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

[ShihanKarel]

Hi Asheperdson

sorry but your directions doesnt reflect on my menus. I do not have a “wifi on during sleep” option to select. 

i have now also selected the tablets MAC adress instead of random MAC address. Lets see…

[vbplaya]

Your "solution" isn't a solution.  We are looking for a fix of the hardware ... not a replacement with a different product.  That's like someone asking for help on a faulty windshield wiper and you saying "buy a different car".

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey vbplaya,
 

I’m sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused — let's see what's going on.
 

A few questions: 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:
 

Make sure that there is minimal to no interference (concrete, bulletproof glass, metal, mirror, etc.) 

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.

Unplug the power from your Google Wifi devices for 2 minutes.

If the issue persists, try factory resetting your network, then use a different network name and password.

Let us know how it goes.

Best,

Mel

[Beelzebuddy]

I'm not trying to be rude, but these are the steps I am given every time I have opened a ticket with Google. I did each step. Nothing worked. I have replaced my router marshmallow and added new points. Same result. It will take a firmware update to fix this, if it can be fixed at all. Very frustrating to be told these steps over and over. It does.not fix this problem. 

[Jeff]

Hey Chuck3hood,

I noticed you had a question about the factory reset process. Based on what Mel suggested, I would reset all the points and main router and set it up as new. The order in which you do it won't matter, but run through a reset on it all and set things up fresh. If you have any questions about that, please let us know.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Jeff]

Hey Beelzebuddy,

I understand your frustration. It sounds like you've been through a lot of troubleshooting. We do have a new firmware release rolling out and hopefully that brings you the fix you're looking for. That update should be hitting your device soon.

Thanks,

Jeff

[G_Spy]

My Google latest Nest HW is POS. a 5 year old Wifi 5Gh router maintains connections and has faster speeds than nest.

Junk Nest Router, and google has a way to suppress any negative comments. Their support? does it even exist?

[TimDo]

Well, Google community contractors are going around forum and trying to ease users off their frustration. That is the best thing they can do, sadly

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey folks,

@Jeff, thanks for the help.

@TimDo and @G_Spy, we deeply appreciate you sharing your thoughts and experiences, and we'll take it as feedback. We hope we can change your mind in the future.

I just wanted to jump in again and let you know that a new firmware release is going out now to the WiFi routers and points. You won't need to do anything to receive the update and it will install automatically once it's available for your hardware. Over the next 1-2 weeks the update will be pushed out to all users. 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.

Regards,
Mel

[PhilM001]

Thank you for all this input for us less gifted tech folk, who are having exactly the same problems: but aren't quite as confident in the analysis. I have only recently started having them: but it is just crazy bad now it has begun. My local Internet provide actually came out replaced an oldish coaxial cable and upgrade my router. We checked the speed - 110MB down & 14 Up. Brilliant. 2 hours later after having set the Google Mesh back up again and it working for an hour, all the points have gone offline on Google Home, but the Nest Wifi Point (the last one added) is happy to answer questions, so is connected. Speeds are fluctuating crazily: but the the Nest Wifi Router in the office still connects direct to devices and has that blazing fast speed. Something is fundamentally screwed right now with this whole thing... AND it had been so seamless for so long that I have so much of the house set up on Google Home devices that it is a disaster. 

Anyway, really appreciate your efforts in chronicling all this for all of us out there lost as to what has messed the whole mesh system up so badly all of a sudden.

[DeanShark]

Gave up on Google.

It's been 3 weeks with an Asus ZenWifi ET8 system with ZERO dropouts and much faster service through the entire house.

[TashTheGeek]

Thanks for this. I was just going to start researching new routers and didn't know which brand I should start with. I've been on google Wifi for so long, I guess I forgot the brands. Eek. These "drop" issues didn't start to occur until the new Nest Wifi pucks came out. I regret that I upgraded to them, though the Google Home speaker functionality sucked me in! Ah well, it was fun while it lasted. I'll start with Asus for alternatives

[TashTheGeek]

Just as an update, I ended up going with the Netgear Orbi, two points for my house with two stories, and I haven't had a single problem since. It's been a week on the new mesh system, and I've noticed a dramatic increase in down and up speeds. Google Nest Wifi points only ever hit a speedtest.net rating of about 87 up/down on my phone and other mobile devices. The new Orbi points are much closer to my gigabit speeds with around 700 mbps down and 600 mbps up. 
HUGE DIFFERENCE. 
I'm not sorry I've switched at all. Oh! And my Google TV's and Google Home displays have stopped randomly telling me that connection was lost. How does the Google Wifi not even work well with its own products??? 
Anyways, I hope this help others.

[Pollenross]

Exact same setup and issues at my place. Worked fine until I introduced the new nest units and then everything went to the dogs. Daily dropouts but Ethernet devices remain connected. Have to pull the power plug every time to reset. New home app functionality is woeful. Looks like I’ll be updating as well. 

like you I had told many people to buy these and am also embarrassed. 

[Pollenross]

I get crazy packet loss issues when connect to the wifi on top of the total loss of connection issue highlighted above.  Does anyone else experience this and have any solutions? Hurts bad when on video calls.

64 bytes from 1.1.1.1: icmp_seq=34 ttl=57 time=9.675 ms
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Request timeout for icmp_seq 40
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64 bytes from 1.1.1.1: icmp_seq=40 ttl=57 time=4360.373 ms
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[TashTheGeek]

Yeah. Get a different router. 

[keenumm]

In the process of replacing with TP-Link deco 5300s.  Cannot take the issues anymore.  Even after the "firmware" update on all 4 latest version pucks still having connection drops and having to unplug for while to reset them.  Just hope I can sell this crap to some sucker.  Hey Jeff, you want them since you say they are fixed.

[7ing]

I had this issues, totally random device disconnects even though showing they had internet connection, inconsistent device statuses in the app, Wifi point would randomly lose connection to the mesh, though would still work as a smart speaker.  I tried a variety of things from this thread and others.

What I hadn't really dug into was the Double NAT issue that is mentioned on one of the Nest Wi-Fi support pages (and by TallPhilly below).  Though it makes no sense why it'd cause the mesh to break, it did seem feasible for my other issues.  So, my current solution that has held the best is to get my ISP's AIO device into bridge mode and ensure all other functions were disabled.  After that my WiFi seems much more stable and consistent with speed & devices, and strangely enough, my mesh hasn't dropped yet.

[Beelzebuddy]

This has been happening to me for the past year. It's impossible to keep a good connection without restarting my Google Nest WiFi several times a day. I replaced the Nest router several days ago, and the system worked great until yesterday when "Weak Connection" was displayed for all Points. It's challenging to work from home. I have purchased two routers and four points, and the problem persists. It must be a firmware upgrade that is breaking this system. Many users are reporting this problem. Read reviews and consider purchasing another brand as there does not seem to be a fix for this at this time. VERY FRUSTRATING!

[Beelzebuddy]

Update:  First, I'm an IT Director and I'm technically-abled. After 2 lengthy support calls where I was told the same basic instructions (set your DNS to 8.8.8.8.8, restart your network,  reset your network and set it up again, etc.,) I am still having to restart all of my Wi-Fi points every day at least once a day. I have even purchased an additional marshmallow and replaced the marshrouter. Same result. How many complaints have to be submitted on this issue before something is done! I have well over $1000 worth of useless marshmallows laying around. Google, fix this issue or offer refunds! This is maddening!

[Beelzebuddy]

I just won a new badge! Unfortunately,  the gameification of a support forum is really iritating when the vendor ignores your problem.

[mike6680]

I have had the same issues with the google mesh wifi losing internet connection and not sure why anyone thinks the real solution is to keep factory resetting everything. That's completely unreasonable and not a real solution. I to have been looking at other mesh wifi systems that are more stable. 

[lucash2763]

I have the same issues recently and have to reboot router to fix loss of connection. Twice today. Plz google fix, I dont want to replace as its worked fine for a year.

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi lucash2763,

Thanks for letting us know. Have you had the chance to try the steps above? If so, how was it?

Best,

Mel

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi lucash2763,

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

[lucash2763]

The connection hasn't dropped in several days thank you guys for fixing this!

[Princesss]

Hi lucash2763,

Thanks for updating us. Glad to know that it's working perfectly now.

Since this has been resolved, we'll consider this as complete and will lock the thread in 24 hours. Feel free to start a new one if you need assistance with your Google Wifi and the community would gladly lend a hand.

Best,

Princess

[Chuck3hood]

I'm away from home on a trip but while gone I have noticed that I stopped getting offline notices and when I open the home app and run mesh test they all come back green which is NOT the behavior I had a week ago.  Was there a firmware push in the last week?  Is it ACTUALLY fixed!?!

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi Chuck3hood,

Thanks for getting back to us. The software update is rolling out now. It goes out in waves to devices and everyone will have it within the next 1-2 weeks. It really could land any day and you won't need to do anything to receive the update, it will download and install automatically for you. If you have other questions, let me know.

It is more accurate to run the mesh test while your phone is connected to your Google Wifi network.

Thanks,

Mel