Nest Wifi Pro 6E Speed and Signal Issues

[SonicMessi]

Hello,

I upgraded my wireless router from Orbi RBR50 (1 Router and 2 Satellites) mesh router system to Nest Wifi Pro 6E 4-pack from Costco only to realize that I downgraded. 

Since the change; I have had a lot of issues like Video buffering on my TV, tablet, and phone.

I called Google Support 4 times and my issue persists.

1st attempt they did basic troubleshooting and nothing improved. They advised me to contact my ISP and Samsung TV Support. The ISP checked and confirmed that I am getting speeds above 350 Mbps and there is no issue. Samsung TV Support checked and confirmed that everything is good with the TV. They informed me that the TV is only receiving speeds of about 50 Mbps hence the issue with buffering. 

2nd attempt Google support asked me to change the DNS Settings from Automatic to ISP which I did but it didn't improve my situation. 

3rd attempt Google support asked me to change the DNS settings from ISP to Custom and the situation deteriorated so I changed it back to ISP. 

4th attempt; I contacted Google again showing screenshots of how the Google router dropped the speed from 50 to 60%  and requested that my case be handled by an expert/supervisor. It's been more than 48  hours and nobody reached out to me yet. 

Its very disappointing that Google released such a sub-standard product into the market and the customer service had no clue on how to address the problem. All they are doing is going by the script of basic troubleshooting but no expert recommendations based on analyzing the logs of the issue. 

I am hoping the community will help to fix my issues. 

[olavrb]

Just some things to consider.

---

Do you actually need four Nest Wifi units? More isn't neccessarily better, for each unit you add you introduce more overhead (traffic going between the Nest Wifi units themselves) and wireless disturbance/interference. If one unit can cover your whole home, use one. More reading:

• https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/7182840?hl=en
• https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/7183150?hl=en

---

Are any of the Nest Wifi units placed physically close enough to your TV that you can connect the TV by ethernet cable to an Nest Wifi unit? This will likely give better, faster, more reliable connection to the internet than relying on the TV built in Wi-Fi.

---

Other things that might help:

• Disable all "preferred activities": https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9541371?hl=en
• Avoid double NAT at all cost: https://dongknows.com/double-nat-vs-single-nat/

[SonicMessi]

Hello, 

I am not sure if I need 4 Nest Wifi Units but the challenge is speed and network signal. My home has 3 floors; so I put 1 in the basement, 1 upstairs, and 2 in the opposite corner of the living area. Even with this, I get a message that I have a weak connection in the Living / TV area where all of my devices have buffering issues. 

The Test Mesh in the Google Home App says I have a great connection between the router points but if I check the device information it says the connection status is weak. 

If I put one of the Nest Wifi units close to the TV; there is no buffering issue and the TV and all my devices stream content with no buffering issues. I don't want to connect my TV using a Wired Ethernet cable. 

All preferred activities are already disabled and I am not using double NAT. 

Also, all my Nest Wifi Pro Units are dropping my internet speed by 50% or more from 381 Mbps to 180 Mbps.

[olavrb]

Is the main unit in the center/middle of this topology? If the main/master/primary is placed at the outer end, the whole mesh can perform worse than if placing it in the middle.

One more thing to consider: Mesh in Nest Wifi, 802.11s, will connect back to the main unit, even if the signal is worse than going through a second unit on the way: It will always prefer fewer jumps.

---

Performance can also be better with wired backhaul, as in ethernet cable going between the units. If not ethernet cables all the way are feasible, consider ethernet over coax (MoCA) or powerline.

• https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/7215624?hl=en

[SonicMessi]

The main unit is approximately in the center of the topology. Connecting the router points with a wired backhaul is not an option as I have the routers on different levels spread across the home for optimal coverage. 

My problem is partly the opposite of what you are describing. The TV is picking up signal from one of the access/satellite points which is further away rather than connecting to the main unit which is closer to the TV.  I forced the TV to connect to the main unit by switching off the satellite points but as the satellites are turned on and in due course, the TV is disconnecting from the main unit and switching to one of the satellite access points. 

Another interesting fact I noticed just today... I stream Amazon Prime Video through Amazon Fire Stick connected to another old Samsung TV. This old TV is close (just 2 to 3 ft away) to another satellite router but has the same buffering and video quality (blurred and poor quality) issues as the main TV. 

So, it appears that my Nest Wifi Pro 6E Unit seems to have an issue with streaming videos primarily because the speeds are dropping by 50 to 60% passing through this router. The same devices (old and new TVs and phones) used to stream videos flawlessly with the old Orbi router. 

Please advise how I can address this issue permanently. 

[olavrb]

It's the client device (TV and Fire Stick) job to decide what access point to connect to, and unfortunately there seems to be a pattern in this community forum that TVs are really bad at that.

I have no further advice. Maybe it's time to try something else than Nest Wifi.

[SonicMessi]

Hello,

Google Tech Support asked me to replace this router with a brand new Nest Wifi Pro 6E router. Do you think there is any merit in doing that? Would you think there is any chance of resolving my issues by doing so? 

[olavrb]

I don't think so, I think that is time wasted honestly. Unless Google can see some logs we can't indicating you got faulty hardware.

I think the other things I've already mentioned are worth trying. Or return Nest Wifi Pro and try some other products.