09-26-2022 02:14 AM - edited 09-26-2022 02:16 AM
We've relocated into a much larger, 2 story home (5100 Sq Ft). I've updated my kit from 3 pucks to 6 pucks. After getting all five of the mesh repeaters talking and located throughout the home, things stabilized and were working well after around 3 days.
Last night, I "hoped" that things were stable enough, so I connected my Office puck to my wired unmanaged Netgear 16 port switch. Things were looking good and then the puck went orange and refused to connect to the router. Upon disconnecting the Ethernet cable and unplugging and plugging it back in, the puck refuses to connect further until I perform a reset and re-add it to the mesh. Then, as soon as I reconnect the switch, back to flashing orange.
I've disconnected all wired systems from the Netgear switch and it still happens.
I've made sure that the puck in question is not being blocked by moving it to an empty wall in my office and even placing it on top of my bookshelf.
6 times through this loop now and I'm stuck.
Can a Wifi mesh not handle a wired connection on the edge?
2Gb Google Fiber
6 Google Wifi pucks
Netgear 16 port 1GbE unmanaged switch
Ideas?
Tim in Huntsville
Answered! Go to the Recommended Answer.
10-04-2022 11:01 AM - edited 10-04-2022 11:02 AM
TL;DR -
6 pucks work great in a very large home
Connecting a switch to one of the mesh/bridged pucks' LAN port works properly
My issue was a switch problem.
After a lot of testing, I discovered that there was a bent Tx pin in one of the switch ports. It didn't cause problems with my existing network because I had a cable plugged into the port that went to my workbench and was not connected to a system. With the cable plugged in, the pin was not grounding. When I was setting things up with the puck connection, I removed all connected devices from the switch - which let the pin ground.
I straightened that pin and things are now working as expected.
09-26-2022 09:46 AM - edited 09-26-2022 09:47 AM
What exact switch are we talking here?
Side note: 5 is the max amount of Nest Wifi pucks recommended for a wireless only mesh network due to the overhead. See:
If possible you should consider going wired backhaul only.
09-26-2022 10:57 AM
The backhaul is what I am trying to achieve. I was told by Google sales that the 2nd 3-pack would work fine - 1 is the router/direct connect, and the other 5 make up the access points. I have no performance issues with the configuration when I'm only on Wifi.
Here's what I'm trying to do
At this point, everything's working well.
Then, just as described in that first backhaul link doc above, I connect the LAN port of the 6th puck to the Netgear GS116NA switch. All is well until I power up the switch - even with no other devices connected to the switch.
09-26-2022 11:24 AM - edited 09-26-2022 11:27 AM
What do you mean by "Google Fiber MODEM <-HW"?
It should be modem / ISP equipment in bridge mode WAN port to primary/ main/ master Nest Wifi WAN port. Then from main Nest Wifi LAN port to the unmanaged switch. Then directly from the unmanaged switch to the WAN port of the 5 other pucks. Avoid daisy chaining Nest Wifis if possible. Avoid mixing wired and wireless Nest Wifi points, this can cause issues because mesh (802.11s) does not travel by ethernet, which can cause loops or other strange behavior.
Modem -> Main Nest Wifi -> Switch -> All other wired devices.
09-26-2022 12:52 PM
If I had that kind of wiring in the home, I wouldn't need the pucks 🙂.
So, to my original question - Can the Google Wifi pucks do what I'm trying to do?
09-26-2022 01:04 PM - edited 09-26-2022 01:11 PM
I don't understand your exact ask or problem here, so I can't answer your question.
General advise, again:
Other things to consider:
Edit: If the question is whether a wireless secondary Nest Wifi router or Google Wifi (puck with ethernet ports) can handle wired devices, the answer is yes. I run this myself, have done so for years with two Nest Wifi routers in wireless mesh. Test different cables? Test a device directly connected to the puck, without the switch?
09-30-2022 10:32 AM
Hi TimInOCAL,
I just wanted to jump in real fast to see if you saw olavrb's reply and to see if you still needed some help on this or if you were able to get it sorted out. If you are still needing some help, just let us know and we'll be happy to continue helping.
Thanks,
Jeff
10-01-2022 09:47 AM
Hi Jeff,
It did not resolve it and the 5 vs. 6 pucks debate goes against what I was told when I looked into upgrading my 3 pucks for my larger home.
Since then, I've now reduced the puck count to 5 (which required a network reset to remove the 6th puck - WHY???). But, even with 5 pucks, as soon as I connect my office puck to the Netgear switch, the puck drops the connection.
Back to my original question - is this not supported with the non-Nest Wifi mesh pucks?
10-01-2022 12:22 PM
Hey folks,
@Jeff and @olavrb, thanks for the helpful responses.
@TimInOCAL, I'm sorry you're still having issues with your Google Wifi points.
A few questions: is your entire Google Wifi network offline, or just a specific access point? Is your NetGear switch connected to the main point or to your modem? Also, did you set them up while connected to the switch?
The Google Nest Wifi and Google Wifi are cross compatible. This means you can set them up altogether in one mesh network.
Best,
Mel
10-02-2022 10:49 AM - edited 10-02-2022 10:49 AM
One more time -
Next, based on the 5 pucks vs. 6 pucks discrepancy -
This has nothing to do with Nest versus WiFi as I only have 2 WiFi 3 packs.
All I'm asking is - SHOULD this configuration even work? If not, I can still return my WiFi pucks to Target and buy a different solution.
10-02-2022 10:54 AM
Maybe let me rephrase this as 2 questions:
1: Can I successfully use 6 WiFi pucks (two 3 packs combined) to provide coverage for an almost 6,000 square foot house?
2: With that configuration working, can I attach an unmanaged switch to one of the mesh pucks to provide hardwired connectivity to physical systems in a single room?
10-02-2022 01:59 PM
Hi TimInOCAL,
Thanks for the added details. You should be able to have your network online using your current topology/configuration. We need to isolate the issue. Could you try to connect one of the other points in place of your Upstairs Office point? This is for us to know if the issue happens only when connected to your NetGear switch.
Let us know how it goes.
Best,
Mel
10-03-2022 08:39 AM
Thanks for verifying my understanding of the topology. I will be able to try that this evening and I'll update the status.
Tim
10-03-2022 09:02 AM
I had a break in meetings, so was able to try another puck. Apparently, there is something regarding that specific Netgear switch as the alternate puck did the same thing that the "Upstairs Office" puck did. I then plugged directly into my primary office server and it connects as expected with the alternate puck staying solid. I will try this with the "Upstairs Office" puck next.
10-03-2022 10:51 AM
Hi TimInOCAL,
Thanks for letting us know. Take your time, I'll be waiting for your update.
Best,
Mel
10-04-2022 11:01 AM - edited 10-04-2022 11:02 AM
TL;DR -
6 pucks work great in a very large home
Connecting a switch to one of the mesh/bridged pucks' LAN port works properly
My issue was a switch problem.
After a lot of testing, I discovered that there was a bent Tx pin in one of the switch ports. It didn't cause problems with my existing network because I had a cable plugged into the port that went to my workbench and was not connected to a system. With the cable plugged in, the pin was not grounding. When I was setting things up with the puck connection, I removed all connected devices from the switch - which let the pin ground.
I straightened that pin and things are now working as expected.
10-04-2022 11:49 AM
Hi TimInOCAL,
Awesome — glad to hear that and thanks for getting back to us. It looks like we can consider this one complete, so I will lock the thread shortly unless I can help out with anything else.
Cheers,
Mel
10-07-2022 02:22 PM
Hi there,
Since this has been resolved, we'll consider this as complete and will lock this thread in 24 hours. Feel free to start a new thread if you need assistance with your Google Wifi and we'd be glad to assist you further.
Best,
Princess