Thread Smart Home Devices intermittently disconnnect

[e-ra]

I have 3 Google Nest Wifi Pro nodes: 2 upstairs and 1 downstairs connects via ethernet (to one of the nodes upstairs). I use these devices as Matter Thread Border Routers. 

The initial setup to all my Thread Smart Home devices works flawlessly. And for a while, they do work flawlessly, however I have devices which intermittently drop off the Thread network. When I reset the device and re-add it to the network it works fine again for a day or so before dropping off the network again.

I have about a dozen or so (mostly Thread) devices and they all randomly drop off the network. My Matter over WiFi devices work reliably but the Matter over Thread network is very unstable.

I tried adding two Eve Smart Plugs and a SmartSetup Wall light switch to act as powered Routers in attempt to strengthen the Network however this hasn't really helped. In fact, it's made it worse in some sense because now my entire downstairs devices drop off the network and they don't rejoin.

The only thing which seems to temporarily fix the issue is to disconnect one of Thread Routers, re-add it. Power-cycling the Nest Pro's sometimes (temporarily) works, sometimes it doesn't.

I've been trying to debug this issue for months so any help would be very much appreciated!

[sicsacol]

Hi @e-ra,

Thanks for reaching out to the community. I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble with your Thread devices intermittently dropping off your Nest Wifi Pro network; it’s certainly a hassle when they work for a day after being re-added only to drop off again. I understand how difficult it is to manage a smart home when the Matter over Thread network isn't staying stable, especially since you've already tried adding powered routers like Eve Smart Plugs and wall switches to help. I appreciate the detailed information you've shared so far and the time taken to try to resolve this. No worries, let's work together to get this resolved. To help me investigate this further, I have a few specific questions for you:

• Are there any potential sources of interference near your Thread devices (e.g., thick walls or other electronics)?
• How many devices are connected to the Thread network? Do the issues typically happen right after you add a new device?
• Are the two Nest Wifi Pro nodes placed optimally, or could one be overloaded with too many connections?
• Does power cycling your Nest Wifi Pro routers always temporarily fix the issue, or does it only work sometimes?
• Do the Eve Smart Plugs and wall switches seem to improve or worsen the issue? Have you noticed if they specifically contribute to the drops?
• Are all your devices (Nest Wifi, Eve Plugs, and other Thread devices) running the latest software and firmware updates?

Please let me know the answer to these questions.

Cheers,
Jonathan

[e-ra]

Hi Jonathan,

Here are my responses.

• Are there any potential sources of interference near your Thread devices (e.g., thick walls or other electronics)?
  • There is a thick slab of concrete (floor) between the first and second floor. That's why I put one Nest Node downstairs and connected it via an ethernet cable. Outside of that, not really.
• How many devices are connected to the Thread network? Do the issues typically happen right after you add a new device?
  • There are 16 devices connected excluding the Nest Routers.
• Are the two Nest Wifi Pro nodes placed optimally, or could one be overloaded with too many connections?
  • The nest nodes are placed as optimally as possible.
• Does power cycling your Nest Wifi Pro routers always temporarily fix the issue, or does it only work sometimes?
  • No, Power Cycling does not always fix the issue. However removing a device, and re-adding it to the network ALWAYS works. It's just not a viable long term solution.
• Do the Eve Smart Plugs and wall switches seem to improve or worsen the issue? Have you noticed if they specifically contribute to the drops?
  • It's very difficult to say since the issue is not repeatable (it's intermittent). I would say that adding the first two Full Thread Devices possibly improved it a bit, but after that, further Full Thread Devices did not help.
• Are all your devices (Nest Wifi, Eve Plugs, and other Thread devices) running the latest software and firmware updates?
  • Yes.

I really look forward to resolving this issue as I've spent dozens over hours over a few months trying to fix it.

Thanks!

[e-ra]

For the benefit of anyone who stumbles across this post, I've finally managed to fix my issue. Instead of relying on the physically connected ethernet connection between the Nest nodes, I've placed powered Thread Routers at short distances between them ensuring a good RF link. I believe that Thread Radio Encapsulation Link (TREL) has not been implemented correctly between the Nest Nodes. Hopefully Google fixes this in a firmware update.