My NEST learning thermostaat has un unrecoverable W5 error

[MinzeB]

After working fine for several months, I suddenly discovered that my NEST thermostaat was no longer online.

It could not connect to my Wifi network anymore. 

Even resetting or reconfiguring the NEST didn't help. 

When the Nest was searching for Wifi networks, not any network was found and now the nest.com/W5 error in on the display.

If you go to nest.com.w5 and go to the troubleshoot steps, you are advised to contact google support.

So that is what I did and Google offered me a replacement, which I will receive in a few days.

But what I do not understand is, why is this W5 issue never has been thoroughly solved by Google.

This NEST W5 error, problem with the wifi chip, was already reported in Nov 2019

This is clearly a design flaw. How long will Google continue to offer a replacement?  

[Mogordon76]

I have the same issue and having a very hard time getting answers. I see that a support number listed on older threads and when calling them they state they are no longer active and to reach out to support.google.com/googlenest. I am trying it now. 

[Garry_K]

I have had this problem for a while. I want a replacement that works.

[CoolingWizard]

I feel this not design error. Ut more likely and failing WiFi chip or antenna.

AC Cooling Wizard

[MinzeB]

That those wifi chips suddenly fail  si frequently is not normall. Some people report having more than one Nest failing with this W5 error. This seems to me statistical not a random fault. It happens too often. Wifi devices are in so many other devices, but only in a Nest device I see so many failing wifi chips. That's why I think it's a design flaw. 

[CoolingWizard]

@MinzeB ,

If it were a design flaw it would not work at all. Design errors are not intermittent. This is either a software bug introduced in the most recent software update or there is a bad batch of WiFi Chips. The one thing for sure is that the engineers need to get the failed WiFi units back in order to identify the root cause.  The WiFi interface is an ASIC with dual antenna inputs, state latches and power inputs, signal attenuation circuitry, and a micro processor.  If there is manufacturing quality control issue, then the WiFi defective Nest Thermostats need to be returned to the engineering department for fault isolation and identification.  

AC Cooling Wizard

[MinzeB]

This W5 problem is already mentioned at Nov 2019, so it is not a recent software problem.
There all kind of design flaws. 
Maybe the wifi-chip must work harder then foreseen in some circumstances.
For example, if surrounded by many disturbing wifi networks, the chip might use
maximum transmitting power.
If the cooling is not adequate, it will degrade over time and finally dies.

[EdmondB]

Hello MinzeB,

We appreciate people who are keen on sharing their thoughts with us. We're always looking for ways to improve. I'd suggest you share feedback about Google Nest.

Regards,
Edmond