Connecting Nest Wifi Pro with Nest Wifi 5ghz

[ekmhenry]

Hi,

I have about 7 Nest wifi 5ghz but will like to upgrade to Nest Wifi pro. I need to extend my wifi from main house to a barn/shed. Can I connect Nest wifi pro 6ghz at the house only participating in the mesh network but extend my network to the barn/shed that does not participate in the mesh? Is there any configuration that will allow this setup without degrading the Pro 6ghz mesh at the house?

[Jeff]

Hey ekmhenry,

I wanted to give you a bit of clarification on how the Nest WiFi Pro works in regards to coverage. Due to the newer WiFi standards employed with the Nest WiFi Pro, it's not backwards compatible with older Nest or Google WiFi routers and points. If you were going to upgrade to Nest WiFi Pro, you would need enough WiFi Pro access points to extend the network since your current points won't work with the Nest WiFi Pro router. This article goes deeper into the process for replacing a current system with the new WiFi Pro system: https://goo.gle/3T1MUAP.

If you have any other questions, please let me know.

Thanks,
Jeff

[ekmhenry]

Thank you for the link but i am aware of this. What if I put a static IP address on one of my 5ghz router connected to the WAN port from the 6ghz router. Create  another SSID which is a Natted network with the 5ghz router? Will this scenario cause any issues with with 6ghz mesh network?

[Jeff]

Thanks for clarifying that. Essentially you're looking to run both networks at the same time?

As long as they maintain separate SSIDs and one router isn't downstream of the other, you may be able to run the two networks in parallel. You would possibly run into some interference issues on the 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands, however, as you will have two strong network sources originating very close to one another. But as long as the two networks are parallel and not set up with one router downline of the other, you could probably make this work. I can't speak to how it would affect your speeds coming from your modem, however. You might end up with speeds that look normal or you might see speeds pretty far off expectation. I guess it's hard to know without testing.

I know it all amounts to a "maybe" from my end, but the reality is just that we haven't tested for this scenario. I can inquire about this and see if I can find a concrete answer for you, but this feels like something that we would need to test out before we could actually answer with a solid yes or no. If you would like me to ask our teams for their thoughts on this, I can do so, it will just take a few days to get you a solid response.

Thanks,
Jeff

[Jeff]

Hey ekmhenry,

I just wanted to check back in to see my last response made sense for you and to see if you had any other questions on this.

Thanks,
Jeff

[ekmhenry]

Hi Jeff,

I appreciate your insight and assistance. I will purchase the the Google Wifi 6E soon and begin testing this option. But yes, if you can inquire from your teams that will be great. I am in no rush for an answer as long as it is possible. 

The Nest Wifi 5Ghz will be far away enough that it may not interfere with the 6E signal and on a separate SSID and a separate Home within the Google Home App. 

[Jeff]

I'll be asking if there's a way to test or verify this, ekmhenry. It might take a couple of days to get a response on this one, but I'll get some more input for you.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi folks,

@Jeff, thanks for the help.
@ekmhenry, sorry for the delay. Chiming in to see if you still need assistance with this. You can hardwire the Nest Wifi Pro to your Google Nest Wifi to create a new network in a separate home structure in the Home app. This will create a separate IP address for the Nest Wifi Pro. Also, it runs the mesh connectivity between Nest Wifi Pro nodes exclusively over the 6 GHz band. Older models like the Nest Wifi don’t have a 6 GHz radio, so it can’t mesh with Nest Wifi Pro.

Best,
Mel

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi everyone,

I'm just checking in to make sure that you've seen our response. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns as I will be locking this in 24 hours.

Thanks,
Mel