Port Forwarding Doesn't Work

[Sunshine_Dave]

I have a Google Nest Router Model H2D.  Port Forwarding does not work.  I'm sure I'm doing everything correctly.  I had a Model NLS-1304-25 Google Wi-Fi router before this one and it likewise did not port forward even when setup correctly through the Home App on iOS.  How can I report this bug to Google to get the engineers or programmers there to look at it and fix it?

Please, no laundry list of canned scripts for troubleshooting steps -- I've done them all.  It's setup correctly.  It just does not work.  I'm trying to forward port 51280.  I have a VPN server running on a Raspberry Pi4 and it worked just fine with the XFinity router setup for port forwarding.  I've rebooted and unplugged and restarted in every possible combination and done everything every technician has suggested multiple times and tested away from home and through the https://www.portchecktool.com/ tool.  Port Forwarding does not work.  Google has to look at this bug and fix it.  How can I get the message to them?

[olavrb]

What do you have in front of the main/primary/master Nest Wifi unit? A modem I guess, but is it put into bridge mode / bypass mode / IP passthrough mode? If no, you have to either bridge it, or configure port forwarding on that too.

Could also be that the ISP block some common ports, like 443 (HTTPS), 445 (SMB), 3389 (RDP). I've also heard of ISP that requires customers to pay extra to get a static public IP capable of any port forwarding. So check with your ISP too.

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Just some other best practice advice: It's recommended to make sure MAC randomization is disabled for the device you are port forwarding to.

• Apple: [1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/guide/security/secb9cb3140c/web, [2] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211227
• Google / Android: https://source.android.com/docs/core/connect/wifi-mac-randomization-behavior
• Microsoft Windows: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ac58de34-35fc-31ff-c650-823fc48eb1bc

Then make sure target device has static IP by DHCP IP reservation on Nest Wifi:

• https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/6274660?hl=en

Then port forward.

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I have a Nest Wifi router (AC2200), port forwarded some random high port to my NAS, it works just fine.

[Sunshine_Dave]

All that has been done.  When I use any other router and set port forwarding, it works fine.  Only the Google Nest The Google Nest router won't port forward.  It didn't work when I had an older Google Wi-Fi router and it didn't work when I had a Google OnHub router before that.  There is some tricky hoop to jump through that's undocumented or it's programmed not to allow this configuration.  I'll have to accept the sunk costs of the Google hardware and move to an open source Openwrt router.  I've done everything correctly.  It just doesn't work.  No Google support has been able to diagnose or fix it either.

[olavrb]

I escalated the thread, hopefully Google can take a closer look.

[Sunshine_Dave]

Searching the Internet, I've read comments that you have to have Cloud Services enabled for port forwarding to work on the Google Nest, but I tried that too without success.  The Nest's firewall is probably still blocking outside access and it's not something that can be changed with the Google Home app.  There's probably some combination of settings that has to be set for it to work properly, but there's no specific documentation about prerequisite settings to make port forwarding work.  Or maybe undocumented ports won't work?  I have a VPN server running on a Raspberry Pi 4 connected directly to the Ethernet port on the Nest trying to port forward port 51820.  Static IP reservation set and Port Management set correctly on Google Home app, but no joy.  The port does not get opened.  Works perfect on all my older, non-Google routers when I plug them into the cable modem, so I know it's not some ISP restriction.  And there's the thing that it doesn't work on the Nest router, the older Google Wi-Fi router, and it didn't work on my even older OnHub Google router.  There's something in the mix Google has added for security I think.

[Alex_S]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the assistance here, olavrb.

Sunshine_Dave, that certainly hasn’t been easy for you. We'd like to take a deeper look into this. Kindly fill out this form and let us know once you're done.

Kind regards,
Alex

[Sunshine_Dave]

Can someone just read the post here instead of me cutting and pasting it into the form?  I've gone through every tier of support available to the consumer with Google on this.  The implementation of port forwarding (at least to port 51820 for a VPN) does not work.  Correctly setting it up through the Google Home App does not make it work.  It's a bug or a feature.  Or there's something undocumented that's prerequisite for this to work none of the CSRs, Community Members or I know about or can discover.

[Dan_A]

Hi Sunshine_Dave,

Apologies for the delay! We understand that this step is a little out of the way, but it's a great way to figure out what's going on with your device. Also, the form is a way for our higher tier of support to reach out to you via email to gain more information, which might involve sensitivity and security concerns, and take troubleshooting a step further.

Please, fill out the form above and tell us when done.

Best regards,

Dan