Google Wifi point keeps dropping the connection

[DaveTheDad]

I see there have been various posts on this issue but no clear resolution was provided. Troubleshooting on these issues presents like some outside cause or misdiagnosing as an ISP outage, however, this issue is real and I would like to understand how I am able to get some support. I am based in Australia.

My environment 

3 x Google wifi (Gen 1) and 3 x Nest wifi

I have various Google home devices, Google home minis, google nest hubs, google nest audio. I have various other wifi devices including TVs and 5 family members with Apple phones. I work in IT and my PCs are ethernet wired.

With this configuration, it is obvious when the wifi drops and the ethernet connected devices remain connected and the internet service provider connection is uninterupted.

The issue is solely with the wifi and all wifi devices drop connection at the same time. The Google home app on my iPhone is set to notify when someone (or device) joins the wifi network, which informs me when my devices reconnect after the wifi drops.

This has been happening since around June 2021. I am not sure what happened at this time, but I suspect a firmware update was done by Google. 

I have done extensive troubleshooting and turned off all other wifi devices that could act as an access point (even though they were disabled in settings), tried isolating it to a faulty google wifi device by turning them off one by one for a day to see if the issue is no longer present. Nothing seems to have resolved this.

With various wifi drops during the day for 5 months now, I believe I have definitely isolated this issue to the Goggle wifi and nest wifi devices. I believe it is now obvious that there is a firmware issue on these devices and with no way to upgrade or downgrade to different versions of firmware, like every other router/wifi access point provider on the market, this leaves me with no options to resolve these issues.

So I am reaching out in one last attempt to get some support before I have to change to another mesh wifi provider and never go back to Google for such devices due to lack of support and poor firmware quality. 

As an IT Professional who recommends these devices to anyone needing a good wifi solution, I am embarrassed.I

1. Is there anything else that I can try to resolve this issue that I have not tried?
2. Is there a way for me to get direct support from the vendor (Google)? For example a support email address, or a phone number?

Thanks in advance.

Dave

[nickp001]

I can't say that I blame you.  What brand are you going with?

[Teru]

ASUS RT-AX88U AX6000 Dual Band Wireless-AX Gigabit Router - AUD $476 from Computer Alliance on special, free shipping.

[DaveTheDad]

UPDATE: I have re-enabled the Google Cloud services 2 weeks ago. Wifi seems stable (however- with Christmas period and kids not at home as much, I have not been paying attention). Google Home Routines are working again. 

Current process and settings are - 

• Using Newer Nest Wifi Router
• using 3 older Google wifi Pucs 
• Turn off the 2 newer nest wifi pucs
• Factory reset
• Disable IPv6
• Google Cloud services enabled

I am about to enable the one of the newer Nest Wifi Pucs to see if there is any impact. I will run for about a week and provide an update.

[briansmith1223]

I have the exact same issue as listed above.  Called google support 10+ times and stuff gets "escalated".   How do they sell such a terrible product?  Can't they just own up when they have a problem?

This is a very expensive system to just not work.

[DaveTheDad]

UPDATE: I have re-enabled the Google Cloud services 2 weeks ago. Wifi seems stable (however- with Christmas period and kids not at home as much, I have not been paying attention). Google Home Routines are working again. 

Current process and settings are - 

• Using Newer Nest Wifi Router
• using 3 older Google wifi Pucs 
• Turn off the 2 newer nest wifi pucs 
• Factory reset
• Disable IPv6
• Google Cloud services enabled
• Turned on one of the newer nest wifi pucs 

I have enabled one of the newer Nest Wifi Pucs. There has been no issues so far. I will keep running and monitor

[Jeff]

Thanks for that update, DaveTheDad. We'll keep an eye on things to see if they stay stable. Hopefully you've sorted it out on your end and others can use the info to do the same. Thanks again for the update!

[MegaWauWau]

So, will this be solved? I bought this thing (nest wifi, router plus those points with Google home built in), or better many of them, because they were advertised as the simplest and fastest way of distributing wifi across a large place. Factory resets, disabling IPv6 settings, all of this doesn't sound particularly simple and certainly not fast anymore. Not that I don't know how to do it, I don't want to do it, that's what I paid the extra money for. Especially not with this 1980ies app where every click takes a few seconds to register.

I'm beyond frustrated with this product. Can you pls just indicate why not just throw it all away?

Thank you.

[briansmith1223]

I would say throw it away and stop buying google products.  It will stop working at some point and google will just waste your time without ever fixing the issue or replacing the product.  They can charge more because it looks pretty but think this is the worst wifi mesh on the market.  I went back my Verizon Reuter, no cycle off and the speeds are faster.

nest wifi is a scam.

[MegaWauWau]

Sigh ... In order to indeed put a stop to wasting time, what alternative mesh product would you recommend? I have about 4000sqf to cover, with some solid stone walls to bridge. So far, I had 3 of the new type nest routers and 3 of the new type nest points.

Any tips most appreciated!

[DeanShark]

Any solutions yet?

I have a Google Nest router with two of the Nest points. I've reset the entire system a couple of times. I'm experiencing multiple drops a day.

Sometimes, the point stays will say "Great Connection," but the Mesh Test shows both units are offline.

I'm not one for chasing my tail through multiple settings only to have someone tell me to reset the system...again.

With remote learning, etc., I need a mesh that works through the whole house for my kids' schooling.

[TimDo]

I ditched Nest Wifi altogether. Sticking with Netgear mesh now. 

[MegaWauWau]

Same here, i moved to the Netgear Orbi Mesh WiFi 6, AX4200. This one works really well so far (2 weeks). Finally some peace of mind!

[Gizmocorn]

I have new information. I THINK MINE IS FIXED!

The whole story is that I removed all of the marshmallow nodes and dropped down to using only a single puck, and I reset it to factory every day. It was more reliable, but still dropped out once per day or two.

My daughter absolutely requires 100% reliability for her job. So when she was working during the day I'd use an old Netgear from 2013. It had low capacity, but it was reliable. Then in the evening I'd use a freshly reset puck to get streaming-capable capacity, and it would usually get through the night.

But one morning the old Netgear dropped out, too!  I called ISP customer service again. She remotely tested the modem again and assured that it was working fine. So this time I asked if the modem could have a sick output that it's internal-diagnostics couldn't see. She wasn't sure, so she sent a technician out. 

The tech arrived in about three hours with a box in his hand and said, "Your modem has known problems. Here is a better one."  He installed it and everything has been working perfectly with all of the Google nodes for over a month now.

The modems involved are ARRIS brand. I don't know the model of the old black one. The new white one is SB6190.

My conclusion is that the Google mesh routers are like a canary in a coal mine. They may be more sensitive to flaky performance from a marginal modem output stage than other routers are.

I'm really glad it's working, now, because I was not looking forward to spending many hundreds of dollars on a full replacement mesh when I didn't even know if the Google mesh was the problem.

[DeanShark]

I appreciate your enthusiasm, and I'm glad it worked for you. I'm already running an Arris SB6190 modem.

Unfortunately, I think this has more to do with the Google system--a system that seems like it needs to be restarted every day to function. Not optimal.

Any solutions, Google? So far, the best ideas I'm seeing involve the purchase of another system.

[TallPhilly]

Ok…so here’s another chump from Australia who bought into the Google Mesh dream and is having all the same issues as above. Frustrating for me for work but so much worse for my 15yo son who is very understanding that there’s a problem but also understandably furious when the internet drops right in the middle of an online shoot-‘em-up game with 4 of his mates. 

The system just randomly and intermittently (several times/day) just stops working. Then it looks like it does a quick reboot and 5 mins later it’s working again…till the next drop. 

I did have just the (latest) Google Router with two pucks and that worked well. We recently moved to a bigger house so I thought I’d just buy two more pucks and we’d all be covered. Since then, these issues have occurred. I thought it may be just these two additional pucks but it seems like others are also having issues without adding more than the base two. 

I’ll raise a case with Google and see what they have to say but I’m not holding my breath. This thread made me feel better that I’m not the only one but worse that it is a known problem with no known solution. 

[TallPhilly]

So I just chatted with Google Support over their Chat function and was pleasantly surprised. Got on to someone quickly and, unbelievably, they didn’t even ask me to reset my system. 

Not sure if anyone had a similar setup to me but I had plugged my Google Router into the router than the ISP (Telstra) gave me that was connected to my broadband provider’s (NBN) connection box. Apparently this creates a “Double NAT” problem that can drop the Nest signal. 

So I have now cabled my Google Router directly into the NBN broadband box and so far so good. Let’s see if it intermittently drops now. Apparently this is a common mistake and the dropping mesh issue is the output of it. 

Hope this may help someone else. Thanks for the thread. 

[PeterCh]

I didn’t know that you could connect a router to a router. I suspect most people just use 1 router and are still experiencing drop outs with Google mesh, myself included. Keep an eye out if it still drops in and out with your new setup.

[DaveTheDad]

Double NAT is bad.

You should always avoid Double NAT and set up your network to avoid it. It can cause all sorts of issues, but the biggest issue is when you are trying to troubleshoot issues (like these in this thread) and make troubleshooting very difficult. 

[TimDo]

I highly recommend Netgear Orbi. The setup is a bit cumbersome but the performance and reliability are great so far. I've been using Netgear Orbi for 1.5 months. No single disconnection incident. And the internet speed is consistently 3-4 time higher than with Nest Wifi.

[DaveTheDad]

UPDATE: Let's review where I was at. My last post outlined what I had done and it has been fairly stable for the last few months... Until...  

My wife came across a disconnected Newer Generation PUC and thought, "this looks like it should be plugged in and connected". This is the exact point in time when the google gods decided to rain down a mighty blow on me, my marriage and my wifi.

The last two weeks have been a nightmare of internet and wifi drop outs once more.

I performed troubleshooting, like disconnecting the Newer Generation PUC my wife connected. No improvement.

One of the older Gen PUCs was reporting via the mesh as disconnected. It was in range and was fine previously. I thought it may be causing the issues, so I relocated it temporarily to the office where the main New Gen Router PUC is located and it still would not report as connected. I had to delete it from the network and factory reset it. It came good and I was able to put it back in is its original location and is working fine.

There was no improvement to wifi dropouts and now not only was I experiencing wifi drop outs, but now also the main New Gen Router PUC seemed to having issues with DNS where internet was operational but its local DNS services were failing. I was able to browse to web sites and use the internet via IP addresses, just not via domain names. 

Add another issue where this New Gen Router PUC would sometimes (twice over the last two weeks) would lock up and not be responsive forcing me to power cycle it.

As you can see from this thread that I started and my troubleshooting and desire to resolve the issues with these Google devices, I have invested my time, skills and desire to not let it beat me. There comes a time when we need to honour the Google gods wishes and accept defeat.

Through all my love and worship of google devices, the Google Gods and the four females that are my family do not want me to have Google wifi.  I have bowed down and accepted I have lost.

Seriously though, I am an IT engineer and this product does not behave as it should, there is something wrong here with the software or hardware or both. What is worse is that Google appears to be avoiding dealing with it. They are not providing anywhere that it is a known issue. They are not offering a workaround and we are lefty to post on a community forum and rely on other users' experiences. That is just poor.

I have ordered a Netgear Orbi Mesh system with 3 Nodes to start with and I await delivery.

[Tys]

I feel your pain.  Nice advertising, nice performance occasionally, but utterly unreliable ultimately and evasive post sales service.  Is wifi via Google nest devices  some form of voodoo religion  that depends on the whims and fancies of the Google Gods?  Do the Google Gods listen (let alone answer) our prayers?

[DaveTheDad · Accepted solution]

UDPATE: I purchased and installed Netgear Orbi. These devices are a lot larger, however I do not need as many as I did the Google pucs. I purchased 3 devices (router and two satellite devices). It was fairly straight forward to set up. After two weeks using the Netgear devices, the results are - 

• Router Functionality - good and easy use. The smartphone app is where the focus on development has been, ease of use, interface and a good set of controls. I did prefer the web browser to set up the network.
• Wifi - definitely faster for all devices on the network. local network data transfers are MUCH faster. Internet access from wifi devices is also significantly faster.
• Better handling of 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies
• The free 30 day free 'armour' subscription is interesting and after analysis, it is not really worth it, however it does alert you of potential risky devices and users. I am not sure how valid this is, however I will not be subscribing.

Summary

Google you failed big here. Not being transparent with issues and not supporting people like me who so many personal and professional people rely on my input and assistance to set up and manage their networks. You have wasted so much of my time. I am so tainted and negative toward these devices now and the support.

The google gods have forsaken me and I have turned atheist.

My Advice to anyone reading this thread in the future

STOP - If you are having WIFI dropouts consistently across your Google WIFI network, then it is probably not fixable. I believe there is a problem with the hardware and they are not able to address it. They may have packed too much into a small device. Their solution is to not be transparent, not admit it and play dumb. This shows their commitment to their customers.

I cannot speak to any other issues with these devices, however if you are having the same issues as I encountered, save yourself time and hope that the issues will be addressed. It is better to invest your time and money in a more reliable solution.

They have lost an advocate in me. Good Luck all

Dave

[anfran]

I have been having the same issue. Did factory reset did not help. Now I restart my router everytime it happens and it gets restored its been painful

[Kanga]

Same here Dude, Home says "Great Connection" but Spotify keeps dropping out... I suppose that's a Spotify' problem 🙄 I recently bought a Google Cam V2 and couldn't connect it, defaulted to main hub only which was out of range. Unfortunate, it looked like a great unit and now have Wyze which is a lot cheaper (unit & subscriptions) and easier. I'm glad I sold my one and only Google share 😁. Great products but aftermarket support diminishing with no transparent 'troubleshooting of their 'technical empire''. Nest not much help either. Maybe they are causing the problems ?

[Kanga]

I just cancelled my Google Nest Aware subscription. The fact they don't ask why or if there is any problem they can address is further indicative of the bog their axles are sitting in.

[Burton_Highland]

Having the same issue here where the access points drop on a daily basis.  You reset and restart etc. back to factory and it still happens.  BIG loss of time and sadly investment.  Time for a new system it appears.

[EdwardT]

Hi Burton_Highland,

Thanks for reaching out. I'm sorry to hear that you're also experiencing this issue. I see that you've already tried some troubleshooting steps. I'd love to know more about this and I have a few questions:

• How many Google Wifi points do you have?
• When did the issue start?
• What's the light status of your Wifi points when they drop?

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,

Edward

[EdwardT]

Hi folks,

@7ing, thanks for the help!

@Burton_Highland, If you haven't yet, you could find the article that 7ing mentioned here.

Thanks,

Edward

[EdwardT]

Hi Burton_Highland,

It's me again. I wanted to check back in to see if you have other questions and concerns. Feel free to let me know if you do. 

Thanks,

Edward

[EdwardT]

Hi Burton_Highland,

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,

Edward

[ShihanKarel]

Hi EdwardT

i am in South Africa and recently purchased the googlenest router with two mesh speakers. I have multiple smart devices, chromecast, iPhones and Android tablets connected to the network. My problem is not that the router disconnects the devices, bit only disconnects the Samsung Android tablets saying wifi without internet. Once the chromecast is connected it doesnt drop connection. Also the iPhones a d IBM Laptops doesnt loose their connection. My inly problem is the Samsung tablets loosing their internet connection. Common sense says it has to be a setting on the tablet. Or perhaps the technology on the tablet is old, but how do I test or resolve that?

please help!!

[EdwardT]

Hi ShihanKarel,

Thanks for letting us know. I'm sorry to hear that you're having issues with your tablet. I'd love to know more about this and I have a few questions:

• What's the model and the OS version of your Samsung tablets?
• How long would your tablets stay connected before they drop?
• Have you tried connecting them on a different network?

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,

Edward

[macfrog713]

You don’t seem to care? i bought the newest greatest google mesh and wow, what a waste of money. i check my ipad and the darn google home shows all my mesh points loading yet again. Not once but 10 or 15 times a day. How is one supposed to work or even stream tv when its dropping signal all **bleep** day. Gee and i thought Google Fiber had unethical business practices, evidently that has leaked into their hardware practices as well. Provide crappy services and hardware and then blame the customer. And to read that this problem has existed for over a year and still has not been addressed and your selling this crap still to folks who don’t know. And what’s even more disturbing is that you know its a problem and have done nothing to fix it. 

[humza_safdar]

I have consistently had problems with the google home wifi. The most annoying part of this is that the app does not even work on my phone. I also have this connection drop consistently and am getting ready to purchase a new mesh system as I am done with google.

[7ing]

Have you tried the steps from the support page for Double NAT issues?  That finally did it for me, even though it seemed like it should be unrelated.

[Jeff]

Hi ShihanKarel,

I just wanted to jump in real fast to see if you saw Edward's reply and to see if you still needed some help on this or if you were able to get it sorted out. If you are still needing some help, just let us know and we'll be happy to continue helping.

Thanks,
Jeff

[ShihanKarel]

hi Jeff

Thanks for following up. I managed to get some answers on You Tube for making developer changes on the tablet. I have had one drop in the past 4 days. So I think it is safe to say the situation has been resolved. 

many thanks for the support. 

karel

[EdwardT]

Hi ShihanKarel,

Thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear that you were able to find a solution. Please observe it for now and let us know if anything comes up.

Thanks,

Edward

[ShihanKarel]

Hi EdwardT

I guess I spoke to soon. The Samsung tablets still keep dropping.

The details of the tablets as previously requested:

Samsung Galaxy Tab A (8.0", 2019)
Model nr SM-T295

Android version 11

Android security patch level - 1 April 2022

Let me know if you require more information to possibly assist with solution.

What I have done (found on youtube) was to set the IP address to static and making DNS 1: 8.8.8.8 and DNS 2: 8.8.4.4. Also disabled Wi-Fi scan throttling. These two things made it slightly more stable, but did not resolve the situation. Again, it is only the four tablets (all the same) that keeps dropping the internet connection on the wifi.

Thanks

[Ashepherdson]

Check your Keep WiFi on during sleep options. These allow you to specify when to disconnect from WiFi.

Go to Home > Apps > Settings > WiFi > more >Keep WiFi on during sleep. Hopefully you can stop it from disconnecting at all by choosing an option