2.4 GHz Devices Lose Connectivity Frequently

[MouseBanner]

My laptop, cell phone, google home minis and hardwired items remain connected consistently, but my 2.4 GHz items do not. Primarily my Abode Iota alarm system and smart light bulbs struggle. When this happens I must restart my network for them to reconnect. A couple years ago I don't recall this happening at all and then it started happening many times a week.

My network is Modem > Google Nest Wi-Fi > Switch. I have only a single Wi-Fi access point and I'm not using the mesh Network capabilities. The connection strength does not seem to matter. Objects that are very near and very far disconnect at the same time. My firmware version is 14150.367.32. I have disabled IPv6 and WPA3. I have a guest network enabled but none of the devices use it.

[woolyb]

I have the same issue with my NordicTrack treadmill. It connects to the 5.0 band when Ifit says it requires 2.4. IF there is a pointer to any docs to let these devs know how to write client software to connect and / or a way for me to force it. Very frustrated

[woolyb]

note: i have seen the solution to move further away so only the 2.4 connection is available. Pretty difficult to move a treadmill out of 5.0 range 🙂

[AbigailF]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for posting ― let's see what's going on.

Your Nest Wifi router and points use the same name for both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band networks. This means that the Wi-Fi network uses both radio bands. But keep in mind: while both bands can be used, the personal devices (a smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc.) will connect to only one radio band at any given time. Nest Wifi attempts to select the band that will deliver the best performance for your device. Currently there is no option to manually disable either of the bands or to connect to them separately.

Give these steps a whirl:
 

Create a hotspot with a mobile phone. However, 2 mobile phones are required. Use the first device to create a hotspot (mobile phone).
 

How to set up a mobile hotspot:

Android

• Go to Settings.
• Tap the Network & internet option.
• Select Hotspot & tethering.
• Tap on Wi-Fi hotspot.
• Set up the hotspot name and password the same as the primary network.
• Choose the AP Band > 2.4 GHz band > Apply.
   

iOS:

• Go to Settings.
• Tap on Cellular. Tap the slider to turn Cellular Data on.
• Under Cellular, tap the slider to turn Personal Hotspot on.
• Tap the slider next to Allow Others to Join.
• Set up the hotspot name password the same as the primary network.
• To change the hotspot password, under Personal Hotspot Wi-Fi Password.
• To change the hotspot name, go to Settings > General > About > Name.

1. Use the second device to connect to the mobile hotspot.
2. Disconnect all of the Google Wifi or Nest Wifi points from the power outlet.
3. Connect the device to the 2.4 GHz band of the hotspot with the same SSID and password of the current network (case sensitive).
4. Once connected to the hotspot, plug in your primary Google Wifi point or the Nest Wifi router.
5. Turn off the hotspot and check if the device automatically connects to the Google Wifi network.
    

Let us know how it goes.
 

Best,

Abi

[woolyb]

Thanks for the details steps. Will I need to do this anything I restart the treadmill? Does anyone have a link to developer documentation so I can inform Ifit / Nordictrack that they do indeed have the ability to control which band they connect to? Seems to me if they require 2.4, they should be able to tell Google nest or any other wifi to only allow a connection to 2.4. Thanks again for your detailed steps. Will try later 

[LovelyM]

Hello woolyb,

I'm chiming in to see if you still need help. Please tell me if the steps that Abi provided did the trick. I want to make sure you're all good now.

Cheers,
Lovely

[woolyb]

I have not tried yet. Hopefully this weekend. I asked some follow up questions

1) If I reboot the treadmill do I have to do this crazy steps again?

2) Do you have instructions for Nordictrack / Ifit developers to connect to just the 2.4ghz band? 

3) Do you support Nordictrack / Ifit? How can Google wifi and one of the biggest exercise equipment companies not work together without crazy hacks? 

Thanks for following up. I will let you know when I try it out

[woolyb]

Did NOT work. Tried multiple times to follow your instructions. As soon as I boot up the nest wifi the connection is 5ghz. 

This really makes me question picking the nest over other options. Allow me to force a device to a different band, it shouldn't be that hard. For most things, it's great your software is being intelligent. Give an advanced option to allow setting device foo to 2.4 of 5 or 6 in the future. 

[MouseBanner]

While I hope woolyb resolves his/her similar issue, I would like to remind the support staff that my problem has not been resolved, and does not have the same set of symptoms as woolyb's issues. Can anyone propose a solution to help me?

To be clear, my devices do not have 5Ghz antennas. They connect properly to the 2.4Ghz network but they will lose connection seemingly at random.

[woolyb]

sorry, I thought we were similar. didn't mean to stomp on you. wanted to give your issue more weight!

[Rhanoudi]

I’m having the same exact issue. Only way to fix it is to restart the WiFi network.

[LovelyM]

Hello everyone,

Thanks for posting here in the Community. 

If you haven't already, change your Wi-Fi password and make sure that it doesn't contain any special characters. Power-cycle your entire network by following the steps below.

1. Disconnect the power from the modem.
2. Disconnect the Ethernet cable and power cord from the parent point.
3. Disconnect the power cord from the child points (if applicable).
4. Leave everything unplugged for 2 minutes.
5. Connect the power cord to the modem, then to your router and points.

Let me know how it goes. 

Best, 
Lovely

[Dan_A]

Hey there,

I wanted to follow up and see if you still needed help. Please let me know if you still have any concerns or questions from here, as I would be happy to take a closer look and assist you further.

Regards,

Dan

[MouseBanner]

Hello, I'm the original poster on this thread and I am still having issues. 

[woolyb]

I unfortunately caused this thread to fork. MouseBanner has a different issue (sorry MouseBanner). So yes, help is still needed here for MouseBanner. I will follow any advice given to MouseBanner 

Thanks 

[Rhanoudi]

Hi everyone,

I tried all of the basic troubleshooting steps. I even decided to use an Ethernet cable to provide backhaul between my primary and secondary router.

The problem is persisting. Every 2-3 days my 2.4 GHz devices lose connectivity and I have to restart the entire network.

What’s frustrating is there is no error or warning. Is there a way to see the device logs to get a better idea of what’s happening?

[LovelyM]

Hi folks,

Kindly try to set a static IP address on your smart devices that connect to 2.4 GHz and observe if they still disconnect from your network. You can also factory reset your entire network to re-establish your connection to all the devices connected to your Google Nest Wifi device.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
Lovely

[Dan_A]

Hey there,

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?

Regards,

Dan

[Dan_A]

Hello again,

We haven't heard from you in a while, so we'll be locking this thread if there is no update within 24 hours. If you need assistance or want to discuss topics, feel free to start a new thread.
 

Kind regards,

Dan