Slow wifi on speedtest - Google rep tried to say it was my imagination

[Inwoodite]

I recently upgraded to 600 Mbps internet service.  At the modem I see about 400-550 Mbps, depending on the time of day.  At the Google Mesh router (1st gen), I see similar speeds when hardwired.  But over wifi I see only 60 Mbps.  If I do a factory reset it will increase for a while to 130 Mbps or so, but then after a day drops back to 60.

When I called Google the rep tried to tell me that these 3rd party speed test sites were not accurate and not designed to work with Google equipment.  I asked him how exactly to measure my speed then.  His only answer was the Google Home App was the only accurate metric.  Ok, fine, that shows 400-550 Mbps, but isn't that the network speed coming into the router?  How do I figure out what speed my end devices are seeing?  His answer was basically that if I was getting slow speed tests but my user performance was fine then there was no problem, I was imagining it and the Google Home result proved everything was fine.

Huh?  Shouldn't speedtest, fast.com, speedlab etc. be able to show me the speed of the wifi network?  Why is it reporting so slow when it is fine hardwired coming through the same google router device?

This seemed like a lot of weird scripted answers when in reality Google has no idea how to fix this widely-reported issue.  I'm about ready to throw out the nodes and buy a new TP-Link mesh net.  Thoughts?

[pcthepc]

I am also experiencing the same issue. When I do a network restart, it stays okay for a while and then it drastically drops. The internet provider speed is consistently high ( I have 1Gbps connection) around 850 to 905 Mbps, the wifi speed drops pretty bad to around 50-60 Mbps which is ridiculous.

[CaptKirk]

Same issue and it's been an ongoing issue. Factory reset fixes the issue for a day or so and then it's back to slow speeds. I showed on another post the home app saying I was getting 499 Mbps download and 498 Mbps upload on a 500 Mbps plan. Great problem is the Nest WiFi is then sending it out at 68 Mbps and 20Mbps. Even the frontier service tech said to throw it out and get something better. Said they are having a lot of issues similar to this with other customers. Google keeps saying they made a fix but it either didn't work or they need another.

[Dan_A]

Hi folks,

That certainly isn’t the experience we want you to have, and we apologize for the delay. A few questions: are you using a modem/router combo from your Internet Service Provider (ISP)? Which Google/Nest router are we working with? What device are you using to set up your network (iOS or Android)? Do you have the Internet from your modem?
 

You can do a sequential reboot of your entire network and see if that helps.

or

Please perform a 2-minute power cycle on your entire network to re-establish the connection on your connected devices. Here's how: 
 

1. Disconnect the power from the modem.
2. Disconnect the Ethernet cable and power cord from the parent point.
3. Disconnect the power cord from the child points.
4. Leave everything unplugged for 2 minutes.
5. Connect the power cord to the modem then to your router and points.

Also, you can give these steps a try:

1. If you're using a modem/router combo, set that to bridge mode to avoid double NAT issues.
2. Make sure that there is minimal to no interference (concrete, bulletproof glass, metal, mirror, etc.) and the points are no more than two rooms apart.
3. Remove any special characters in your network name and password.
4. Turn off IPv6:
5. Open the Google Home app Google Home app.
6. Tap the Wi-Fi coin  and then Settings Settings.
7. Scroll down and tap Advanced networking.
8. Scroll down to IPv6.
9. Toggle the switch off Toggle button off.
10. Change your DNS server into 8.8.8.8 on the primary and 8.8.4.4 on the secondary server. Hit the save/ floppy disk icon on the upper right.
11. Unplug the power from your Google Wifi devices for 2 minutes.
12. If the issue persists, try factory resetting your network. Take note that this will delete all network data.

You may skip any step that you’ve done already.

Let us know how it goes.

Best,

Dan

[CaptKirk]

Hi Dan,

Thank you for the information. I have tried all this. Unfortunately I have to reset my network 2-3 times a day to get the speeds I need. I have fiber so I just use the Nest WiFi router which has the software version 141150.882.9. I have also factory reset the network and that helped for 3 days. The Nest is getting the speeds I need but sends it out and 50-68 Mbps with upload speeds around 3-5 Mbps. Often it's much lower, but as soon as I reset the network the speeds are back up 498Mbps and uploads of 380 Mbps. Annoying I have to do this several times a day so pretty certain at this point it's a software issue with the Nest WiFi router. Just to make sure I purchased the TP-Link Deco AX3000 WiFi 6 Mesh System(Deco X55) and have run into ZERO issues with speeds. Switched it back to Nest worked for a few hours and then slowed back down. It's unfortunate as I have always been a Google person but between this and the Nest Thermostat I had I'm losing confidence in the products. Hopefully this all gets resolved soon but it seems like it's been, at least for me, coming up on a year with this issue. I will certainly hesitate before purchasing any further Nest/Google products.

Kirk Murdock 

[Dan_A]

Hi CaptKirk,

We appreciate all your efforts. We'd like to take a deeper look into this for you. Please fill out this form with all the needed information, and then let me know once you're done.

@Inwoodite, @pcthepc, have you tried the steps above? If so, how was it? If the behavior persists, kindly fill out the form and give us a heads-up once done.

Cheers,

Dan

[CaptKirk]

I completed the form still dealing with the same issue. If they need I have the speed records saved.

Kirk 

[Dan_A]

Hello CaptKirk,

We got your form — thanks for filling it out. Our team will reach out to you via email anytime soon. Please continue the conversation there for the next steps.

Cheers,

Dan

[Dan_A]

Hello Inwoodite,

Just a quick update. We've got the form you've submitted. We'll be reaching out to you via email, and let's continue working on your concern through that channel along with our higher tier of support.

Best regards,

Dan

[CaptKirk]

So I did and sent everything still having the same problems with speeds. Not sure how else to explain it but it's clearly the software of the Nest WiFi router. High speeds come in and slow speeds are sent out. It is like the router to stuck and only way to fix it is reset after reset. Nothing really useful from the other team so I guess I'll just stick to being a Pixel guy and slowly transition everything else in my house away from Google. 

[Dan_A]

Hey there CaptKirk,

Upon checking, our team sent further troubleshooting instructions to your email. Kindly reply directly to the email on the status and the results, since you’re now in contact with our higher tier of support. You got this!

Best regards,

Dan

[Inwoodite]

You keep replying with the same non-answers.  This is not "troubleshooting", this is something that thousands of people are experiencing (based on the hundreds of posts).  It's not anything that will be fixed by rebooting or DNS addresses.  Can you kindly answer the following questions?

- Does Google admit there is a known issue here with Gen 1 Nest and wifi speeds?

- What is Google planning to do about it?

[Dan_A]

Hi there Inwoodite,

We apologize for the inconvenience. Since you're already in contact with our higher tier of support, it would be best to continue the conversation there for new updates and more detailed information.

Best regards,

Dan

[Inwoodite]

Dan, thank you for this information.  Like CaptKirk, I have already done every one of these steps.  (My modem is only a modem, my Google wifi was set up with the Android app, I have about 550 Mbps hardwired from the modem).

A factory reset seemed to help for a day, but even then I never saw more than about 130 Mbps even though the Google Home app (and hardwire testing) was showing around 500 Mbps at the router.  Typical speed at any time of day on any device was 60-85 Mbps even right next to the router on wifi.

Like CaptKirk, I have now given up as I can't keep spending hours on this while paying for internet speed I am not seeing.  I just purchased a new Azus mesh wifi system and will report on what speeds it produces once I have it set up.  I am also giving up on Google Nest doorbells for Amazon Ring due to quality issues.  It's unfortunate as I really enjoyed owning Google products in the past.

[Dan_A]

Hey there Inwoodite,

Don’t give up on it yet. We’d like to delve deeper into this. Kindly fill out the form above and inform us once done.

Cheers,

Dan

[Inwoodite]

UPDATE - threw out the Google Wifi, bought a very inexpensive Azus ZenWifi XD4.  Speeds on wifi immediately jumped from 60-130 Mbps on Google to 200-250 Mbps on Azus.  Clearly there is a problem with Google Wifi in terms of producing higher wifi speeds.

[Dan_A]

Hello there,

We're sad to see you go, Inwoodite. We hope we can make it up to you in the future. Send us a message if you change your mind.

Best regards,

Dan

[CaptKirk]

Followed up with the "higher tier" help and that was less than helpful. They provided the same set of instructions I have already tried. Called my ISP provider to come and make sure it wasn't them costing me a service fee and surprise surprise it was not. The technician was nice enough and came in. As soon as they saw the Nest WiFi modem they stated that's your problem. They said they had similar issues with their Nest Modem and eventually threw it away for something else. Convinced now there is a hardware or software issue with them. Not waiting around for the fix. Sad to go but I'm sure Google won't care!