Google Nest Wifi Pro mesh points poor signal levels and yellow blink/pulsing light

[Sigvald]

Yellow blinking light on both wifi points, that is my problem.

My setup:
1. Fiber with 500Mb/s
2. Internet and TV signals on separate logical networks
3. VLAN capable switches to separate networks
4. Cabled ethernet all over the house, but also 10-12 devices using wifi
5. TVs using only cabled ethernet.

After at least 24 hours of trying to set up a simple meshed network to replace the 15 year old wifi devices.
The old wifi did not have meshed network support, but had one wifi router and two access point  with wired backhaul.

Using the same setup for the Google Nest Wifi Pro simply does not work, it fails during setup.
Reset to factory default and I start over again, and again and again.

Mesh-test comes back with "green lights" on both wifi-point and the 

I have tested all connections with cable tester 10-15 times just to be certain. 
Which is expected as the cables have worked for 15 - 18 years already.
All wifi devices in the house connects just to the master, even if the nearest wifi-point is just 2m away.

I have worked with network devices for the last 30 years, mostly in development and design of such units. All from from 10Mb using coax to 10Gb per color fiber  systems.

So I have a few questions:
1. What does "network error" actually means?
    a) Internet connection is 500Mb and works
    b) All patch cable and in-wall cables testet, and tested again and works
    c) mesh network tested in google home and works
     d) Internet provider modem set in bridge mode and Nest Wifi Pro IP address comes from ISP (no double NAT)
    e) All TV streams uses a separate logical network (VLAN) and does not interfere with Wifi Router and wifi point
 2. Is it actually possible to set Google Nest Wifi Pro meshed network up in less than 12 hours?
    a) I belive Ihave reset all the Wifi devices to factory default 10 times (5minutes * 3 * 10)
    b) I think i have installed all the devices 10 times    (5minutes + (20minutes * 2) *10 

Can anyone point to any information that helps?

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi Sigvald,

Thanks for posting ― let's get this sorted out.

Give these steps a try:

1. On the bottom of the router, locate a circle etched into the device, then press and hold the reset button for 12 seconds. The light will flash yellow, then turn solid yellow. When the light is solid yellow, release the button to start the factory reset which can take up to 5 minutes. Don't unplug the power cord during this process.
2. When the factory reset is complete, the light on the router will flash white, then blue to indicate the device is ready for setup.
3. After the device is reset, the device can still appear in the Google Home app. To remove the device, do an app factory reset. If you reset your primary point, you need to set up a new network and add any points again.
4. Try to add the points wired and wirelessly.

Keep us posted.

[Sigvald]

Thank you!

I can always do it again for the 21th time, but as I described in my post, I have reset all the devices to factory default using the circular button, waited though the bootup white light to the the slowly pulsing blue ligth. And yes I have reinnstalled the google home app as well.

I have tried both wired and wireless.
With or without switches in the wired network.
With or without Mobile network on my phone. 
But it will be tomorrow, when I will not disturb the rest of the household 🙂


The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
-Albert Einstein.

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi Sigvald,

Thanks for letting us know. Take your time, I'll be waiting for your update.

Best,
Mel

[Sigvald]

I have now spent the better part of 2 hours resetting to factory default and reinstalling the devices, by resetting in the app and using the circle button for 12 seconds, waiting untill the yellow ligth is stable. Also making sure that all other devices where powered off during the reset cycle.
The added one master node, which works as it should.
The added the second node, which at the end of the config procedure turns off its wifi.
The added the third node, which at the end of the config procedure turns off its wifi.

I have sent some status files the support. 

[KongRøreks]

Must be a Norwegian problem.... same **bleep** here....

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi everyone,

Thank for the update.

Were you able to add the two points on the app but later shows offline?

Best,

Mel

[Sigvald]

Yes, both addition nodes where added in the app and also visible in the app, where it is possible to see the IP address, which is correct.
The mesh network test gives good result, even though the wifi radios seems to be off for the nodes (both nodes uses cabled backhaul).

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi Sigvald,

Give these steps a try:

1. If you're using a modem/router combo, set that to bridge mode to avoid double NAT issues.
2. 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.
3. Remove any special characters in your network name and password.
4. Turn off IPv6.
5. 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.
6. Unplug the power from your Google Wifi devices for 2 minutes.

Let us know how it goes.

Best,

Mel

[Sigvald]

Hi & thanks

I have already done all of the point above, but with no change in the result. The Router works as expected, the ISP modem is in bridge mode.
I did change to the google DNS servers, with and without IPv6.
And the Google support had me power down all the devices at least 5 minutes.
Again with out any changes in the end result.
The network name and the network password  have changed, but again without any changes in the end result.
Both wifi access point indicates "Network Error", but as a person with 35 years of experience with design and development of devices using Ethernet from 10Mb/s to 10Gb/s I think the error indication is lacking to put it mildly.
And yes I have tested all the cables and all wifi connections that work and there are no errors there.
I spent the better part of 4 hours looking into wireshark traces, and again no issues were seen.

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi Sigvald,

Appreciate you flagging this in the community. We've made the appropriate teams aware of this, and they're working on it. In the meantime, feel free to add your report in the comments below and stay tuned to this thread for updates. 

Thanks,

Mel

[Pål]

Same problem here as well.

Identical setup, modem (altibox, viken fiber) in bridge mode.

Same problem with the 2 nest Pro points blinking yellow after many resets in app and on routers and reconfigurations/reinstallations.

Also based in Norway BTW.

[KongRøreks]

Hi Pål.

I will update this thread regarding this:
https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Nest-Wifi/Google-Nest-Wifi-Pro-setup-process-and-errors/m-p/2...

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to jump in and let you know that a new firmware release is out now to Nest Wifi Pro devices (1.63.324946). You won't need to do anything to receive the update and it will install automatically once it's available for your hardware. There are a variety of performance updates and bug fixes in the release, so I'm hoping this clears up the issues you're seeing here. Let me know if you have any questions about the update.

Also, we'll keep this thread open so everyone can chime in.

Thanks,
Mel