Google wifi losing connection intermittently

[hpmhugo]

There are a lot of folks having the same connectivity issues. There are also various threads on reddit on this - e.g. https://www.reddit.com/r/GoogleWiFi/comments/q6fsyb/constant_disconnects_on_some_devices/?utm_source...

@User123456 - are you aware of this, and what are you doing about it? Is there a software update coming to resolve this?

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi SpottedQuoll,

Thanks for your patience.

Best regards,

Mel

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi SpottedQuoll,

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

[hpmhugo]

Hi Mel,
I had another case this morning where a website (weather.com) would not load on my mobile device. I switched off wifi (i.e. reverted to LTE signal), and the website loaded immediately.

My setup: gigabit AT&T fiber to the house —> AT&T fiber modem —> google router. 

Can you help me?

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi hpmhugo,

Thanks for letting us know. Could you check if other devices will not load that website while connected to your Google Wifi network?

Keep us posted.

Thanks,

Mel

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi hpmhugo,

I wanted to follow up and see if you are still in need of any help. Have you had the chance to try the suggestion above? If yes, how is it?

Thanks,
Mel

[Princesss]

Hello there,

Due to inactivity, I'll go ahead and lock this thread in 24 hours. Feel free to start a new thread if you need assistance with your Google Wifi and we'd be glad to assist you further.
 

Best,

Princess

[SpottedQuoll]

Hello.  Activity.  This problem is still unresolved.  Don't lock the thread.  I understand that it's embarrassing for you that this thread will soon also be a year old without resolution, but that doesn't make the problem go away.  Please fix your product.

[hpmhugo]

@Princesss 
@Jhonleanmel 

@Jeff 
I’m confused about the continuous “threats” to close this thread? Obviously your customers are still sitting with an unresolved problem.

BTW - I just checked my firmware, and it is still 14150.43.81.
Can you please confirm whether the new firmware has actually started rolling out to customers? Or has it been delayed?

[SpottedQuoll]

Yes, fully agreed.  You can't expect us to keep adding new dimensions to these issues.  At some point, they are fully described.  What's missing here is a solution, not a further definition of the problem.

@hpmhugo I did receive the firmware update (on the main Nest WiFi router, that is).  I'm now on version 14150.376.32.  But so far, I'm seeing no tangible difference wrt the issues that we all know and have experienced up to varying extents here.  If anything, one of my wireless points started exhibiting strange disconnection behaviour right after the update; so it's not looking good at all.

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey folks,

@SpottedQuoll, I'm sorry to hear that you're still having an issue with your Google Nest Wifi. We'd like to take a deeper look into this — could you fill out this form and let us know once you're done?

@hpmhugo, the software update is rolling out now. It goes out in waves to devices and everyone will have it within the week. The latest firmware versions are listed below:

• Google Wifi: 14150.376.32
• Nest Wifi router: 14150.376.32
• Google Wifi (2nd gen): 14150.376.32
• Nest Wifi point: 1.56.315675

Thanks,
Mel

[hpmhugo]

Howdy! 

My Google Wifi firmware was updated sometime during the past 24h, so I’m now on 14150.376.32. 

Give me a week or so, and then I will report back on whether the situation seems to have improved.

Thanks,
Herman

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey there,

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.

Best,
Mel

[hpmhugo]

@Jhonleanmel  - thank you for checking in again.

Now that I have the new firmware, do you have any recommended tools (PC, Mac or iOS) that I could use to monitor the wifi internet connection? I.e. some software that would do a ping to some server (maybe 8.8.8.8 😀) every 15 seconds or so. Ideally I would like to run the test concurrently on 2 different clients - e.g. iOS and PC, to rule out client-related connectivity issues.

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi hpmhugo,

Thanks for getting back to us. We appreciate your interest however, we don't have any news to share about any tool to monitor your network through your computers for Google Wifi networks. You can manually check your network's performance through the app or using websites dedicated to check speeds and pings.

Thanks,

Mel

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi hpmhugo,

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.

Best,
Mel

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi hpmhugo,

Just one quick final check in here since activity has slowed down. We'll be locking the thread in the next 24 hours, but if you still need help, I would be happy to keep it open. If there's more we can do, just let me know.

Thanks,
Mel

[SpottedQuoll]

We are still in need of help, as no working solution has been provided so far for us.  The activity has slowed down because we are left without solution.  The problem has been described in all its details.  Fix your product and get back to us here please.  Don't close the thread.

[BattysGambit]

Hi 

is there a software fix coming?   I have some around the house and would like to use them again, when are we getting a software fix?  Or should I start investigating Australian consumer law to pursuit a refund?

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi folks,

@SpottedQuoll, have you had the chance to fill out the form?

@BattysGambit, the firmware update versions which were rolled out last week are listed below:

• Google Wifi: 14150.376.32
• Nest Wifi router: 14150.376.32
• Google Wifi (2nd gen): 14150.376.32
• Nest Wifi point: 1.56.315675

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

[JenniferV]

Hey there,

It's us again. How's it going? Still need help?

Thanks for the help here, Edward, Jeff, Princess and Mel. 

Regards,

Jennifer

[hpmhugo]

Hi Jennifer,
I’m waiting for feedback from an app provider regarding an app that can monitor my wifi connectivity over an extended period of time.

I’m still having issues with intermittent gaps in connectivity. E.g. app error messages such as “you appear to be offline - please reconnect”, or a program on PC just hanging for a minute - and then resumes.

I don’t see such issues when I’m traveling (which is quite a lot) - I only see it here at home, when connected to my google wifi.

Don’t you have diagnostics that collect the wifi connectivity data continuously on your google wifi pucks?

Can you provide insight in terms of what is happening on my network?

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey hpmhugo,

@JenniferV, thanks for the help here.

Give these steps a try:
 

1. If you're using a modem/router combo, set that to bridge mode to avoid double NAT issues.
2. Make sure that there is minimal to no interference (concrete, bulletproof glass, metal, mirror, etc.) and the points are no more than two rooms apart.
3. Remove any special characters in your network name and password.
4. Turn off IPv6.
5. Change your DNS server into 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.
6. Unplug the power from your Google Wifi devices for 2 minutes.
7. If the issue persists, try factory resetting your network.

Let us know how it goes.

Best,

Mel

[hpmhugo]

Hi Mel,

I’m using AT&T fiber, with an AT&T supplied modem/router (Arris BGW210-700). Is it okay to have this router’s wifi enabled? (Sorry to say this to a googler, but I sometimes needed this as backup for the shaky google wifi.) The modem/router’s settings do not specifically mention bridge mode - how do I ensure that it is in bridge mode? I found the article below, but not sure whether this is what you’re suggesting.
https://forums.att.com/conversations/att-internet-equipment/bridgemode-vs-ip-passthrough-info-from-t...

Is there any recommended sequence & timing for powering UP the various Google Wifi devices? E.g. should I start with the router, and then wait some time before powering up the additional access points?

In my network, the router and 3 of the access points have wired ethernet backhaul, while another 2 access points use wireless backhaul. (Yes, my setup includes 6 Google wifi pucks. It is fairly spread out, due to house & garage layout - all on one level, and covering a wide area.)

Appreciate your help!

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi hpmhugo,

Thanks for the update. If your Arris modem/router's Wi-Fi is enabled, this creates double NAT issues. This means that two devices are fighting over one IP address which results in slow internet speeds and network drops.

I suggest reaching out to AT&T to have your modem/router set to bridge mode.

Thanks,

Mel

[hpmhugo]

Hi Mel,

In the Google wifi:
No special characters, IPv6 was already disabled, and now set DNS as suggested. (I made the DNS change previously, but did not realize that you have to “save” twice - first on the “custom” page, and then the little disk drive icon on the previous page! Tricky bit that. I have not yet done a power cycling, but will do so in case problems persist.

In the AT&T modem/router:
I disabled wifi (both 2.4 and 5GHz), and set it to IP Passthrough mode - which is apparently equivalent to bridge mode.

Looking forward to see whether things are now stabilized.

Thanks,
Herman

[SpottedQuoll]

Oh, yet another "Community Specialist" to add to the pile.  Hilarious how they are also the only ones thanking each other back and forth for the "help".  What a joke.  @JenniferV , why don't you take some responsibility and make the developers fix the problems they've introduced via firmware and software updates over the years?  Your standard issue copy-paste replies here are not going to help anyone in a useful manner otherwise.

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi everyone,

@hpmhugo, 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.

@SpottedQuoll, I'm sorry you feel that way. We hope we can change your mind in the future.

Best,

Mel

[Duckboy]

why should i have to adjust anything when the system was working perfectly awesomely fine, a few mths ago?!!!  you guys simply need to send a software update to fix this issue.  it's gotten really bad.  we can't even watch tv and not have movies continuously interrupted, all day, all night.  even my work telecons are continuously dropping in and out.  this is completely unacceptable.

[hpmhugo]

Hey Duckboy,
I agree with you, in that all my previous combinations of internet hardware (DSL/cable modems + different vendor wifi routers) worked without issue. If I recall correctly, I used the modem’s ethernet ports and wifi concurrently with the separate wifi router’s additional ethernet ports and wifi. 

Having said that - based on the videos on youtube and posts on various forums, it seems that (at least) the Orbi mesh system has similar issues to the Google wifi. They all mention the solution as being disabling modem’s wifi + setting IP passthrough / bridge mode.

I hope you can get your system to work! I’m not seeing disruption of TV or video calls (Teams, Zoom, Webex), but my main issue is when accessing a “new” server (search, opening new app, etc.) - so I’m hoping that the DNS change was the main culprit for my issues.

[SpottedQuoll]

Yeah, they're simply trying to gaslight you into believing you need to fix the problem; even though the issue is caused by their own firmware and software updates.  It's a well known delaying tactic, while they avoid taking responsibility.  Typical corporate greed.

[schrodinger212]

I gave up on my nest completely, tried all the "fixes" and the resets, I was getting bumped from internet multiple times a day, definitely was going to get me fired when I was missing more meetings than I was attending - it was a miserable 6+ months. I went with another router and have never looked back, not one single drop since then, this is how it should be. I follow this thread still and am shaking my head because that was about 7-8 months ago and I see that the issue still persists and customers are still extremely frustrated.

[Duckboy]

... and Google isn't proving a single eedy of their own.  They're expecting customers to fix the situation that their patch caused.  Unacceptable.  Google needs to own the error and provide a solution for its customers.  Boom, done.

[sholbroo]

Sorry to pile on but I just want to notify support that I have the new firmware version (14150.376.32) and I'm still experiencing intermittent drops.  I have 4 pucks that worked flawlessly for over 6 months and then started seeing the drops about 6 weeks ago.

[hpmhugo]

Hi @sholbroo  - how are things now on your side? Are you still having drops? 

I agree with @Duckboy  and @SpottedQuoll  that these *should not* be issues, and previously *were not* issues - but here is a summary of the changes I made:

- Switched off the fiber modem/router's own wifi, and unplugged the meshed range extender that I got from AT&T for their fiber modem/router
- Set the fiber modem/router to "IP Passthrough" (similar to bridged mode)
- Set DNS to 8.8.8.8 / 8.8.4.4
- I never had special characters in SSID or passwords, and IPv6 was already disabled
- Reduced number of Google wifi pucks spread throughout the house. At one time I had 8 of them, in the hope that the shorter hops would ensure a better mesh speed. Now I'm down to 5 pucks in the house & garage (1 router + 4 points), and 2 of the points now have wired ethernet backhaul to the router.

Let us know!

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi there,

@hpmhugo, thanks for doing the suggested steps above. Could you tell us how your network has been since these changes?

Best,

Mel

[hpmhugo]

Hi @Jhonleanmel ,
I thought things were going better, and then earlier today I had 2 outages within 2 hours - one on my main google wifi network and one on the google wifi's guest wifi network.

1. First case was where 2 different iPhones (my wife's and mine) had connection to my google wifi (main network), but no internet connectivity. At the same time, and in the same room, my iPad had internet connectivity using the same main network. 

2. About an hour later (while away from the house), I received notification that my thermostat was disconnected from the internet. This device is connected to my Google wifi setup's guest network. I tried a few times to connect to it, but no success. About 5 min later, it reappeared on. (Without any actions taken on network or thermostat.)

What is the next step?

[Jhonleanmel]

Hi hpmhugo,

Thanks for reaching out and I'm sorry to hear that you're still having an issue with your Google Nest Wifi. We'd like to take a deeper look into this — could you fill out this form and let us know once you're done?

Thanks,
Mel

[hpmhugo]

Hi Mel,
I submitted the form.
Thanks,
Herman

[Jeff]

Thanks for getting that filled out, hpmhugo. Someone from one of our internal teams will be getting in touch with you to go over next steps with you. Once you connect with support they will take over troubleshooting with you, but if you have any other questions before that point, feel free to let us know here.

Thanks,
Jeff

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey everyone,

Checking back in should you still have some questions here. Let us know by replying to this thread. 

Best, 
Mel