How do I connect a second Nest Wifi to existing one with Ethernet?

[xAD]

Hi

Very sorry if this has been asked before but I have looked at the guidance from Google and from some forum posts and just can't work out which port I need to plug into!

Currently my setup is Modem > Router > Switch > Router. I've set up the second router in the Google Home app and run some speed tests and it all looks good. I had the ethernet coming out of the switch into the WAN port of the second router. Now I've done some reading on the Google help pages and it says that any point downstream of the first router should be plugged into its LAN port... So I did that... But when I ran the speed test, the speed didn't improve.

So my Qs are:

1) does it matter which port I plug into?

2) how do I know that the second router is using the internet over Ethernet, and not wireless mesh from the first router? Reason I needed a second point/router in the first place was that I have thick walls in my garage conversion, but ethernet run here! (And a router was £20 cheaper than a point!)

Thanks

[olavrb]

From LAN port on the primary (obviously) to any port on secondaries. I prefer using the WAN port on the secondaries.

Here's an example diagram on how to do wired backhaul without an unmanaged switch:

Here's a diagram with an unmanaged switch:

---

To see whether it uses the ethernet cable, go to the Nest Wifi unit in question inside the Google Home app, then settings (the icon), there it will say "Connection type".

[xAD]

Thanks for your reply! I had actually seen this image on another thread and found it useful to know which port to plug into the router-point... Although good to know it can be either!!

With this in mind then, last night I saw that the Connection Type was Wireless. Disheartened, I tried to factory reset the router, put the ethernet into the WAN port, and setup again as a router on the existing Nest Wifi setup I have - but unfortunately, it still shows as Wireless even 12 hours later.

My switch is an unmanaged TP-Link 8 port thing with no dedicated WAN port - I just have the "input" plugged into Port 1 and everything else into the other 7 ports, and they all work correctly on the wired connection. Not this router-point though! Is there any other troubleshooting I could try? Maybe I have the setup as Modem > Router > Router-Point > Switch instead and see if that works?

[olavrb]

What exact switch, model number? Just to be sure.

If you connect a PC to the ethernet cable you've connected into the secondary Nest Wifi unit in the garage, do you get an internet connection?

Yes, you could try to remove the switch as a troubleshooting step. If the secondary unit switches to a wired connection, it could be the switch.

[xAD]

Switch is TL-SG1008D (https://amzn.eu/d/cGV6YZI)

I had just tried plugging the Ethernet directly into the router-point instead of the switch, and I still got the Connection Type: Wireless. I have a PS5 connected to the switch so I used that to do a speed test on it while it was connected to the switch, and while connected to the router-point, and both times the speeds were similar to each other but 1/5 the speed coming in from the modem - so maybe I’ll do that test again with a computer later on.

ive factory reset the point for a 3rd time now while it was connected to the router “directly” (note I say directly because actually it’s not a cable straight from the router to the router-point… it’s an RJ45 port in the wall in one room which is wired up to a port in another room… guess it is kind of acting like a switch also) - still shows Wireless. Honestly not sure what to do now but it’s a real shame you can’t force it to use the wired backhaul 

[olavrb]

Switch looks good for the job at hand.

Just in case I'd try an ethernet cable directly between the primary and secondary, just to see if it will switch to wired backhaul then.

Thing to note is that it often doesn't switch to wired instantaneously, sometimes it can take hours. I think restarting your whole network from the Google Home app is worth a try too, after you've wired it all up that is.

I agree that an option for overriding backhaul would be nice, but it will likely never be added to Nest Wifi if the past is anything to go by (no new features in years).