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Q: Wifi Nest Pro setup and caballing

no1ninja1973
Community Member

 

I have 4 of the Google NEST WIFI Pro units.

I know that one needs to be wired to the Modem/Router using the WAN connection.   Do I need to run wire to the remaining 3  well, to LAN or the original?  Or, will the MESH set up itself wirelessly as long as it is within reach of the original WAN connected unit?

 

I am just curious to see how much cabling I need to do.  Also are there any advantages in connecting the 3 non router units together on a LAN network?   

 

 

1 Recommended Answer

MichaelP
Diamond Product Expert
Diamond Product Expert

Hello @no1ninja1973 

You don't have to connect the three "secondary" Nest WiFi Pro units back to the primary/router Nest WiFi Pro unit's LAN Ethernet port – they will connect to it through a wireless mesh connection. However, under that scenario, they will need to be close enough to the primary to get a strong 6GHz WiFi connection. No more than 1 (or at the very most 2) rooms away in any direction. From there, they will provide 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz connectivity to more distant clients.

So, if you have an inexpensive, unmanaged Ethernet switch, using that to connect them back to the primary/router Nest WiFi Pro unit's LAN Ethernet port, that can provide significantly higher performance, and allow you to place them further away from the primary in order to maximize coverage. Do not connect them to the same "outer" wired network as the primary/router Nest WiFi Pro unit's WAN Ethernet – that will cause problems.

Here's a more detailed support page on this: https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/7215624?hl=en 

Personally, I like having a wired Ethernet network in my home. I use this to connect my AppleTV for streaming, and my Mac and Windows computers (and printer) for work and gaming, since Ethernet has smoother performance and it preserves the maximum WiFi capacity for mobile devices like phones and tablets. In my network, I only have a few cable runs, though – connecting from the core switch to three other rooms in the house where I have edge switches that make more ports available in those areas.

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8 REPLIES 8

MichaelP
Diamond Product Expert
Diamond Product Expert

Hello @no1ninja1973 

You don't have to connect the three "secondary" Nest WiFi Pro units back to the primary/router Nest WiFi Pro unit's LAN Ethernet port – they will connect to it through a wireless mesh connection. However, under that scenario, they will need to be close enough to the primary to get a strong 6GHz WiFi connection. No more than 1 (or at the very most 2) rooms away in any direction. From there, they will provide 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz connectivity to more distant clients.

So, if you have an inexpensive, unmanaged Ethernet switch, using that to connect them back to the primary/router Nest WiFi Pro unit's LAN Ethernet port, that can provide significantly higher performance, and allow you to place them further away from the primary in order to maximize coverage. Do not connect them to the same "outer" wired network as the primary/router Nest WiFi Pro unit's WAN Ethernet – that will cause problems.

Here's a more detailed support page on this: https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/7215624?hl=en 

Personally, I like having a wired Ethernet network in my home. I use this to connect my AppleTV for streaming, and my Mac and Windows computers (and printer) for work and gaming, since Ethernet has smoother performance and it preserves the maximum WiFi capacity for mobile devices like phones and tablets. In my network, I only have a few cable runs, though – connecting from the core switch to three other rooms in the house where I have edge switches that make more ports available in those areas.

Thank you that is exactly what I was looking for.   

I have a question based on your suggestion of putting the devices 1 or 2 rooms away at most.  Does that mean all 3 need to be close to the one acting as a router, or do they need to be 2 rooms away from each other? 

 

BTW thank you so much for your answer.  I am still waiting for the units to arrive, and it really helps to plan out a method ahead of time. 

MichaelP
Diamond Product Expert
Diamond Product Expert

The short answer to your question is they need to be close to the primary/router unit.

The long explanation is that they will form a mesh connection between each other, however – the path through that mesh prefers the one that results in the fewest "hops" (retransmissions back out on the same channel). So, assuming most traffic is going to or from the primary/router unit, if a more distant secondary/point unit can get through to the primary in a single hop – even if that connection is weak/slow – it will go that way instead of going through another secondary/point that is placed in between. The reason for this is somewhat esoteric, but can be summarized as: the system doesn't have any way of knowing where all the units are physically placed – you know there's a unit in between, but the mesh protocol (802.11s) doesn't have a way to figure that out.

Wiring those secondaries back to the primary as described earlier sidesteps all of this, because the mesh protocol doesn't run over Ethernet. The wired path being present will not shut down the mesh connection, but it will result in it not being used. So, you can place those secondaries further away – even so far away they can't connect to each other via the mesh connection at all (people place secondaries in outbuildings regularly by running an Ethernet connection to a shed, garage, or studio, for example).

Thanks for the detailed answer, that makes me understand mesh behavior a lot more.  

In my case the ISP/modem is on the corner of my property, putting the primary unit near it does not make much sense as that would mean everything would be leaning towards the corner of my desired wifi area.   So what I will probably do is run a long WAN wire to the primary so that it can be located in the center of the coverage area.   That way the extra units can act like satellites, or extenders to the signal.   

Here is a sketch of what I plan to do:   

My Mesh LayoutMy Mesh Layout

MichaelP
Diamond Product Expert
Diamond Product Expert

Running a cable to get the primary located in the center is an excellent plan, especially if you can't wire the secondaries to it.

Hi Michael,

 

You seem to know a lot about these access points.  I have a question that maybe you can help me with.  

Suppose I move the access point, as I am not satisfied with the original location.   What is the best procedure to do this?  Can I just move it till my heart's content, or should I delete the AP and the re-added.  Does the location have any impact on how the wifi configures itself within the mesh and would moving this AP unbalance the mesh? 

 

Obviously, I am not talking about a minor move of a few feet left or right, but something more drastic.    

 

EDIT:  BTW, I am really impressed with how fast these AP's are right out of the box without any tinkering.   My phone seems to connect much faster and it actually shows that its a 6E connection in the wifi icon.  So far very impressed with these. 

MichaelP
Diamond Product Expert
Diamond Product Expert

You can just move it – no need to reset or re-add it. Just unplug it, move it, and plug it back in. I would probably run a mesh test after that just to get a feel for whether it helped or not.

Just keep in mind the optimal placement advice: primary/router as close to the center of your home as possible with secondary/point units one room away from there (two rooms may work, but you want all the secondaries close enough to get a "great" rating on a mesh test, and currently, the 6GHz radios are limited to a lower transmit power until the higher transmit power feature arrives). The path selection through the mesh uses "fewest hops" as the policy, so if a secondary/point can get a direct connection to the primary/router unit at all (even a fairly weak connection), it will use that instead of going through an intermediary. Extra hops just use the same channel multiple times, so this policy is typically optimal, and is why you want to have the primary in the center and avoid trying to place secondaries too far away from it.

This is also why connecting secondary/point units back to the primary via Ethernet helps so much – it lets you put them much further away without having to worry about placement.

Kraniet
Community Member