Nest router needs to be powered off weekly on Spectrum Internet

[CAPritzl]

My Google router reports that it loses connectivity to the Spectrum internet almost weekly.  The only way to recover is power cycle the Google router.  A software reboot of the Google network does not fix it.  A power off and on of the Spectrum modem does not fix it.  The only thing that works is unplugging the main Google wifi routers power and plugging it back in.

I have replaced the Google main wifi router.
I have replaced the spectrum internet modem.
I have replaced the Ethernet cable
I have even replaced the coax cable from my wall box to the Spectrum internet modem.

The problem is still occuring. Has any on experienced anything similar? Any recommendations?

The problem does not seem to be a spectrum issue as a  power cycle of the Google device is the only thing that fixes it.

[skalter]

I'm here reading this forum because I'm having a very similar experience.  There are some differences though.

1.  This started several months ago.

2.  The system works fine for many weeks at a time.  However, when it starts to fail, by losing connectivity, it can go into a 30 minute cycle -- takes 10 minutes to get it working again, works for 20 minutes, then fails again.

3.  I have yet to figure out the magic recipe for getting it working again.  Right now, the best bet seems to be to power off both the Spectrum router *and* the google home wifi router for a few minutes and then power them both back up.  However, everything is so intermittent and unpredictable that it is hard to be sure which device is actually failing and what to do to recover.  

4.  I'm getting very suspicious of the google wifi node becase the spectrum modem lights seem to indicate a good connection, but the google home app seems to indicate that my router node is completely offline.  It sees the other mesh nodes (which are listed as "offline") but the router node doesn't even manage to show that status.

I'm trying to figure out whether it makes sense to figure out how to swap in one of the mesh nodes to act as the router node to see if that works better before investing in buying another node to replace the existing, potentially faulty, one.

[CAPritzl]

Sounds similar to my issue.

I have replaced the "controller" Google nest device with a newer version of the nest wifi device.  I still have the problem. I replaced the spectrum modem a couple weeks ago.  I experienced the issue once since then.  Time will tell.

My issues usually occurs on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.  It almost seems like Spectrum is rebooting something which causes the nest device to get messed up.

[LovelyM]

Hello everyone,

@CAPritzl and @skalter, please answer the following: are you using a modem-router combo? Is there a switch on your network? 

Please enable bridge mode if you are using a modem-router combo. You may also perform a factory reset on your entire network and let me know if that resolves the issue.

Keep me posted.

Best, 
Lovely

[CAPritzl]

Thank you for your suggestions -

I am unable to enable bridge mode since I have a mesh network.  I have around 75 device on the network with around half configure with DHCP IP reservations.

As for factory resetting the network, I purchased newer version of the points and started from scratch and the issue continues.  The process is similar to a factory reset.

Is there anything that can be configured in the spectrum router?

[skalter]

At this point, I'm pretty sure this is a spectrum issue even though they refuse to consider that possibility.  The reasoning is a bit weak but here it is.

1.  I've tried power cycling the modem and router independently to try to resolve the problem.  Nothing is consistent but it does seem that cycling the modem is far more likely to address the issue.  This is very inconclusive.

2.  I used the spectrum app on my smart phone to check the status of the device from their perspective.  It is also inconsistent.  However, I've seen it in a state where my modem lights indicate all is well but when I try to restart the modem from the app, it indicates in cannot communicate with the modem.  This seems very unlikely to be a problem with my router.  It seems likely to be a problem with their switch, their modem, or the connection in between.

Right now it has been working well for a few days, but at any moment it can start failing with such a frequency as to make it unusable.  Spectrum support was worse than useless.

[LovelyM]

Hi folks,

@CAPritzl, @skalter, sorry for the delayed response. There are new updates currently being rolled out by our product engineers for Google Nest Wifi routers and points. This should resolve bugs and improve the overall performance of your mesh devices. 

Sincerely,
Lovely

[CAPritzl]

How can I tell if I have received the update?

[LovelyM]

Hey CAPritzl,

You may check if your Google Nest devices already have the new firmware downloaded. Here's an article on how to view the software version.

Regards,
Lovely

[LovelyM]

Hello skalter,

I appreciated the information that you provided and I hope this issue gets resolved soon. Just let me know if you still need assistance and I'll be more than happy to further help. 

Best regards, 
Lovely

[skalter]

Thanks so much for getting back to us.  I look forward to the updates.  However, I'm 85% convinced at this point that this is a charter/spectrum problem and that updating the nest will not help.   The only thing that seems to help when this starts to occur is to shut down the spectrum modem for 15 to 20 minutes and then restart it.    This makes me think that either:

1.  There is some sort of over heating problem that is only resolved by letting it cool down.  I find this unlikely as it is a temperature controlled space and can run for weeks without any issue.

2.  Everyone keeps talking about these units having a battery -- I haven't found evidence of an easy way to get to it.  Perhaps the battery is preventing a proper reset without it being disconnected for an extended period.  If I could get to the battery I would just remove it.

3.  The issue is further upstream than my modem and the extended disconnect from there end causes some kind of reset.

Thanks again.

[skalter]

Finally got Spectrum to replace the modem.  So far there have been no additional issues.  Unfortunately, given the odd intermittent nature of the issue, it will be a few months before I'm confident that this is really resolved.

[Dan_A]

Hello everyone,

Jumping back to see if all is well. Has the behavior returned after replacing your Spectrum modem? Give us an update so we know what the next steps are.

Looking forward to your responses.

Cheers,

Dan

[CAPritzl]

I have still been experiencing the issue. I have started to log every date and time of the issue. In my case it occurs every 7 days. The time of day is not consistent. 

I have purchased TP-Link Deco mesh wifi which I am going to replace my Google points.  We will see if that resolves the issue. 

[CAPritzl]

What model of Google devices are you using?  I was using gen 1 and gen 2 models together.  Before trying the Deco devices I am going to remove the gen 1 devices and only use Gen 2 to see if that resolves anything. 

[skalter]

I've yet to experience the issue again.  However, unlike CAPritzl, the frequency of my problem is very chaotic.  I can go months without an issue and then suddenly get multiple days in a row where it happens multiple times a day.  I suspect I have gen 1 google wifi (they look like 3 inch tall cylinders while the newer ones are a bit more rounded at the edges).   I have very little reason to suspect the google wifi components -- I'm still thinking it is the spectrum router or something upstream of it.  The modem they sent me is a newer model so it could be the old one was just bad, or perhaps there is better handshaking with the upstream system.