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Google Nest Wifi setup with Spectrum Modem

scottperz
Community Member

Hi,

I had Spectrum internet at previous house and had my Next Wifi connected to it without any issues.  I am in the process of moving and received a newer Spectrum modem to use at my new address.  I tried for hours to get the Nest connected to the modem with no luck.  I had a Spectrum service person at the house today to troubleshoot the problem, and he was able to confirm that the modem is working properly by connecting a Spectrum Router to it.  I tried resetting the Nest, and I followed the setup instructions on the Google Home App numerous times without any luck.  I get as far as connecting to the router, but it always fails while trying to obtain a connection to the modem/internet.

Anyone else experience this problem?  Any tips on things to try?  I really want to use this router at my new location, but I'm getting extremely frustrated trying to get things setup.

Thanks in advance

Scott

167 REPLIES 167

Surelypberg
Community Member

I was successful with this setup. Adding the router in between somehow let’s the google mesh router connect to the internet to get updates when the Spectrum modem wasn’t enough. I haven’t disconnected the additional router to plug directly into the modem. Too scared to do it but maybe one day. 

  • How is your speed with the extra router? Does a certain one work best?

I have had this issue.  Initially installed Google Nest mesh wifi with one router and two access points in November 2021. It worked for two weeks, then it lost internet connection. I could NOT get the internet connection back, even after resetting the router, the Nest equipment and reinstalling, etc.  Everything would go fine until the it would tell me that Nest could not establish an internet connection with the modem.  I called Google and after an hour on the phone we got it working. I don't recall exactly how, but I believe I had to reset the Nest system from within the app, maybe even delete the app and all my stuff in it and start from scratch..  It was messy, I don't remember all the particulars.

Fast forward 8 months. Everything was working fine until we had a power outtage for 6 hours during a storm.  The next morning one of the access points lost internet connection (but the router and other access point still had it).  Unable to get it to work, I rebooted the modem and the Nest access point, and then I lost ALL internet connectivity through the Nest system!  I could NOT get it reconnect and eventually reset all the Nest devices (using the rest button on the bottom of the devices), even deleted everything in the Home app, and started installing from scratch again. But again, no luck - would not connect to the internet when connected directly to my Specrum provided modem (modem only, not a combo moden/router). 

So then I installed my old Netgear Nighthawk so I could get wifi back.  Had no issues getting internet with that connected to my Spectrum modem. Then I remembered reading on here about the solution of connect Nest to another wired router between it and the modem.  I tried that and Nest installed and set up easy-peasy no problem!  So now I had two wireless networks running, and so I turned off the wireless broadcasting on the Netgear.  So then I was back up and running with Nest as my wifi system.

I'm a perfectionist and it still bothered me to have the Netgear router as a go-between, and worried I might be losing some speed. I read the comments above and, once Nest was working again via the Netgear router, I tried the steps above to connect the Nest back directly into the Charter modem.  But... no dice - no internet connectivity.  I am back to using the Netgear as a go-between, and am afraid to do anything else, so may just leave it that way.  My download speeds are measuring around 224 on my laptop with a direct wired connection to the modem, and around 194 via Nest wifi on laptop. My phone on wifi just measured 211 download. When I connect my phone to the Netgear via that device's wifi I am getting 228.  But I get different results everytime I run a speed test, so who knows.  It appears I might be getting some minor speed reduction with the current setup.

I'd like to look into just getting my own modem and getting rid of the Spectrum as I've read that also solves the problem (that way I can get rid of the Nighthawk go-between). However, we have Spectrum voice and you HAVE to use Spectrum's modem for voice. So that means I'd need to have two modems - one for voice and one for data.  Which is ultimately what I might do. But until then I'm not messing with anything, and am keeping the current setup with the two routers.

samchan80
Community Member

This worked for me as well. Thank you!!!

rxcats
Community Member

Did you have to put the Spectrum router in bridge mode when you did this? My parent's are unable to get a Google Nest I gave them to connect (same issue as everyone else). Router was reset to factory settings before we even tried. Still getting error message after scanning QR code. I'm back in CA now. Folks I NC. Can't help much from here, but might be able to talk them through if only having to connect the 2 routers with ethernet. 

Kja55
Community Member

I can't try your solution because I don't have an old router. I was using the Google nest Wi-Fi router connected directly to a Spectrum modem. It has worked for years but stopped working 2 days ago. After a factory reset of the Google Wi-Fi and resetting the modem, nothing worked, and I was advised to switch out the modem. Now I have run into the same issue... "something went wrong". I also uninstalled and reinstalled Google Home. Any advice? My only thought was to go get the Spectrum router and then return it once I tried your solution (assuming it works for me).

JJK
Community Member

I’m still having the same issues with spectrum. I just moved and had no issues with my two previous internet providers so it must be an issue with Google WiFi not being compatible with spectrum. I’ve tried factory resets and connecting directly to the modem and to the wireless router separately and I still get the same can’t connect error message. Are there any other solutions out there or do I just have 4 expensive  paper weights now?

colinj
Community Member

I am having the same issue as others have above; the only way to get the Google routers to work is by using the Spectrum router as a middleman. I suspect this is by design and Spectrum just wants to rent out their routers. Have found no fix so far. 

Hookdw
Community Member

I am having the same issue as others have above. May be time to put the retailers on notice that this is an issue with the Google Nests Routers.

EricDeanMorse
Community Member

Same issue. Spent hours trying last night. Modem/router are separate units. Followed exact protocol as others. Reset network on google home, rebooted whole system, scanned code on nest wifi and get the check mark (success), get all the way to "Creating your WiFi network, working on it, almost there, just a few more things to do...."  then the ERROR pops up. Grrr... now sitting on expensive paperweights... now following this thread. 

I had the exact same problem a couple nights ago. Network went down and I tried to reconfigure everything from a factory restart. Spectrum modem + google wifi. It would fail every time when trying to save the network SSID and password. I was on the phone with a google tech agent for at least an hour. He eventually told me the problem must be on Spectrum’s side.

I solved the problem by leaving the google ecosystem and buying a new eero 6 wifi system. With that new system I had the network all set up again in 5 minutes. Thanks for nothing google. 

I tried everything that everyone recommended and could only get 2 of the 4 hubs to connect (could not get the other 2 to work).  Since I not only paid for, but also need to have all 4 in order to have continuous and consistent wi-fi throughout my house, I finally decided to turn in those useless hockey pucks to amazon for a credit and purchased the eero pro 6 system (3 pack).  It also literally only took me 5 minutes to get me up and running and now I have no dead/drop zones.  Thanks for nothing google is right!

EricDeanMorse
Community Member

Are you on Lake Fenton Scott? Think I live next door to you...

MitchellKois
Community Member

Good to hear this isn't a unique situation I'm in.

This is unbearable, Google should be ashamed to pretend to care about this issue. Unacceptably stupid. 

If it isn't obvious, same issue as literally everyone else. You claim Google is aware but unable to diagnose the problem...that certainly can't be possible. You have manufactured the devices and are aware of their connectivity abilities. Your pretending to not know is gross, dude. Admit that Google would need to issue a recall and they aren't willing to do it. What a joke.

I have thousands of dollars investe3d in to a broken system and Google will not even acknowledge the numerous complaints we have. Looks like I will have to dominate social media with complaints now. I have a decent presence. If google does not help on this forum, they will suffer on socia medias platforms.   

Gvmeliberty
Community Member

I was able to get it to work by going to a system with Xfinity modem, setting up the router there, then bringing it back and connecting it to the spectrum modem. Working fine for several weeks now, bizarre that this has not been addressed. 

triekse
Community Member

It took a while, but by "reprobating" the Spectrum modem I was able to get the Nest Wifi to communicate.  Call google at 855-971-9121 and they can help

Carlos19
Community Member

Same here,  Spectrum modem only.  Failed the first time while trying to “set up network” step.  Got the “problem connecting, please check if you are online”.  Factory reset, tried again, had to restart my modem during the process on both occasions per directions…..same result, still shows offline

Looks like my issue was fixed.  It was tedious, but it worked for me.  All I had to do was update the google nest software.   Like others mentioned here, I had to use a different modem which I was lucky enough to have laying around.  This happened to be a netgear modem/router.  So I had to install it through the the Spectrum app, the self install. Once I did that, the nest software was updated, it was not instant, I actually left it on for a while.  After the latest software was installed (14150.43.81 as of 5/28/22).  And set up again, and it worked. In summary the procedure that worked for me.

1. Install old netgear router/combo (you can probably use a different one) through spectrum 

2. Set up the nest through google home app

3. wait and verify for software update

4.  Disconnect the nest and modem/router

5. Reinstall the Cisco modem through Spectrum app

6. Verified I had internet through Ethernet connection,

4. plugged the nest back in 

5.  It was still not connected, so I unplugged the Cisco modem and follow the same start up procedure ( wait 2 min before plugging….)

finally it worked.

Jpo2
Community Member

I too am having issues connecting a nest router directly to a spectrum modem only. 

Jgobjr
Community Member

I’m having same issue. Have rebooted in special sequences and works for a while and then reverts back to inoperable. This has happened now three times 

Jgobjr
Community Member

I think I have diagnosed the problem and will report back here if it turns out not to be correct. I connect a switch to Nest router to bring Ethernet connection to a few wired connections in the house. For some reason when I connect the Sony Bravia Ethernet to the network, it crashes the system and causes the need for a reset. It’s a new Sony running google TV. Have kept connected to wireless and system staying up

davistye
Community Member

Exact same issue. Everything was connected (Nest Wifi directly into Spectrum modem) and working fine. Just stopped last night. I've rebooted everything in the correct order. I've factory rest the Nest and tried a new setup. (The internet from the modem directly to a laptop works fine). But durring the re-setup all I get is "the modem isn't giving your wifi a point of internet connection". I've followed all of the reboot steps in the correct order multiple times. Nothing.

Adam9218
Community Member

Sounds like a fix is to connect it with another router… what are those of us without one supposed to do..

Go pickup a router, make the fix and return the router when done. Or just return the google mesh and pick up an eero

ericortego
Community Member

I just switched ISPs to spectrum and this issue happened right away. 

I haven't done a packet capture yet but I can get the cameras to work for a little while....not sure how long it lasts yet. Lasts for awhile unless they lose internet access.

My setup is like this

SPECTRUM <----> fiber into "modem" <-----> cat6 to netgear wifi <----> PC's equipment etc

T-Mobile<----/disconected/----#

So, if I disconnect my netgear from the spectrum "modem" and plug into T-Mobile, then power cycle the cameras, they both show up in Google Home and are fully operable.  I can now unplug the netgear from T-Mobile and put it back into the spectrum "modem" and the cameras will continue to have access until an undetermined amount of time at which point they will quit operating even though I never get an offline alert.

 

While inoperable they are still connected to the wireless and are pingable on the local network. Just not able to control them on from the app.

 

After running a couple packet captures the only thing I notice is that the camera seems to retrieve a certificate when I put it on T-mobile.  Once switching back to spectrum the cameras just keep working. I can reboot my netgear once they've re-established and when the cameras reconnect they're still functional. I can also reboot the spectrum modem watch it get a new WAN IP address and they still continue to work immediately after the connection comes back up.  But if I reboot one of the cameras, it will not come back until I do the ISP switch again. 

 

EDIT3: Now I just have 2 ISPs hooked up and turn the dhcp server off on one and feed the other to my routers WAN, then I hand out the other one's ip as the default GW to the cameras so they don't go through spectrum at all and it works perfectly even after powering everything off and back on.  Spectrum has something blocked ... I noticed 123 for NTP is blocked and not listed on their Consumer blocked ports page.

latr
Community Member

Doing a reboot of the Spectrum modem through the Spectrum app completely resolved the issue for me. 

MikeyInCVCA
Community Member

This solution worked for me, as well. I used the troubleshooting steps in the Google Home app, including powering off the modem, several times, but that did not work. I reset the Spectrum modem using the MySpectrum app and the Google Nest Wi-Fi connected immediately.

Joseduddy
Community Member

Spectrum just upgraded my Wi-Fi router and I now have learned that it is a mesh router and only delivers one. SSID and that's 5Ghz. Outdoor nest cam will not connect " error c225 wrong password or hidden network" 

Harry_kris
Community Member

This is so frustrating, did the google support dance for an hour, no luck getting the router online with a spectrum modem. Google will call me back in 24 hours! 

Switched out spectrum EN2251 modem with a spectrum EU2251 modem - that seems to have taken care of router connecting to the modem. Time will tell if the Wi-Fi network remains stable. 

rxcats
Community Member

Good grief!! I'm having the same issue connecting Google Nest at my parent's house. They have Spectrum. I switched out their Spectrum supplied modem for one that I purchased, but still unable to get router to connect on Home app. Get to the point of scanning code on router then get error message. I'm back in CA now (folks in NC). Had tech (friend of brother) come out to the house a few days ago. Spent hours on the phone with Google and Spectrum, but to no avail. Finally he gave up. No issues at all getting it to work with my Webpass (Google) provider here in SF.

Sarabjeetsingh
Community Member

Few Days back I Was also facing The Same Issue with the Spectrum Wifi Not working. I tried every best  possibiltiy to solve this issue but it didn't work. After that i started to search it on Internet with some good hope to fix this issue.

 Than i found a tech related blog page with name Keepthetech.com. They have share all valuable Information Related Spectrum wifi. Also they have provided the best solutions to this problem Spectrum wifi not working. I think you should check it if your wifi problem doesn't resolve.

AngieSt
Community Member

I finally got my Nest router to communicate with my Spectrum modem by doing the following

-with Nest router connected, unplug modem, wait 2 min, and restart it

-when it boots up, go on your phone and turn off cellular data

- go to your wi-fi connections and you should see your router. I connected here first, then setup with the  Home app. 

The_Boourns
Community Member

Just moved to a new place with Spectrum…having the exact same issue as everyone else. 
Modem only set up from Spectrum.  When I used the Ethernet cord Spectrum provided, I couldn’t even get my phone app to find the Google router even when I manually entered.  Switched to my own Ethernet cord and was able to get all the way to the point of attempting an internet connection, at which point, it could not connect to the internet at all even after multiple resets. 
I noticed someone said the modem might need to be in bridge mode.  Not sure how to do that and not sure why that would make a difference since the Spectrum supplied modem works fine without toggling anything on the modem itself. 

so now I have 4 ugly paper weights and a crappy spectrum router that can’t handle the device count for a family of 5.  

AngieSt
Community Member

Did you try this? I swear, it worked for me with spectrum. I got this walkthrough after hours of frustration and working with a Google tech.

I had everything factory reset when I did this but I couldn't get my nest router to see the internet connection even though I knew it was good. 

 

-with Nest router plugged in and connected to the modem, unplug modem, wait 2 min, and plug modem back in to restart it

-when your modem is done rebooting, go on your phone and turn off cellular data (on iphone, go to settings, cellular, and then slide it off)

- go to your wi-fi connections and you should see your router. (should say setup___ or something similar). Click on it here and connect to it. It will say no internet, but its getting your modem and router to see each other

-turn back on your cellular data and run through the normal setup with your Google home app. 

Good Luck. 

diablablah
Community Member

Thanks everyone! I used a variation of the last few!

 

-with Nest router plugged in and connected to the modem, unplug modem, wait 2 min, and plug modem back in to restart it

 

-when your modem is done rebooting, go on your phone and turn off cellular data (on iphone, go to settings, cellular, and then slide it off)

 

- go to your wi-fi connections and you should see your router. Mine said cannot connect. Excellent signal. 

- I had to re-enter my password to connect;

- then turn cell network back on..

 

When I went to the Google home app the device was still there and it reconnected automatically 

I hope this helps!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

jjporter1979
Community Member

After years of no issues, my Spectrum modem/Google Wifi combo just shut down on me last night.  Spent hours troubleshooting, resetting modem, resetting routers, factory restart on routers......to no avail.  All indicators were that the signal into the house was fine, but couldn't seem to get the modem and Google WiFi to work together.   Every time I did a full restart, the internet would indicate it was working for 30-60 seconds before dropping. Hardwired computer connected to the modem worked outstanding.  After 6+ hours of effort, bought a new set of TP-Link mesh routers and had the internet fully up and running in 5 minutes.  Also now stuck with 3 expensive paperweights and a lack of integration into the Google Home app/other Google products.  Super disappointing - especially considering this all worked flawlessly for 2-3 years and "quit" overnight.

It's not clear in your message... did you try resetting the modem using the Spectrum app? It appears to do more than just cycle power. 

When I first got the Nest Wi-Fi, I couldn't get the Spectrum modem and the Nest Wi-Fi router to talk to each other, and power cycling either or both didn't change it. When I used the modem reset function in  the Spectrum app, the Nest Wi-Fi router started working immediately. 

Yes - tried resetting and rebooting every element (modem and routers).  Tried in multiple order of operation as well.  Every effort gave me signal through modem and connection via hardwire but no WiFi.  Instant signal as soon as I put a new router in place.