Confusing speed test results with Nest WiFi Pro

[drrmjones]

I get gigabit internet from Spectrum. I used to have a Nest WiFi, and the app would tell me I was getting between 500 and 800 megabits per second download speed. Last week I upgraded to the Nest WiFi Pro last week, and ever since then every speed test I have run from the Google Home app tells my I am only getting 200-300 Megabits. So I called Spectrum, and they came out. They tested the speed directly from the modem, and it was 958 megabits. Then they plugged in the Nest WiFi Pro router and tested the speed hardwired into the router, and the speed was 955 megabits. But then I ran the speed test from the Google Home app again, and the speed according to the app is 302 megabits? So what the heck is going on? Is the Google Home app lying to me? How am I supposed to know what speed I am actually getting?

Addendum: I am on chat with Google Technical Support, and the support person is trying to tell me the speed test results will depend partly on how far away I am standing with my phone. That's ridiculously untrue, right?  I thought the speed test measures the speed AT THE MAIN WIFI POINT.  At least that's what it did with the Nest WIFi before I got the Pro.

Anyway, this is really frustrating.  The router is definitely passing through almost a gigabit when the Spectrum tester is hardwird into the router.  So why does the speed test tell me I'm getting only 300 megabits?  And which one am I really getting throughout my household?

[olavrb]

A speed test is done by sending and receiving data between the unit that you run the test from, and a server somewhere. It's not neccessarily what speed you'll get to other servers on the internet.

Misleading and too bad that the built in speed test does not show closer to your ISP speed, but it's not neccessarily the speed you get in your network. As proved by your ISP.

So don't trust the built in Google Home speed test if testing from a client wired to the primary Nest Wifi unit gives you better numbers.

---

There is also a new firmware version rolling out that could make things better, should hit all Nest Wifi Pro by the end of this week.

• https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/12/23454915/google-nest-wifi-pro-update-fix-slow-internet-speeds

How to check what you currently got:

• https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/6273871?hl=en

[drrmjones]

Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, I am getting conflicting information from every direction.

I do understand that when to do a "normal" speed test (e.g., from a web site), it is giving you the speed from your local device to the internet, not the speed from your router to the internet.  However, I have always understood that the speed test from the Google Home app is in fact measure the speed from the ROUTER to the internet, not from my local device. At least I'm confident that's what was happening with my Nest WiFi router, because I was consistently getting speed test results  between 500 Mbps and 800 Mbps, and I'm confident that this is NOT the speed between my phone and the internet, over the WiFi.

And you are correct that we are getting a wired speed of over 950 Mbps, so hopefully that is the true speed. But when I contacted Google Support over Facebook Messenger, they said this is a known issue and that the Google Home app is not just reporting the wrong speed, but that the router is in fact throttling the speed for some people, and they are working on a fix to the problem.  I don't understand how that works, since the wired speed test does show 950 Mbps, so that's what they told me.

On the other hand, when I went to Google Support on their website chat, I got someone to whom I had to explain repeatedly (for over an hour) that this was not a WiFi issue, but rather an issue of the Google Home app's wired speed mismatching the Spectrum technician's wired speed. This tech support person kept having me doing things like change the DNS settings, move closer to a WiFi point, etc., before they would escalate the case to someone who actually can work on the real problem.  Of course, none of that worked.

And now I have you telling me that my internet speed is actually fine, and it's just the Google Home app that is reporting the wrong speed. And you are also suggesting that the Google Home app is measuring the speed to my phone rather than the speed to me router, which (as I noted above) is not what I understand to be the case and is not what the support folks told me on Facebook Messenger.

So it's very difficult to understand whether I actually have a problem or what the problem is, giving all the conflicting information I am getting.  I guess at this point, I will hope the new firmware upgrade comes soon and fixes WHATEVER the problem is.  Otherwise, I am strongly considering returning my three new Nest WiFi Pro units and ending my relationship with Nest Wifi after 5 years.

[olavrb]

Google Home app built in internet speed test, tests from your primary Nest Wifi unit, to some (probably Google owned) server. It does not say what speed your computer will get to Netflix. It says what speed your Nest Wifi primary unit/ router has to what ever server it tests against.

• https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/6246634?hl=en

If you get better speeds on your devices wired to Nest Wifi, you don't really have an issue, do you?

[drrmjones]

Well, I don't know if I have an issue, do I? You suggest I don't have an issue, it's just that the speed test to the Google Servers is inexcplicably 33% of the speed test to the spectrum servers.  That tends to be my opnion, as well, but neither you nor I know whether I'm getting fast speeds to anything other than the Spectrum test servers.

But Google Support on Facebook messenger tells me, no, the Nest WiFi Pro is actually throttling the speed, and this is a known bug. If this "bug" is manifesting itself to the Google Servers, but not to the Spectrum servers, how do I know which speed I am actually getting through everyday use of my router? I assume you're not suggesting that I should be happy with getting 300Mbps instead of 950Mbps "since I'm not using that bandwidth right now anyway".

On the other hand, Google Support on the website chat keeps insisting that I need to move my phone closer to my WiFi points. 🙄

So it would be nice to know if I actually do have a problem, and if I do to fix it.  Are you giving me a guarantee that, if the Google Home app is telling me I have only 300Mbps to the Google servers, then that DOESN'T mean I'm also getting that slow speed to other connections, like my work computers 5 states over?

[drrmjones]

I did misunderstand your first reply, though. I thought you were trying to tell me the speed test would give me the speed to my phone, not to my router, but I see now that you were saying the opposite, which is what I understood to be the case.  I apologize for my confusion.

[olavrb · Accepted solution]

Known issue apparently:

• https://9to5google.com/2022/11/22/nest-wifi-pro-updates/
• https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/13007303?hl=en

[drrmjones]

Yep, that just popped up in my Google News feed in my phone, too. Thanks! It's good to have at least the recognition that it's a known problem, as well as the assurance that it's just the app screwing up, and not a true reflection of my speed. (Although it's also curious that neither of of the Google tech/customer support folks I've been in touch with have communicated this to me, and instead I have to get the information from news items.)

[Jeff]

Hey everyone,

I just  wanted to touch base on this and see if anyone was still seeing the same issue. I know some time has passed and it was made aware to our internal teams. If you're still seeing this on your end, just let me know.

Thanks,
Jeff

[drrmjones]

As far as I know, we have been told this is a known issue, but it still has not been fixed.  I am still experiencing the issue and hoping someday an update to the Home App will start telling me what my actual connections speeds are.

[Tomorrowmab]

Yes the problem is still occurring. Google Home reports I'm getting 200mbps download from a 500mbps BT fibre connection. Testing using speed test on a connected device shows this is incorrect and I am indeed getting 500mbps.

Google Home is massively under reporting WiFi pro speeds (my older nest WiFi reports correctly)

[rocketrudi]

The tests deliver better results for me in the meantime. Nevertheless, with my old Nest Wifi I always had 60 to 70 Mbps more in the download. So I think the problem still exists.

[SimonWonjooKim]

I also have doubts about Nest Wifi. When I checked my laptop's internet speed, it showed around 150mbps to Google, Netflix, and other speed test site. But Nest Wifi always displays 400~450mbps. I understand there has some speed delay between the laptop and Nest Wifi Router, but it's too much different.

[Anth92]

Of course it’s still there…. And it’s annoying because i spent 2 hours troubleshooting this yesterday while swapping from Nest to Nest pro. This is somewhere totally unacceptable. I mean not the issue itself but the time to fix something quiet simple… more than 5 months reported and still nok. 

my case:

1/ isp: fiber 1g/1g

2/ nest pro test speed reports: 200m dl / 550 ul. I’m using PPPoE.

3/ I though i was having an issue, even thought i broke something on fiber box….but i tested my Nvidia shield directly wired to router and / or switch and i’m having 950m/950m. Ipad pro is reporting 650m as dl (will never reach 1g because wifi - this is normal). 

software is: 1.63.327820. 

Do we know when developpers will have a look to this ? Despite having fiber, i live in a place where internet is weak… checking speed is needed on my side because sometimes ISP has some drops and i need to call them… how to be sure i call them for something on their side if my nest pro is not able to provide me an accurate speed test results?

frustrating…..

[CadetClueless]

I have this issue too and I’m using Google Fiber connection with a Google Nest Pro router. Everything google! How do we report this bug to them? 

[drrmjones]

Supposedly there was a May 2023 software update that fixed this problem, but my speed-test results are as wrong as they always have been.

[CadetClueless]

It doesn’t fix the routers performance it only fixes the google home app speed test accuracy. 

[drrmjones]

I understand that.  I'm saying the google home app's speed-test reporting is still wrong.

[bmaitdude]

same here. I have gigabit service.  Just got google wi-fi pro installled around the house and it works great, however speedtests from Google home app are only ever showing speed tests from router to modem/internet between 250 and 350mbps. So reporting is STILL really off. Until I found this thread just now, I was about to call Google Support. Let’s see that fix already!!! How am i gonna know when my provider is screwing me over if Google Home wont report accurate speeds? 

[bobpullen]

Another one here with the same problem 

Despite what it says in the release notes for the latest Nest Wi-Fi Pro firmware, the network speed test exposed in the Google Home app is still woefully under-reporting performance.

I have a gigabit Fibre Optic service running over PPPoE, and app-based Internet speedtests consistently return results around the ~200mbps mark. In contrast, if I run a test using an external speedtest and a wired client on my network, I see consistent results that are around ~900mbps i.e. more than four times the speed reported by the Google app!

This has no bearing on the actual download speeds I'm getting but it's annoying, and could lead people to thinking they have a problem when they don't.

Interestingly, the Device Speed Test within the app (the one that checks speed to a chosen wireless client on the network) returns expected results; it just the main Internet speedtest that seems to suffer the problem.

I submitted feedback via the app and suggest others do the same if they're also seeing this.