Google Wifi Pro Nat Loopback issue

[Fred190]

I have a Synology Nas on my network that I access from both inside and outside my Lan depending on where I am.  I use a domain address (boxname.synology.xxx.me) with port forwarding set in my google pro router.   When I am inside my Lan using Nat loopback (also called Nat hairpin) I can access the NAS  using the DN address.

The Nas and one of my Access points are hardwired via a unmanaged switch into the Lan port of the router.  

I have discovered if both my computer and the NAS is on the hardwired side of the router Nat loopback does not work.  This includes using a  wireless connection to the hardwired AP point.    If either or both are connected to the main router via wireless Nat loopback works.  

If I use the internal IP address rather than the domain name I can access it ok with both on the hardwired side.

Not sure if this is a feature or a bug?

[olavrb]

It doesn't seem NAT loopback ever worked flawlessly with Google Wifi or Nest Wifi either, but it seems it worked a bit better.

• https://www.google.com/search?q=%28site%3Agooglenestcommunity.com%2Ft5%2FNest-Wifi+OR+site%3Areddit....

The port forwarding support article even has a little section about NAT loopback, so seems like a feature they intend Nest Wifi to have:

• https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/6274503?hl=en

I haven't seen any aknowledgement from Google, no commitment to do anything about it.

---

Use local IP while on LAN, host a DNS server like pi-hole and override DNS, or get a different Wi-Fi system.

[e9d1n4]

Thanks for the suggestions (having a similar problem here). I've started running a local DNS and that works for most purposes, but most of my web browsers are set up to use DNS over HTTPS and so here it isn't as simple as changing DNS settings via DHCP. I have started a ticket with support but Google has gone silent. I'm hoping it gets fixed with the next firmware.

[dankots]

Any news on this? I have the same configuration and the same issue.

[e9d1n4]

They had me try a few things like factory resetting, using a different network (subnet) and swapping the primary for a secondary but I haven't heard anything again since. I've started running a pihole DNS now and it seems  a good enough workaround (with the additional benefit of not seeing all the ads), but I haven't yet completed the workaround with DoH for my browsers. I'm hoping for a firmware fix for the WiFi Pro but don't know when to expect it. I do like the pihole effect though and will probably keep that even after the fix comes through for the router.

[dankots]

I've got a pihole already, but I don't think that's a solution for me.  I've got a reverse proxy terminating an https, with a certificate for the public IP address.  so just mapping the domain name to an internal address won't work, right?

[e9d1n4]

That is similar to my setup - I map the domain name(s) to the internal address for the reverse proxy LAN address rather than to the hosted service directly. The proxy (nginx in my case) doesn't care that the request came from the LAN and provides the expected certificate as it would for a WAN connection.

[dankots]

OMG it works! thank you soooo much.

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi everyone,

dankots, awesome — glad to hear that your issue is fixed.

To all, I suggest trying what e9d1n4 suggested.

Keep us posted.

Best,

Mel

[dankots]

This is NOT a valid solution to Google Wifi not working. Not everyone can spin up their own DNS. 😛

Google still needs to fix NAT loopback!

[Fred190]

Update:  I added another access point today in my garage using the home app as required.  It first rebooted the router and all the access points and then it did a firmware update.  I think it only updated the new access point but not positive.  My router is running 1.63.324946 which was released in November and should have already been on the router.  After all of this Nat Loopback no longer works at all.  I did not physically change anything else beside adding the new access point. I also check to be sure my Wan IP address did not change.  

[AbigailF]

Hey folks,

Thanks for lending a hand, @olavrb.
@e9d1n4, we'd like to check on your case. Could you provide the case ID number from your interaction with our Google support? We'll wait for your update.
@Fred190, are you still having the same issue? Let us know so we can continue to help out.

Best,
Abi

[e9d1n4]

Thank you @AbigailF . My case number is: 7-0483000033668

[AbigailF]

Hi everyone, 

@Fred190, we're sad to see you go. If ever you change your mind, we're here to help

@e9d1n4, thanks for the details. I’ve sent a follow-up to the senior support handling your case. Keep your lines open as they will be replying to your email shortly. Let me know if you have any other questions or clarifications for now.
 

Thanks,

Abi

[AbigailF]

Hey folks,

We’d like to check in again in case you have any further questions or concerns. Feel free to reply to this thread and we’ll help you out.

Best, 
Abi

[Destynn]

Can Google just fix the issue?

I have the same issue with Nat Loopback and accessing my server from inside the network. However, I've discovered that when I have only one Nest WiFi pro running and the second WiFi pro is unplugged, I can access my home server. To troubleshoot this, I plugged the second WiFi pro back in, checked if my phone was wirelessly connected to the main router(which is was), and I can access the server via Nat Loopback(as intended), however when I walked to the other side of the house and it wirelessly switches to the second WiFi pro, I am again not able to see the server. I am set up as wired backhaul to the main router. .... ONT -> GWiFiPro-> unman. Switch ->GWiFiPro .... Would really like a fix from Google. This worked on the last 2 versions Google WiFi and Nest WiFi. This being a pro (and yes this is anything but a pro version of WiFi available to consumers) it should at least support hairpining.

[Phiro]

Has there been any update to this issue? I upgraded my home setup from the google wifi system to the next wifi pro a few days ago, and I am also having nat loopback/hairpin issues over wired connections (it works fine over wifi). The nest router and the two points are all on the same version firmware, 1.63.327820, which appears to be the latest released/ga firmware as of Jan 1st 2023. 

[e9d1n4]

updating here ... Google support did follow up and we have tested a few additional things. So far nothing has worked. Did a factory reset and swapped the primary with one of the points. Same result. I also moved to a different subnet.

I've heard that, similar to @Destynn, it can work if running from a primary router ... this likely explains why I remember it working now and then (I think this suggests secondaries are the ones failing at hairpinning).

My system is configured as follows: AT&T fiber/modem --> AT&T router (bridged) --> WiFi Pro primary; WiFi Pro secondary 1 --> unmanaged switch --> devices hosting external services; WiFi Pro secondary 2 --> unmanaged switch --> various other devices. I imagine the routing might work properly if the service hosting devices were wired to the primary, but unfortunately that is in my kitchen. I'm currently on firmware version 1.63.327820.

Is this kind of configuration (hosting externally accessible services connected to a secondary; functional loopback from secondary) working for anyone?

[p_x_g]

I also wish for this NAT loopback to work and it does not.

[Fred190]

AbigailF,  I returned my Nest pro and went back to my previous mesh routers.  I was also having random speed and connection issues.  The 6G backhaul did not agree with my home's geometry.  I set up a wired backhaul but that would randomly switch back to wireless with poor speeds.  Could easily been a wire quality issue but I was not going to rerun it due to where it was routed.  Thanks for the offer of help.

[Jeff]

Hey everyone,

I see some people here found their solution while others are looking for fixes still. It's been a while since we've had any activity in here, so I wanted to check in and see if anyone else was still looking for help on this, or to see if everyone ended up getting things sorted out. If you're still needing some input, just let me know.

Thanks,
Jeff

[ojconcentrate]

Jeff, thanks for the update. My experience so far has been great. The only thing that is missing now is the NAT Loopback which doesn't appear to work or works inconsistently. Port forwarding appears to work better but the moment you step inside the network, you can no longer access the services via your public address which is less than idea for a lot of situations (especially self-hosted VPNs since the Nest itself doesn't provide a VPN functionality).

[Phiro]

I'm still looking for basic hairpinning to be re-added to the product line. Do you have an idea on when that would be?

[bpdamas]

This is not working for me. I cannot access my internal address through a hosted domain. This now is an issue on both wired and wireless devices. As soon as I disconnect from WiFi, it instantly loads up the webpage. 

[hawkeye42]

As of 23-Feb-2023 hairpinning/NAT loopback is not supported on Nest Wifi Pro. This has just been acknowledged by Google Nest Wifi support: "Upon checking, hairpinning is not supported for Nest Wifi Pro."

[dankots]

This is a necessary feature for a home router. How do we get this added?

[hawkeye42]

I am wondering about the exact same thing!

[Derkaramma]

I would love to also have this added. Im going to try and move my server back on to the main router point today and see if t hat works. I can deal with that solution for now.

[bpdamas]

Geez. I'm in the same boat. I "upgraded" to nest WiFi pro and I can no longer access my forwarded port from my local network. Disconnecting from wifi makes it instantly work. 

[Derkaramma]

What I’ve been doing to get around it is just using the IP address in place of the domain. It works but it shouldn’t have to be that way 😩

[dankots]

Good solution for simple cases 🙂
But not valid for all cases.
I have a reverse proxy terminating https connections with a certificate based on the domain name, so can't substitute IP in the remote connection.

[bpdamas]

It's just terrible that this is this way. I now have to go to two different spots to get to the same place. Fine for me since I know what I'm doing but ridiculous to try and explain to anyone not tech savvy. 

[thargy]

I just wasted so much time trying to figure out why port forwarding wasn't working and sure enough it was lack of NAT loopback.  I was forwarding to a hardwired Rasberry PI (running Home Assistant), and everything looked setup correctly, but no amount of trying to connect from my hardwired PC worked.  Switched to using phone on WiFi and sure enough connected straight away (and again when disconnected from WiFi).

The Google Wifi Pro has been an endless sea of bugs for me, and is a HUGE disappointment.  Sadly I have 6 nodes, and so I'm in deep financially, but I deeply regret buying this &%*$.

[Ozgur74]

Same problem here. NAT loopback is broken, can't reach my server through domain name inside my network. Wifi Pro has been a big disappointment. Can somebody from Google give a proper answer please? 

[Derkaramma]

So oddly enough, when I was instructed to turn off cloud services, my nat loopback works!

[Phiro]

What, what? Cloud services?

[bpdamas]

Settings>privacy settings>cloud services 

Mine is on right now. I'm going to test this to see if it works when I get home. 

[hawkeye42]

If it works, it is an excellent find.

[bpdamas]

I'm guessing it's completely unrelated. Maybe Google fixed it. I'm on software version 1.63.327820. Not sure what it was before.

Edit: spoke too soon. Can't get there again. Turned off cloud services and it didn't help. 

[bpdamas]

This is still an issue. Has there been any update from Google on this? Has anyone figured out a solution?