Unable to add more than one Nest Protect

[manovotny]

I have the following devices:

• A Nest Thermostat
• A Nest Doorbell
• A Nest Secure
• And 7 Nest Protects

The Thermostat, Doorbell, Secure, and the very first Nest Protect will all connect without any issues. They can even use each other as assist devices to add and connect to each other.

However, when I go to add a second Nest Protect, it always fails with the following error:

Something went wrong
The app is having trouble connecting to the assisting Nest product. Make sure you're close to it, that it's online and that your phone is connected to the same Wi-Fi network. P024(4078)

I have searched the internet for days and tried literally everything I’ve seen mentioned. Here's the run down of what I am working with and what I have tried.

• GFiber Wi-Fi 6E router (model number GR6EXX0C), which is IPv6 capable and enabled (I can see an IPv6 address in my router settings and double verified by visiting https://ipv6test.google.com which said "Yes, looks like you're using IPv6 already. Welcome to the future of the Internet!") and has 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands.
• The GFiber Wi-Fi 6E Mesh Extender (model number GE6E220C) is not plugged in or powered on to remove it from the equation.
• I have read and tried everything in the "Can’t connect Nest Protect to the app or Wi-Fi" Help Center document.
• I have restarted router (several times).
• Restarted iPhone 15 (several times) and it's running latest iOS (version iOS 17.2.1).
• In iOS, verified "Settings > Privacy > Local Network > Nest" is enabled.
• Uninstalled and reinstalled the Nest app (version 5.73.0).
• Verified the Nest Protects are running the latest firmware version (version 3.5.0.3).
• I have factory reset all the Nest Protects (holding the button down until the version number is read).
• The router is a dual-band router. I’ve also tried running the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands on separate SSIDs and connecting the devices and my phone to the 2.4 GHz band network.
• I have removed all Nest products from the app.
• I have deleted my previous Home and create a new Home (aka. home structure or home address).
• I have placed all Nest Protects and the router literally next to each other.
• Verified Bluetooth is enabled.
• Tried the "Bluetooth trick" by turning off Bluetooth on my phone after you get the error message and then press "try again", which doesn’t work and produces a different error message ("Something went wrong. The app is having trouble connecting to the assisting Nest product. Make sure you're close to it, that it's online and that your phone is connected to the same Wi-Fi network. P013(4096)").
• I have tried airplane mode to force wifi connection only.
• I have tried adding the Protects first before any other devices as some online have mentioned issues when adding other devices (ie. Doorbell, Thermostat, etc) first.
• I have tried to manually enter the entry key instead of scanning.
• I have tried setting up one device and don't attempt to set up a second one, making sure this device stays online and connected for 24 hours before attempting to connected a second one.
• I can add all of them as the first device. They all fail when you try to add a second device.
• I can add all of them to their own home structures, but that kinda defeats the purpose. They’re meant to be connected and talk to each other.

I am at a loss. I chatted with Google Support for 3 hours yesterday and they essentially gave up saying I had exhausted all their troubleshooting steps and that a Senior Support Specialist would email me with next steps (no email yet).

I am clearly not alone. This forum has multiple instances with people struggling to get more than one Protect added to their account.

Anyone have any bright ideas I haven’t tried yet?

[manovotny]

I did see there is a known issue as pointed out by @kelanfromgoogle in this community thread, so maybe it's related? Maybe not. Could be a red herring.

[Lance_L]

Hello manovotny,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community and for sharing all the steps you’ve taken to fix the issue. I’m sorry to hear that you’re having issues with Nest Protect and for the delayed response from the senior support specialists. I’d like to dig deeper into this. Can you share the case ID from your interaction with the support team so I can check what happened?

Keep me posted.

All the best,

Lance

[manovotny]

@Lance_L I started with case id 5-3746000035803, but had to leave for a moment and they ended the chat. Opened case id 2-6958000035706 in continuation. 

[Lance_L]

Hi manovotny,

I appreciate you providing the case IDs. After further investigation, I've determined that our senior support team will need to collaborate with another team to resolve this issue. While I can’t provide an exact timeframe, rest assured that they will reach out to you via email as soon as they have more information to share. Your patience during this process is greatly appreciated as we work towards a resolution.

Best regards,

Lance

[manovotny]

@Lance_L sounds good. I appreciate you looking into it and for the update. I'll sit tight.

[Legolad]

Me too.

4 Nest Thermostats

11 Nest Protects.

All the thermostats and 1 Protect can connect no problem. The remaining 10 Protects cannot be added because the iOS app freezes and won't recover no matter how long I leave it (I left it overnight).

IPV6 is enabled. I have not restricted my network to 2.4 GHz because there is no consistent result from that.

I am about to try the "gather them all and add them to Home starting with the lowest Firmware first" solution. I am not hopeful, but at least that one sort of makes sense.  

[manovotny]

Google finally got back to me.

I had a word with the team dedicated to your concern and found that we've exhausted all our troubleshooting steps, the next best step is to get a replacement. Upon checking your device's warranty, I found that it has expired, and I won't be able to process a replacement.

In this case I suggest you purchase new devices. I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you.

Kind of a disappointing answer, especially since they were all working and connected (got a new wifi router, network name, and password, removed them to reset them, but now cannot be re-added). Very much feels like a software problem since they can all be added individually and the Secure, Doorbell, and Thermostat all work without issue and can even assist in getting the first Protect setup.

With this issue and Google also killing off the Secure here in April 2024, I'll likely scrap everything. I wish there was an alternative on the market for the Protect, but I'll probably go back to basic fire / carbon monoxide alarms for half the cost.

Really a sad ending.

[manovotny · Accepted solution]

Oh look at that... A new version of the Next app (version 5.74.0) came out 4 days go and what works now?!

Sincerely appreciate you [Google Specialists] NOT TELLING ME THAT and recommending I go spend $900 on new Nest Protects because mine are "defective". 👎

[Bigredrhino]

Mine still doesn't work... WTF nest/ Google