Google Nest Wifi Priority device working in reverse

[Chook71]

There appears to be an issue with the priority device setting on the Google Nest Wifi via the Google Home app. 

This is from the same device: 

Internet Speed Without Device Priority Set:

Internet Speed Without Priority Set

Internet Speed With Device Priority Set:

Internet Speed With Priority Set

The device is connected via ethernet cable directly to the Google Nest Wifi router. 

If I remove the ethernet cable and connect via WiFi I get equivalent results to the above.

WiFi with no priority set: 

Wifi With Priority Set: 

I have already restarted the Nest devices but this has not resolved the issue. 

I work from home and need to be able to prioritise my laptop when on video calls due to Australia's poor NBN service

[Juzdu]

I've seen similar reverse behaviour when using the priority settings for video conferencing from home. Only turning it off fixed the issue. Can you not get good video performance with all priority off? I'm in Melbourne on NBN and it's fine for me, 5 person household with teenagers.

[Chook71]

Unfortunately yes I need to prioritise my laptop, especially when on video calls. If I don't the video is pretty much useless. It's a known issue in our area for a number of years but neither the ISP's or NBN are interested in trying to resolve it. All we are told is upgrades are pending but they can't/won't give us a time frame. 

Back to my original issue, these systems appear to have become very unstable recently. As an example just today my 2 wifi points have gone offline for no reason and will not come back. They still work perfectly fine as google speakers but the app states they are both offline. 

As I work from home I need to have a reliable network which the Google Nest system used to be. If I continue to have these continual issues I will have no choice but to replace them with something else. 

It's frustrating as I purchased the Nest infrastructure, (Wifi, Camera's & speakers) to ensure a stable environment but sadly have wound up with anything but this. Issues every single day that are impacting my business and my and my families ability to work and study. 

[Juzdu]

Have your devices received the new firmware upgrade as yet? Check in your router settings for firmware 14150.43.80. There's hope it will make a difference to the dropout and other issues.

Many of us are feeling the same frustration, I've just bought the TP-Link AX90 (AX6600) wifi 6 2-pack kit as a replacement, the older wifi 5 offered by Nest wifi just wasn't cutting it at my place any more. The 2 mesh units are providing far greater coverage and speed than my 3 Nest wifi units. You have to pay a yearly fee for their detailed parental controls though.

I believe Google are planning a new Nest wifi kit with wifi 6, but no idea how long it'll take.

[Chook71]

I have just checked my nest router and it has the above firmware.

Unfortunately, just today both my Wi-Fi points have gone offline and won't come back. Just rebooted the network and made no difference. 

Looks like I'll have to investigate an alternative as the Google Nest Mesh is pretty much useless as I have everything in my house connecting to the router in my office. Could have saved myself $400 

Not Happy Google!

[Chook71]

FFS now the app is telling me my access points have been factory reset 👿

I didn't do this and they are both currently streaming music. 

What the F is going on Google this is a joke. 

[Juzdu]

What a mess. Sounds like you should factory reset the network from the app, so it completely clears out your cloud config and everything (it's the nuclear option but i'd highly recommend it), then set them up from scratch again, starting with the router of course.

I'd suggest getting onto Nest Wifi support, they've been very helpful for me in the past, but they'd likely recommend the full reset anyway:

https://support.google.com/googlenest/gethelp

[Chook71]

Thanks @Juzdu 

I think it might just be the Google Home app having some kind of issue as I had my son test a download from his Xbox. He is at the other end of the house and has one of the Wi-Fi points in his room. The Xbox was getting download speeds of 50mbps + which if his wifi point was truly offline would simply not be possible. It's the reason we went to a mesh system. 

Interestingly both the access points are showing in my devices list via the google home app. Both appear twice, my guess is one is for 2.4GHz the other is 5GHz. This is new as they never appeared in the devices list before. It is also showing most of the devices as wired connections which also isn't correct (not sure how you would hardwire a smart LED bulb 🙂 ) 

I will try the complete factory reset but unfortunately, this won't be for a few weeks as I will be out of action due to surgery. 

Thanks again for you advise. 

[Juzdu]

How bizarre. You could try force closing the Google Home app, doing a clear cache/clear data, then open it and login again, see if that fixes it?

[Chook71]

Hi @Juzdu 

well I bit the bullet and did a full factory reset.

this does seem to have resolved the issue for the time being but I have noticed a number of other users have had similar issues over the past couple of years and in some cases this is only a temporary solution and the problem comes back.

for me if this happens again I’ll be replacing the entire system as it just appears the system is becoming very unstable and Google don’t appear to be doing anything to resolve these and other issues.

sadly this will mean I’ll be replacing both my nest wifi system and nest camera system as both have just become too unreliable 

[Jeff]

Hi, Chook71.

It's been a while since you did your factory reset. I wanted to follow up and see if things were still running smoothly for you here. If you've had any issues, let me know. If things are still smooth, we can mark this one as resolved.

Thanks.

[Chook71]

Hi @Jeff

I had replied saying this had been fixed however I have just tried to set a device as a priority device while on a video call and the speed instantly dropped down from 20mbps to 18kbps

Just to be sure I tried this on multiple devices both connected by wifi or by ethernet cable directly to the router and got almost identical results 

[Jeff]

Hi, Chook71.

This is definitely an odd case. I'm going to speak with an internal team on this. I can't even remember seeing anyone else with the same issue, so I want to see if there have been any other reports through other channels. I'll let you know what I learn.

Thanks.

[Jeff]

Hey, Chook71.

Apologies if you've already tried this, but can you check to see if IPv6 is enabled in the Home app in your WiFi settings? If it is enabled, try disabling it and seeing if that improves things for you.

Thanks.

[Chook71]

Hi @Jeff 

IPv6 is disabled. (Not reliably supported by my ISP/NBN) 

Thankfully, my kids have gone back to school so it's only an issue when they get home and I try to be finished with work by then. 

[Jeff]

Hey, Chook71.

I know it's been a while. I apologize for the long wait on this one, but I have yet to receive any answers on this. I did want to check to see if you were still seeing the same issue. We'll keep looking for solutions, but if anything changed on your end, feel free to update that here.

Thanks,

- Jeff

[Jeff]

Hi again, Chook71.

I'm just checking in again to see if you're still looking for some input on this.

Thanks,

- Jeff

[humidity]

I've been having the same issue for months as well. Multiple devices both wifi and ethernet connected. If I set it to Priority Device, it practically kills the connection to that device. I've restarted both the router and modem and didn't help. I tried enabling and disabling IPv6 and made no difference.

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi humidity,

Thanks for posting — let's see what's going on.

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:

1. 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.
2. Remove any special characters in your network name and password.
3. Set a custom DNS at 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.
4. Unplug the power from your Google Wifi devices for 2 minutes.
5. If the issue persists, try factory resetting your network.

Let us know how it goes.

Best,

Mel

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi humidity,

I wanted to follow up and see if you are still in need of any help. Please let me know if you are still having any concerns or questions from here, as I would be happy to take a closer look and assist you further.

Thanks,
Mel

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi humidity,

Just one quick final check in here since activity has slowed down. We'll be locking the thread in the next 24 hours, but if you still need help, I would be happy to keep it open. If there's more we can do, just let me know.

Thanks,
Mel

[humidity]

I'm using a Nokia Gigabit Modem from my ISP and I bought 2 Nest Wifi Mesh Routers (no Points). The only time a device drops the connection is when I set it to Priority. It works the opposite of what it should be doing. Instead of Prioritizing a device, it slows the connection to the device. I have no paused devices.

1. There's no interference using an ethernet connection to the primary Wifi router about 5 ft away. As previously said, regardless of wireless or ethernet connection, the device slows to a crawl when I set it to Priority.

2. Never used special characters.

3. Done.

4. Done.

5. Issue persists. I really don't want to lose all my settings so I'll just wait for the new Nest Wifi Pro that will hopefully get announced at the Made by Google event on Oct 6, 2022. Thank you for your help. Hopefully the new Nest Wifi Pro will fix this issue.

[Chook71]

I have done all of the above multiple times and the problem still persists. 

There is less than 3ft from the device I'm trying to prioritize and the Nest Router. It makes no difference if via Wi-Fi or ethernet cable. it also makes no difference if I try to prioritize a different device. Exact same result every time. 

At the moment it is just workable as I'm not working from home as much but unlike @humidity  if it does become unworkable I'm unlikely to spend anymore money on another Google product as I personally feel this should have been resolved by now. 

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey folks,

Thanks for getting back to us and for doing the steps suggested above. I'm sorry to hear that you're still having an issue with your Google Nest Wifi. We'd like to take a deeper look into this — could you fill out this form and let us know once you're done?

Thanks,
Mel

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey there, 

Checking back in — have you had the chance to fill out the form?

Best, 
Mel

[Chook71]

Hi @Jhonleanmel 

I have just completed and submitted the form. 

I'll admit that it wasn't what I was expecting. It simply asked for the thread name and user name as well as details of the issue, all of which are already contained in this thread. I can only assume that by completing this form it will initiate some kind of support case? 

[Jhonleanmel · Accepted solution]

Hey folks, 

@Chook71, we got your form — thanks for filling it out. Keep your lines open as our team will reach out to you via email anytime soon. 

@humidity, have you had the chance to fill out the form?

Cheers, 
Mel

[humidity]

Sorry for the delay. Form sent.

[aatienza]

Hey humidity,

We got your form — thanks for filling it out. Our team will reach out to you via email to further assist you. Also, please be advised that this thread will be locked after 24 hours.
 

I appreciate the help, Mel.

Thanks,

Archie