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Difficulty connecting 2nd Nest Thermostat to app

jakemoore
Community Member

So the question is why won't two Nest Gen 3 work under one home in the app and how to fix?

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The installation of my first Nest Gen 3 Learning Thermostat to the upstairs of my house went perfectly.

 

I'm trying to add a second Nest Gen 3 Learning thermostat downstairs (second air handler and heat pump).

It connects to the WiFi no problem.

But  it won't connect the app.  It says "reconsider the location" as if it wants to be closer to the first thermostat.  My house is already wired and the thermostats located where the AC needs them for years of service.

Under the suggestion found elsewhere I find I can create a new home in my Nest app.  Then my thermostat connects to the app.  But now I have two virtual homes in the app and one real home.  

So the question is why won't two Nest Gen 3 work under one home in the app and how to fix?

1 Recommended Answer

So I tried to duplicate the message and take a video by disconnecting from the second virtual home and reconnecting to the app.  It connected smoothly this time so I was unable to take a photo.  Previously it would not freeze after entering the thermostat code and verifying the serial number on the phone.  It would process a few minutes, say "connecting wifi" and then come up with an unable to connect message on the app and thermostat.  The thermostat would restart and delete all wifi settings.  While the thermostat would hang up on the connecting to wifi setting, I could always connect easily to wifi without using the app.  I'm grateful that we are working but flummoxed because I have changed nothing and there is no visible log or other information to explain why it worked this time.  

I suppose if I were to advise somebody in the future who has this problem I would suggest:

  1. Connect the thermostat to WiFi without the app or connect the thermostat to the app and WiFi with a second virtual home.
  2. Let the thermostat run for a few days.  I don't know if this stabilize the batter or installs new firmware or allows the thermostat and wifi to make friends.
  3. Retry the connection to the first real home a week later.

View Recommended Answer in original post

8 REPLIES 8

EdwardT
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi Jakemoore,

 

Thanks for reaching out. I'm sorry to hear that you're having an issue with adding a second Nest Thermostat to the same home structure. I'd love to know more about this and I have a few questions:

 

  • What's the name of the first thermostat and what room are you selecting when setting up the second Nest Thermostat?
  • How far is it from the first Nest Thermostat?

Looking forward to your response.

 

Thanks,

Edward

Thank you EdwardT,

 

1)The first thermostat is set up as Home = [1917] and Name = [Upstairs].  The second thermostat does not get to the point where I can choose a room/name in the app setup if I use the same Home.  But when it is set up in a second virtual home it is Home = [1917 down] and Name = [Downstairs]

2) Its about 15 feet away as WiFi radio waves travel but on a different floor.  There

jakemoore
Community Member

 

--

jakemoore
Community Member

Also to clarify: my wifi signal is strong:

# --- Wi-Fi Status

MAC Address : ################
Interface Name : en0
Power : On [On]
Op Mode : STA
SSID : ######################
BSSID : 86:96:4e:b2:38:33
RSSI : -64 dBm
Noise : -90 dBm
Tx Rate : 195.0 Mbps
Security : WPA2 Personal
PHY Mode : 11ac
MCS Index : 4
Guard Interval : 400

EdwardT
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi jakemoore,

 

Thanks for the response. The message that you're getting is unusual. Could you share a photo of the exact message? Also, at what point of the setup are you getting this?

 

Thanks,

Edward

So I tried to duplicate the message and take a video by disconnecting from the second virtual home and reconnecting to the app.  It connected smoothly this time so I was unable to take a photo.  Previously it would not freeze after entering the thermostat code and verifying the serial number on the phone.  It would process a few minutes, say "connecting wifi" and then come up with an unable to connect message on the app and thermostat.  The thermostat would restart and delete all wifi settings.  While the thermostat would hang up on the connecting to wifi setting, I could always connect easily to wifi without using the app.  I'm grateful that we are working but flummoxed because I have changed nothing and there is no visible log or other information to explain why it worked this time.  

I suppose if I were to advise somebody in the future who has this problem I would suggest:

  1. Connect the thermostat to WiFi without the app or connect the thermostat to the app and WiFi with a second virtual home.
  2. Let the thermostat run for a few days.  I don't know if this stabilize the batter or installs new firmware or allows the thermostat and wifi to make friends.
  3. Retry the connection to the first real home a week later.

MelbaDT
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey jakemoore, 

 

Thanks for getting back to us and for providing a detailed summary of what you've done to resolve your concern. Your suggestion is very much appreciated as it would be a huge help to others who might be experiencing the same. 

 

Cheers, 

Melba

MelbaDT
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there, 

 

We haven't heard from you in a while so we'll be locking this thread if there is no update within the day. If you have any new issues, updates or just a discussion topic, feel free to start a new thread in the Community.

 

Best, 

Melba