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Device on guest WiFi network showing as "Wired" connection on main network

SpottedQuoll
Community Member

It's late 2021, and I'm having essentially this 2 year old issue: https://support.google.com/googlenest/thread/1274651/some-guest-network-devices-show-as-wired?hl=en .  The description is a 100% match to my situation, but playing out in the current Google Home app (rather than the old Google WiFi app back then).

 

My setup is a Nest WiFi router, and an older Google WiFi access point; all correctly set up, and with wired backhaul between the router and point.  My partner's phone from work is connected to the Guest (WiFi) network.  In the Google Home app, it frequently shows up as a "wired" connection, and in the list of devices in the main network rather than the Guest network.  Both these indications don't make sense.  Sometimes it randomly does show up ok, as connected (1) wireless and (2) to the Guest network.  I'm not sure, but I think it might show correctly whenever it ends up connecting to the router, and possibly wrong when it connects to the additional access point.  From its IP address though, I can see that it *is* effectively connected to the Guest network in reality; it's just the interface in the Google Home app showing it wrongly.

 

Anyone managed to get a definite solution after 2+ years?

104 REPLIES 104

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi, everyone.

Sorry for the issues you're all having with the devices showing up as wired connections. I'm sure that's a bit confusing. It looks like this has been an ongoing issue for some time. I've gone ahead and brought it to the attention of our internal teams and I'll update everyone here once I know more.

Thanks for being patient with this and for sharing your input.

Foggerton
Community Member

Hey Jeff. Just to confirm/clarify: it's not just that wireless devices are showing as wired, it is that wireless devices on the guest network are appearing as wired on the primary network. 

Yes, I second this.  @Jeff , can you just refer them to this topic, and the links I added for further reference?  It's primarily about guest network devices showing as connected to the primary network.  This sometimes seems to coincide with these devices also showing incorrectly as wired connections.  But the actual issue of guest devices showing on the primary network is the bigger concern, because it's obviously miscommunicating information that is relevant for security purposes, when inspecting a network.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, Foggerton and SpottedQuoll.

Sorry for the confusion there. And yes, I reported it as wireless devices showing as wired. Also, our internal teams have links to this thread and are using it to diagnose the issue. Thanks for clarifying. I'll update as I know more.

Thanks.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, all.

It's been a little while, but I wanted to let you know that this was still being looked at internally and I'll update the thread when possible. Thanks for hanging in there.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, everyone.

It's been a few days, and I didn't want to just leave this hanging. I don't have anything new to share yet, but it's still being investigated. If anything changes in your situation, please feel free to share it here.

Thanks.

Nope, the same problem still occurs every now and then; no changes.

I can help in a discord call, here's my discord: AshPatched#7298

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, everyone.

I know this has been frustrating for you all and it's been a while, but this is still an issue we're working to find a solution for internally. While I don't have any news today, it's still something I will keep updated here in the thread when I hear more.

Thanks.

Still going on July 2022

Still going on January 2023 sigh 


@Jeff wrote:

Hey, everyone.

I know this has been frustrating for you all and it's been a while, but this is still an issue we're working to find a solution for internally. While I don't have any news today, it's still something I will keep updated here in the thread when I hear more.

Thanks.


Hey @Jeff ,

We know you know it's been frustrating, but it's certainly been a while.  I'd love to know what work has been done to find a solution "internally".  How about keeping us updated?

Thanks.

@Jeff any update please. This issue has existed for years and there has been nothing to indicate when it will be resolved.

Janwarming
Community Member

My guest clients does not show at all i  the device list. Any idea why i can see guest devices?

Vito106
Community Member

It’s one year later and this is still going on. How long before it’s rectified?

olavrb
Platinum Product Expert
Platinum Product Expert

Still not fixed AFAIK, I experience the same. One would think this could't be that hard to fix, but what do I know. Priorities I guess.

Related old issue:


I don't work for Google.

Foggerton
Community Member

I’d be so curious to know why this happens, and only with certain devices in my experience. I have 10 devices in my guest network, and 2 of them experience this, while the other 8 correctly show on the guest network. 

olavrb
Platinum Product Expert
Platinum Product Expert

For me it seems to be that devices connected to any meshed 2nd node (not master) all appears as wired, guest network and primary alike.


I don't work for Google.

Foggerton
Community Member

I am not seeing that pattern. I’ve got 5 total units, all Nest WiFi routers, and a number of guest network devices are not hitting the main router and correctly appearing in the guest network section. 

shearm
Community Member

Hi everyone. I've had versions of this problem too. In my testing, it seems related to my decision to use an ethernet backhaul for my network. I have a main Nest Wifi router and three additional routers serving as points. Ive wired all four devices with ethernet, and as a result, many of my devices show up as "wired" to my main router (which has a unmanaged switch on it).

The very strange problem is the following: 

Some devices (like my Apple TV) are hardwired to one of the points, and it makes sense that the Home app would report them as hardwired. But I also have devices like my iPhone and iPad which are clearly not hardwired, but they show up as "wired" devices in the Home app. The byproduct of that is that they appear to be connected to the main router, with no indication of which point they are actually connected to. 

I have an android tablet, but that doesn't seem to fix the problem. wireless devices that show up in the Home app as "wired" still appear to be wired to the main router, even in the Android version of the home app.

It would obviously be great to get a solution to this because its hard to figure out where a problem is when you can't tell which of the four points a device is connected to.

Thanks

Mike

I'm guessing it'll be more complicated than that alone likely, but you might be on to something though.

Context: as stated in my original post, my setup also involved a wired backhaul. However, for unrelated reasons I've removed that backhaul at the moment. (wanted to connect a Hue Bridge to the main router, as well as avoid including switches in my setup at the moment, and in addition also move the Google WiFi access point to a different spot that is not near the ethernet wall outlet I used before)

Since then, I don't think I've seen the issue occur any more in my setup.

Again unrelated, I've got one Google Nest Mini though that just stubbornly connects to the (far away) main Nest WiFi router, even though it's sitting right next to the access point in the same room. Other devices in the room or nearby connect to the Google WiFi access point without problems (or move their connection between the main router and the access point  as they are moved through the house, e.g. smartphones).

...so well, I'm actually "hoping" / thinking this is the case though, because indeed the overarching problem is: can I trust what the Google Home app is reporting regarding what router/point the Nest Mini is connected to? It indeed makes it hard to diagnose any other possible problems.

 

I suspect that if google set up a network with a wired backhaul, they would quickly see the problems we are describing. I’m hoping that Jeff or someone can pass this along. 

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, all.

Just so you know, we do pass the info along as it comes in and your experiences help paint a picture for our internal teams that are working on this stuff. Sorry that I don't have any news on a fix yet at this time, it is still being worked on. I'll update when I have more.

Thanks.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, Henessy.

Unfortunately, no. I still don't have any info on a fix. I know people are getting restless on this one and it's been a bother for our internal teams as well. I really do hope to hear something soon, but as of now I don't have any estimates for a fix.

shearm
Community Member

For what it’s worth, I gave up. I sold my Google Nest routers to Amazon and bought an Eero system. Not only does it work well with all my devices and show which unit they are connected to, but I’m consistently getting 700mbs on wireless devices, about twice what I would get with nest. 

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, shearm.

Sorry to hear that, but I understand your frustration with the issue. Hopefully your new solution continues to work well for you.

Thanks.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Thanks, for the info Txtw. I'm sorry that you're seeing the same issue as well. If you notice any changes in your situation while we're working on a fix, please feel free to update us.

Thanks.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, everyone.

I'm seeing a bit of speculation (thanks for keeping the theories and possible fixes or causes going), but I figured I would let you all know that the issue is definitely happening on both Google WiFi and Nest WiFi. While that doesn't mean the issue is on the Home app, right now that's the direction we're looking at things. As I learn more and have any more info about a fix, I'll update the thread more. In the meantime, I appreciate the continued talk about what's going on in your individual situations.

Thanks.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, everyone.

We have a lot of new reports that I'm noticing and I'm still keeping an eye on things. Unfortunately I still don't have news of when a fix might be ready, but I'm hoping to hear something sooner than later. I know this is frustrating for all of you. I'll share when I know more.

Thanks.

Weemscreek
Community Member

Thanks for your response, Jeff. Really appreciate the open line of communication. Fingers crossed for an upcoming fix.

Hey @Jeff , yes, this is pretty frustrating.  After all these years, I reckon it's time to push this up the priority list a bit, no?  My device list is also getting swamped by "unnamed device"-es as we speak.  Each time the router reboots, a couple (or more) new ones appear.  They also don't disappear after 30 days as other devices do when they're not connected.  What does it take for the developers responsible for this to do their job, and get it fixed?

Na1
Community Member

Jeff, often the hardest part of solving the problem is in replicating it. Do you know if the development team has even been able to replicate the issue? I think some of the earlier posts are on the right track that the problem is related to the ethernet backhaul. Maybe there's more than one issue but the one I see seems to affect devices connected to a secondary router on the guest wifi over ethernet backhaul and not devices connected to the guest wifi on the primary router. Looks like the problem might be that the code thinks the device is wired due to the ethernet backhaul and assumes that anything connected wired must be on the primary network. 

msrski
Community Member

I have the same issues and I do NOT have an ethernet backhaul set up.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

No problem, Weemscreek. I can see how it would be confusing and inconvenient to be dealing with, especially over such a long period of time.

ChiefMac
Community Member

Any updates??? Still have issues with this.

RolfB
Community Member

Hey Jeff,

I have a Google WiFi and have the same issues that most of the guest wireless connected devices show as connected on the main network, nevertheless they show the guest network IP addresses. Have the same issue on Google WiFi and Google Home app. 
Any ETA on a fix for that ?

Henessy
Community Member

It's been 3 months so far. yesterday I accidently stopped all wrongly showing wired connections. Any updates?

Txtw
Community Member

Same problem.  I have a nest wifi router with combination nest router and 3 google wifi routers on network.  Other than primary router nothing is hardwired.  Most of 27 connected devices show as “wired” connections.