If you have two networks, as I do, you cannot have devices on both linked to the same Aware account as you could with previous generations, if you use wifi extenders that create an additional network you cannot connect to those and use the same Aware account. This is to stop people using one Nest Aware subscription for what Google deems to be TWO HOUSEHOLDS, where its definition of two households is two wifi networks. I have two because I have two buildings on my property a house and a workshop and one wifi simply will not cover both without going to obscene levels of cost/sophistication; it's easier to just have two networks.

Presumably this greed has come about because Google noticed two households sharing one Aware subscription so decided it was more important to stop that happening than allow customers who have been using previous generation devices across extended networks (but still one household) to continue to do so.

Quote from Nest, "You could add your new cameras to the second network sir if you create a new home on that network, but of course you cannot use the Nest Aware subscription you pay for, because it's a second home". There you have it... it's deliberate, now my workshop I can see as I type this on the other side of my horse paddock is a second home in the eyes of Google Nest, I pay for a second subscription or have no recording/alerts etc.

Thanks Google Nest. 

I ripped the tech for this and told him to pass it to his superiors, of course Google don't care, they've done the calculation and they are going to make more money stopping 'households' sharing Aware accounts than they are going to lose disabling peoples ability to have two or extended networks on one property, but it sucks for people like me and judging by the number of posts about this here and elsewhere, there are a lot of us.

This 'lock-out' is not communicated at all on the product web pages and as such is a misrepresentation.

Caveat emptor.

[Lotusman]

Oh... this is of course why you see virtually zero effort to address the issue from tech support in the other thread(s) and no 'fix' on the horizon... they don't want to fix it, it is a calculated move.

[MplsCustomer]

@Lotusman 

Interesting! The explanation you received from Google may be the reason why Google implemented the "assisting device" feature. It may also explain why Google does not seem to care that it is so poorly implemented that it simply does not work for so many customers.

I am not by any means an expert in networking, but in your case, are you not able to extend your WiFi network to your workshop using the same SSID (network name) and password used in your house? In our case, we have our Internet Service Provider's modem/router (configured with an SSID and password that we chose), and we also have two third-party routers, each connected to our ISP's modem/router via an Ethernet cable. We have configured those two routers in "bridge" mode so that they function as wireless access points instead of as routers. This provides good connectivity throughout our house and detached garage using the same SSID and password throughout.

We have also been lucky enough to NOT have encountered the "assisting device" error, even though in recent months we've added a Google Nest Camera (Battery), a Google Nest Hub 2nd Gen, a Google Nest Hub Max, and a Google Nest Hello Doorbell. I have read many of the "assisting device" error postings and have been unable to find a clear reason for why the error occurs, except for when--as you were told--a customer has two different WiFi networks and therefore two different SSIDs.  And most postings do not mention this.

I tried searching through various Google Nest Help and Google Store web pages and also could not find any place where they explicitly state that a Nest Aware subscription applies to a single SSID.

I also agree that it is absurd for Google to regard your workshop on your property as a "second home"or "second household" and ask that you have a second Nest Aware subscription for the same property.

[Lotusman]

Thanks for the reply Mpis... Yep that is indeed the issue, two SSID's (a wireless extender would create a similar problem... but of course Google would like to solve THAT problem with a mesh network... but that won't cover the distances involved here). We're kinda in the boonies so have dual 100mps DSL (yeah I know), one running to our home and the other my workshop and barn. They are separated by a driveway, power service, trees, paddocks, badgers etc... So I agree running ethernet would solve the problem but it'd need to be buried with all the pain that goes with that, even if you could drive a wire that long. I looked into wireless uplink thingies... basically some serious antennas but the price goes up into the $thousands, ISP simply ran a separate line and modem to the side of the property and gave me a great bundled price. Problem solved... until Google unilaterally decided that two SSID's couldn't possibly belong to one person on the same property at the same time. I can make the cameras 'work' if I create a new 'home' but they are basically useful for live viewing only... So I'm training my dog to stay up at night and monitor the cameras and bark if he sees anything sketchy. I've had some long nights explaining to him that a passing moth is unlikely to present a problem but bizarrely this is actually a better solution than anything Google can propose.

[MplsCustomer]

@Bradand @GarrettDS, as Google Community Specialists who moderate this forum, could you please refer this case to Google Nest Support to address appropriately? If this customer's ISP was able to run a separate lines for their house and workshop/barn at their home property and give them a great bundled price, why can't Google Nest do the equivalent?

I see that a similar case came up in this forum last year (https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Cameras-and-Doorbells/Nest-Cams-in-Home-App-to-Different-WiFi...), where a customer with 5 WiFi networks on their 10-acre property was unable to install their new 4-pack of cameras (in addition to their existing 3 cameras) onto different SSIDs. Your response there was to basically ignore the customer's issue and refer them to a Google Nest Help page (https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9293015?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS#zippy=%2Cmove-a-n...) telling them they'd have to create separate homes and therefore separate Nest Aware subscriptions.

In both of these cases, you have loyal Google Nest customers who, up until now, were able to have their Google Nest cameras installed on separate WiFi networks on the same piece of property, running on the same Google Nest "home" with a single Nest Aware subscription, and now Google Nest is telling them they can no longer view their cameras together in the same Google Nest "home" and that they need separate Nest Aware subscriptions even though the cameras are at their home on the same piece of property.

Surely, Google Nest is capable of providing @Lotusman (and  @CCH ) with a single Google Nest "home" and a single Nest Aware subscription for their cameras on the same piece of property.

[Tone352]

Not necessarily the case. I have googles mesh wifi system with one SSID and a subscription to nest aware plus. i hooked ip one nest cam battery then a nest hub all worked fine so i just went to add a second nest cam battery and am getting same error message “ cant connect to assisted device “ 
had to be some other problem they cant fix. 

[Tone352]

If I cant get it to work just going back to Arlo. They have good cameras.