Nest 2nd generation thermostat offline

[Iany1954]

My second generation Nest thermostat has been connected to my WiFi with no problems for several years. I have a Vodafone router and a BT whole home mesh system (router WiFi disabled). A couple of days ago the Nest started showing as offline on a regular basis. I checked this by looking at the Nest network data and it showed a ping in excess of 20 seconds! I removed the mesh network and restarted the router WiFi, still no go! As the router software is limited in actions I only had a choice to change the security setting. It is set by default to WPA2, the other option is WPA + WPA2. I selected the second option and miraculously the Nest came back online and stayed connected!!! Ping is now mostly beneath 1 second and no offline. Whilst I’m glad to have the nest back online I cannot understand what has changed as no software updates have occurred. WPA has weak security and I’m not sure that my mesh system supports it (I’ll try to find out). Has anyone come across similar problems?

[Iany1954]

Further to the above, I’ve checked and the only alternative security possible in the BT mesh system is WPA2 or WPA(auto). The thermostat fails on either of these. So, I cannot use the mesh system and trying with router WiFi enabled and different SSID (for Nest only) also causes Nest to fail, I can now only have Vodafone router set to WPA + WAP2. All Then works although some devices have very poor reception (hence preferred use of the mesh system). I don’t have an answer to this. It can only be a change in the Nest firmware but none appears to have occurred!

[Markjosephp]

Hello Iany1954,

Thank you for taking the time to let us know about your inquiry.

It's most likely that an unknown variable in your network environment (such as Wi-Fi network congestion, router firmware issues, or a security setting on the device used to cast) is causing the issue. Also, a power-related concern might trigger your thermostat to not connect with the server. 

With this, could you please help me check your thermostat's battery level? You can see this in your actual thermostat's Technical Info settings. Lastly, please restart your devices, including your phone and router, whenever changes have been made to your router settings.

Regards,

Mark

[Iany1954]

Hi Mark,

thanks for your response. Battery level shows as 3.94V and I’ve never seen less than 3.85.

the router has been restarted numerous times, similarly the mesh system when it was in use. The phone has also been restarted. The router has little that I can adjust. However, if nothing else is changed I can always make the thermostat go offline (ping in excess of 10 seconds) if I change the router security from WPA + WPA2 back to WPA2.  Normal operation returns as soon as WPA + WPA2 is initiated (ping less than 1 second)! Using WPA +WPA2 has exhibited no offline issues for the last week.

I can put up with things as is but would like to tie down what has happened! When the problem started no software updates had occurred and the system set up was not altered. I’m not aware of any external influences and indeed I’d probably expect more problems using the router only (the signal strength to the thermostat is slightly lower).

I will try going back to WPA2 only in the coming week and reset all devices at the same time. I’ll report back on results!

Thanks

Ian

[Markjosephp]

Hello there,

Sounds like a plan! Thanks for the input, Ian. I would be glad to know what the result would be. In addition to what I mentioned above, it's recommended to use WPA2 encryption on your router when using Nest products. Please take a look at this article about the recommended Wi-Fi network and router settings.

Regards,

Mark

[Iany1954]

Hi Mark, had a chance to try a test today. Thermostat has been online with no problems.

—————————————-

Vodafone router security = wpa+wpa2
Thermostat ping = 723ms

Thermostat signal strength = 59

Thermostat security = wpa/wpa2

—————————————————————
Change Vodafone router security to wpa2

restart router

restart thermostat

restart phone

thermostat goes offline randomly

Thermostat ping = 807 (stuck!)

Thermostat signal strength = 63

Thermostat security = wpa/wpa2

Thermostat voltage always above 8.5.

The thermostat definitely goes offline when router security is wpa2. It does seem to recover after a few minutes. You can see that the thermostat shows security as wpa/wpa2 no matter what the router is set to.

I’m not sure what this means! However, as all seems to work well with the router set to wpa+wpa2 (which the thermostat shows!) then I’ll leave it at that. If anything else comes to light I’ll let you know.

[Markjosephp]

Hi there,

Perfect! Thanks for keeping me in the loop, Ian. In the meantime, monitor your thermostat's behavior, and don't hesitate to give me a shout if anything comes up.

Regards,

Mark

[Jenelyn_O]

Hi there,

Chiming in — I wanted to follow up if you still need help. Please let me know if you’re still having any concerns or questions from here, as I would be happy to take a closer look and assist you further.

I appreciate your help, Mark.

Best,
Jenelyn

[Iany1954]

Hi, I’ve now accepted that my 2nd generation Nest thermostat will not work with my BT mini whole home mesh system. The Nest will only work reliably (stay online) when router Wi-Fi security is set to wpa/wpa2 (cannot set that on the mesh system). Fortunately, my home Wi-Fi is acceptable without the mesh (and simpler!). My remaining questions now are

1) what changed to clause this requirement to need wpa/wpa2?

2) why does the nest under network settings always show its security as wpa/wpa2?

Ian

[zoeuvre]

Hi Iany1954, 

I know its been a while, and I thank you for the follow-up information. 

It's recommended to use WPA2 encryption on your router when using Nest products to protect your data. You can learn more about the Wi-Fi network and router settings of Nest products in this article. 

Feel free to message again if you have questions. We're here to help.

Thanks for your help, Mark and Jenelyn.

Best,

Zoe 

[Dan_A]

Hey there Iany1954,

I wanted to follow up and see if you are still in need of any help. Have you had the chance to try the suggestion above? If yes, how is it?

Kind regards,

Dan

[Iany1954]

Hi Dan,

the Nest thermostat has been fine for the last few weeks with no noted offline episodes. This has been with the Vodafone router WiFi security set to WPA + WPA2. As a test I just returned the router security to WPA2 only and followed this with a restart of the thermostat. Within 5 minutes the thermostat went offline and stayed that way (no recovery). I returned the router security to WPA + WPA2 and within 30 seconds the Nest thermostat (no restart) came back online and stayed that way! I’ve no idea why but my problem is resolved with router security at WPA + WPA2. I have noted that the thermostat (under network information) shows security as WPA/WPA2 under all circumstances. Is this showing that WPA/WPA2 is required or that either SHOULD work?

regards

Ian

[Jenelyn_O]

Hey Iany1954,

Thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear that your issue is already resolved. Your Nest Thermostat connectivity to WPA or WPA2 depends on what type of router you have. Please let us know if you still have questions or concerns, as we'll be willing to assist you further. Otherwise, I'll be locking this thread after 24 hours. 

I appreciate your help, Zoe and Dan.

Cheers,

Jenelyn

[Iany1954]

The problem is resolved by only using the Vodafone router with its security set to wpa+wpa2. I cannot use wpa2 only as the Nest thermostat continually disconnects. This means that I cannot use my BT mesh system (this gives better cover over the whole house) as it will only allow wpa2. Only the Nest thermostat suffers the problem and that only recently as it has worked for a considerable time with the BT mesh. I don’t know what had happened or why!!!

ian

[Iany1954]

Hi Dan,

the Nest thermostat has been fine for the last few weeks with no noted offline episodes. This has been with the Vodafone router WiFi security set to WPA + WPA2. As a test I just returned the router security to WPA2 only and followed this with a restart of the thermostat. Within 5 minutes the thermostat went offline and stayed that way (no recovery). I returned the router security to WPA + WPA2 and within 30 seconds the Nest thermostat (no restart) came back online and stayed that way! I’ve no idea why but my problem is resolved with router security at WPA + WPA2. I have noted that the thermostat (under network information) shows security as WPA/WPA2 under all circumstances. Is this showing that WPA/WPA2 is required or that either SHOULD work?

regards

Ian