Google router not allowing access to certain site

[MrCS]

Hi, I'm writing with a strange mystery. My Google Nest wifi Router will not allow a certain website to load (pcf1x.bsm.dla.mil). The site loads on my phone when I turn off wifi and also when I bypass the router and connect the modem directly to a device; it loads fine when I am not at my home office. Adding to the mystery: the site has been tricky to access for more than just my Nest router and could indicate something more systemic, as I've asked several people not using my network to attempt to access the site; those who failed have Google products somewhere in their network (fiber, routers, etc).

I've been engaged with # for over a month without any successful resolution, and tweeted @GooglePEProgram thinking that this issue might pique their curiosity.

Thanks in advance for any assistance/insights.

[lighx]

This is only a guess, but maybe your nest wifi believes it’s an unsafe site. If you have family WiFi on check that safe search is not on for the devices that are failing.

[MrCS]

Thanks for replying--safe search not on.

[Jeff]

Hey MrCS,

Can you check a couple of things for me? In your advanced network settings, do you have IPv6 enabled? Also, are you using custom DNS or automatic DNS settings?

Thanks,
Jeff

[MrCS]

Jeff, thanks for the reply. 

Re. IPv6: I have tried it enabled and disabled & it doesn't seem to make a difference. (Among the first things Google wificares suggested more than a month ago now was to toggle it off and back on. A tech person on the gov't side suggested that I shouldn't use more than IPv4, so it's currently disabled.)

DNS settings are set to automatic. 

I will try anything to make this work. It's been unresolved for more than a month now--I fear that I'm going to have to return this hardware.

[Jeff]

Hey MrCS,

Let's go ahead and try custom DNS settings. You can use Google's Public DNS settings for that. In the DNS setting, change it from automatic to custom and use the values 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. Once doing that, go ahead and power cycle the router and see how things perform.

Thanks,
Jeff

[MrCS]

Thanks, Jeff, for the persistence! Still not working. Error messages continue to be "This site can’t be reached" in Chrome, "Hmmm... can't reach this page" in Edge.

[MrCS]

Jeff, I was reading that "Double NAT" could be causing this issue (my Nest wifi router is connected to a Frontier modem). The advice says to put the modem into bridge mode; I'm wondering if, because the Nest wifi router is the problem, putting *it* into bridge mode might help. Thoughts?

[Jeff]

Hey MrCS,

Bridge mode would definitely be the route to go if you're having a double NAT conflict. Here's an article on how bridge mode works and a guide: https://goo.gle/2yoUK3X. It gives you a couple of options and recommendations. Take a quick look at that and let me know if you have any questions about the process.

Thanks,
Jeff

[MrCS]

Big thanks, Jeff, for getting back to me. Reading the link brings up a question that I'd like to resolve before moving forward:

We've identified the Google Nest wifi router as the source of the problem (by connecting devices directly to the Frontier modem and successfully accessing the site/URL in question). This would seem to indicate that putting the Google Nest router into bridge mode (i.e. rather than the modem) is the way to go; however, because the router connects to a mesh network of points, it seems that that isn't an option. Is putting the modem into bridge mode just as likely to fix the issue?

Again, many thanks---

[Jeff]

Hey MrCS,

It's always preferable to bridge the modem first, if possible. Not all setups will work that way, so bridging the Google WiFi is an option as well, but I would start with putting the modem itself into bridge mode as a first step.

Thanks,
Jeff

[MrCS]

Argh. I was hopeful but that didn't fix it -- the error message remains the same. 

[MrCS]

Update: the wificares folks suggested a factory reset and changing the name/pw of the network; that didn't work either. 

[nest_issue]

MrCS were you able to resolve this problem. I am facing the same problem.

Any support from Nest??