Problems adding second Nest WiFi Router to existing mesh

[Cable]

Hi there,

For Christmas, I got a 2-pack Google Nest which includes a router and access point, as a way to broaden my existing Google Nest network. I added the new access point via the iOS app with no trouble and it works fine.

However, when trying to add the Nest WiFi router I am getting constant errors. I know that I need to add this second router as an access point and not a new router, and read online that should be possible and easy - but it isn't!

Here's what I'm trying, using the Google Home app:

From Home screen, tap the "+" in the upper left

Click "Set up device"

Click "New devices"

Choose my current Home and "Next"

I get a "Looking for devices screen" for about 30 seconds, and then it says "Nest Wifi router found - would you like to set up setupXXXXXXX?"

From here, I've tried 2 different things - 

    1 - Click "Next" and I get "Preparing mesh", then it wants me to scan the QR code (which I do), then I get a popup window saying "Google Home" wants to Join Wi-Fi Network "setupXXXXX"? and Cancel or Join. If I cancel, the whole thing stops. If I Join, I can see my phone does join the "setupXXXXX" network and I get a long "Connecting to Wi-Fi..." message and then it fails with the message "The Wi-Fi network "setupXXXXX" does not appear to be connected to the internet. I can choose to "Use Cellular Data" which immediately fails, or I can choose "Keep Trying Wi-Fi" which gets me more of the "Connecting to Wi-Fi..." screen and then fails. The ultimate in-app message is "Connection failed. Couldn't connect to device. Try again or tap get help for more solutions.". Trying again only repeats the above.

2 - Click "Set up a different device", then choose "Wifi" and then choose "Nest Wifi point" (thinking this may force the setup as a point and not a router). Then I get a screen to "Plug in your Wifi point" and I click "Next". Then I get "Looking for devices" and again the message "Nest Wifi router found - would you like to set up setupXXXXXXX?". Clicking "Next" just repeats everything in #1 again. 

It seems to me that the app keeps trying to set this up as a router, which is why I'm connecting to the Router internal wifi which is not plugged into anything and that's why I dead end. How can I tell the app I want this to just be an access point? Or should I set it up as a router first, with ethernet cable plugged in, and then secondarily convert it to bridge mode (and how do I do that?). 

I've tried factory reset twice and it does nothing. 

Thanks in advance!!!

[Cable]

Short update. On repeated efforts when I take path #2, now I'm getting "failed to connect to all addresses" after accepting the offer to "Nest Wifi router found - would you like to set up setupXXXXXXX?". This still isn't working, but a new error feels like some kind of small victory.  😉

[Cable · Accepted solution]

RESOLVED - Posting here in case it helps anyone else in the future with this issue. 

After some trial and error, I finally connected the new Router directly to my existing router with an ethernet cable. So taking the output port of the original router and plugging it into the input (globe icon) of the new router. Then I did the setup process through the iOS Google Home app and took pathway 1 as outlined above. However, this time it just worked. The app recognized it was a router being set as an access point (assumedly because it was directly connected to the existing main router) and set it up accordingly. Once set up, I moved it to the new room and just plugged it in the wall and it's working fine as a new access point that looks like all the others in my mesh network.

So, not sure why this step was required, but hopefully will help others if they have the same issue. Happy New Year!

[Jeff]

Hi, everyone.
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. Big thanks to Cable for sharing the resolution to his issue and making that available for others to see. Also, thanks AnnieBoyz for sharing a different fix that worked in your case too. Both those will give others things to try when they are searching for fixes.
Thanks.

[Jeff]

Hi, everyone.
As we haven't had any activity here recently I'm going to go ahead and close the thread. If you have more to add, feel free to start a new discussion.
Thanks

[AnnieBoyz]

I too had the same problem, like many others.  No clue why it's so complicated. I tried the method you described above but unfortunately that too failed.  What did work, randomly, was downloading the Google Home App to a different phone (my wife's phone), signing in from there, and using that phone to add the router/point. Im not sure why this worked, since she uses the latest iphone and iOS, just like me.  But in any case, things are working as they should.  Just factory reset your router, download the app on a different phone, and add the device.  Im not sure this will work for everyone, but fingers crossed, its something else for people to try that are out of options....