Google Nest Wifi - Devices connect to wifi points that are far away and not the closest one

[veybhav]

Hello, 

I have a the google nest wifi setup. There is an issue with my setup where devices such as smart TV (firestick, apple tv, etc) connect to the farthest wifi point rather than the wifi point that is the closest. 

Is there a way to correct this and/or is there a way to force the devices to connect to a specific wifi point @

[ajayS]

I did a network reset and that seems to help. Of course can't keep monitoring that all the time... 😞

[MichaelP]

WiFi devices are responsible for deciding which access point (and which band – 2.4GHz, 5GHz, etc.) to connect to, and when to switch between them. In a system where multiple access points are advertising (like a Google/Nest WiFi mesh network), well-designed clients should do a full scan and selection procedure when they start up, collecting all of the advertised access points and comparing their signal qualities to pick the best one. Some devices do a better job of this than others.

However, there is another case where devices can end up connecting to the primary access point, and that is when the network itself has been restarted. When that happens, the primary may begin advertising before any of the secondaries, and clients may see only the primary for a brief period of time, so they connect to it. Many devices will then just continue to use that as long as it's working. The solution here, unfortunately, is to restart those client devices after restarting the network.

[ajayS]

Thanks for a more complete response. I am wondering if there is experience with how iOS, Windows 11/10, Android devices are behaving with the WiFi Pro. Its those clients that need to behave properly as they move around the house and even leave and renter the network.  The other devices on my network are pretty stationary (ring cameras, TVs) so for them the reset option (i.e. attach to first network) may be a good enough workaround. 

[MichaelP]

Google/Nest WiFi does have an implementation of the 802.11k and 802.11v standards that lets them provide clients with extra information that they can use to make better decisions about which access point or band to connect to and when to switch between them. However, not all clients support those standards, and they are entirely on their own. Even devices that do support those standards are still responsible for make the decisions – they just have much better information available than devices that don't support them.

With that as context, Apple devices in general (iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and macOS) should do a pretty good job of handing off between access points and bands as they move around, since they have a solid implementation of 802.11k and 802.11v. I have a fair number of devices from Apple, and they hand off nicely as I move around.

However, not all Windows or Android devices support 802.11k and 802.11v. So, they may be more likely to get "stuck" to an access point or band that is still working even after moving. You may be able to get them to reconnect by briefly disabling the WiFi on them. This is easier than restarting them entirely, at least, but it's not ideal. Unfortunately, this is the state of the art in WiFi today.

Fixed devices don't typically implement 802.11k and 802.11v because they are stationary and don't need to "hand off". For those, a restart after the network restarts should get most of them connected to the right place.

[ajayS]

Don't the drivers support 802.11k and 802.11v? All my PCs had Intel cards and I updated to the latest drivers and still find that the PC is getting stuck to 6GHz band. Another thing I am finding that the 6GHz band is not covering areas which the 5GHz reaches. I am quite puzzled by this. 

[AbigailF]

Hey there,

@MichaelP, thanks for helping out.

A few questions: are you using a modem/router combo from your Internet Service Provider (ISP)? How many devices are dropping from the network? Also, do you have any paused devices? 

Give these steps a try:
 

If you're using a modem/router combo, set that to bridge mode to avoid double NAT issues.

Make sure that there is minimal to no interference (concrete, bulletproof glass, metal, mirror, etc.) and the points are no more than two rooms apart.

Remove any special characters in your network name and password.

Turn off IPv6.

Change your DNS server into 8.8.8.8 on the primary and 8.8.4.4 on the secondary server. Hit the save/ floppy disk icon on the upper right.

Unplug the power from your Google Wifi devices for 2 minutes.

If the issue persists, try factory resetting your network.

Let us know how it goes.

Best,
Abi

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey folks, 

@AbigailF, appreciate your helpful response. 
@ajayS, chiming in to ensure everything is good here. Have you had the chance to try the suggestion above? If yes, how is it?

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

[ajayS]

Thanks for the nudge. I tested it out a little while back and found that at least on my laptop it now goes from 6GHz to 5GHz band, when I move away from the AP by a little bit. It does not come back to 6Ghz when I come back. 

Also shouldn't the coverage for both bands be about the same? I am now finding that I am usually on the 5. 

[MichaelP]

Hello @ajayS 

There is a fairly significant range difference between 2.4GHz and 5GHz. The difference between 5GHz and 6GHz is much smaller, but there is still a difference, assuming the same transmit power. However, it sounds like the current product is shipping with a lower transmit power for 6GHz, which would explain the difference you are seeing. However, that may be changing soon: https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/12349124?hl=en 

That said, moving away and coming back closer may or may not result in a return to the 6GHz band – that is still something the WiFi client device is responsible for initiating. Do you happen to have WPA3 disabled on your system?

Also, keep in mind that the mesh interconnect runs on the 6GHz band only. So, the more client devices you have connected to 6GHz, the more traffic is sharing that channel. You may actually get better performance by having devices connected to 5GHz so the 6GHz band can be dedicated to carrying mesh traffic between primary and secondary Nest WiFi Pro units.

[ajayS]

Thanks for the pointer @MichaelP.  I understand the backhaul on 6GHz, but in my case I have all the 3 points on Gigabit ethernet. Was hoping to see that on my clients! 

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey folks,

Thanks for the help, @MichaelP.

@ajayS, chiming in to see if you still need assistance with this. Let us know if you have additional questions ― we'd love to help.

Best,
Mel

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey there,

Checking back in should you still have some questions here. Let us know by replying to this thread.

Best,
Mel

[veybhav]

Hey there, thanks for the response. I wasn’t able to improve the connectivity and finally ended up buying the Asus zen wifi set which seem to provide much better speeds (upto 5x more) compared to the nest wifi.

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi veybhav,

We're sad to see you go. We hope we can make it up to you in the future. Send us a message if you change your mind. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns as I will be locking this in 24 hours.

Thanks,
Mel