Unnamed Offline devices on Nest WiFi

[ScottG_TC]

There are tons of unnamed offline devices on my Google WiFi device list. There were multiple threads on this in the old community but were locked without resolution.

What are these devices, where did they come from and why cant they be removed? Is my network a security risk even though it requires a password to access my wifi?

I am really concerned that my network safety is being compromised. 

[ScottG_TC]

No luck with all those - what firmware are you on?

[DaleSchultz]

Google Home claims to be V2.63.1.12
Wifi point connected to router claims 14150.376.32

I am running Android 13 Build TQ1A.221205.011  (I suspect that is Dec 5, 2022)

[ScottG_TC]

All the same for me but I am on February security.

[Brownb]

Same

[JohnDoe1]

Just checked mine last night before bedtime. I still have all unnamed devices on my list. Nothing has changed for mine 💩

[Vader540is]

I just checked and you're right! It's fixed! 

[JohnDoe1]

Its not fixed for mine. I rebooted and updated it and everything. Still the same long list of unnamed devices

[DaleSchultz]

well bad news, after reporting mine mine were all gone, I must now report that last night I got an alert that a new device had joined the network and now they are all back in the list again.

Back to square one.

[DaleSchultz]

if one sorts them by connection strength, they do not appear in the list.

When they are sorted by data use, they are at the end of the list

The display of old unused devices is one issue, the source of where these phantom connections come from is another. Some are legitimate but many are not.

[sudane]

Quick fix:

1- reset WiFi device and change password 

2- Add devices to WiFi one by one and rename them(if needed)

I wish if google could add an option to delete idle devices cause that would make things cleaner 

[BoredFish]

That is not a quick fix. When I turned it on for the first time I was very careful to do exactly this. One device at a time. Verify MAC addresses match and rename everything as I go; and yet I still have the issue. If I followed your advice it would clear them out, sure, and restart the same problem again. But that will not actually be fixing anything.

[DaleSchultz]

That is not a quick fix, nor is it a fix. This just sweeps the issue under the carpet for a while.

We have about 50 wifi devices connected.

I have about 20 DHCP reservations set up.

And these unnamed devices will just add themselves back in again over time.

This is a bug and needs to be fixed. It is seriously degrading confidence in the development team

[sambeckett]

Hi @Jeff , your monthly reminder that this issue is still not resolved, and your accepted answer is demonstrably incorrect, and not accepted.  Don't blame us for continuing to generate activity in this thread; it seems those without activity otherwise get locked and their unresolved issues go to die a lonely death.  We need solutions and a functional product, for which we paid.  Thanks.

[BoredFish]

And just to be clear, I bought mine in Jan 2023. This thread is years old! I have what should be the "latest" and its still not fixed. Wish I had known before laying out all that cash. 😕 

[Tohopka]

This is still an on going issue, I have many unnamed devices as well. All currently offline.

I bunch them all into a group to block them. No one in the house has reported any internet issues on their devices. 

I dont understand why a router like device can't manually forget another device manually to give organizational tools to the users.

[DaleSchultz]

How do you bunch them in a group?

What app you using?

[MrWilson8]

So this has been going on for over 2 years according to this thread (or is that how long it took me to scroll through to the end). What a joke Google. I even just had an unnamed device join while typing this message. 

What do we need to do to have all these unnamed devices removed? Change over to Alexa?

[jla2w]

What’s the status.  Been a year since the accepted reply

[DaleSchultz]

still happening

[Anonymous]

Well I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one experiencing this issue. If my past experiences with Google customer service has taught me anything it's to not expect ANYTHING. They say they're working on it but then ghost you. 

Resolution: Ditch nest and all the other hot garbage and get something else.

[JohnDoe1]

I go into my google home justa minute ago. Everything is completely gone now. It has no list to view. They've completely did away with the list. So now if a device connects to my Wi-Fi I cannot view it or pause it nothing. I actually went in to the app because it notified me that an unknown device has connected to my Wi-Fi. Guess what that notice is on my home. But you cannot view it.  Im extremely mad. Even more mad now than I was before. Google is trying to cover up this issue. Now without an identifying list of devices. We can't see who is who and what is what!!!! 

[nightscar]

Change the sort by.. make sure it's in real time.

They are still in my list.

However if I change it to past day or past 7 days they are gone. 

[Pshepard]

But they're not really gone, and sorting every time you open the app is just smoke and mirrors that hides the real problem. 

The llist is easier to look at it, and I get it, but they need to fix it.

[DaleSchultz]

I can still see the list of devices in my Google Home app. (Android)

I am also still getting the unknown device joined network message regularly.

Clearly Google is refusing to acknowledge this bug and clearly have no plans to fix it either.

[JohnDoe1]

Not long ago I opened up my app. Low and behold the list of unnamed devices is back. Only difference now. I can't pause them when they are active. This option has been removed!!! 👿 

[jthomasdsgn]

I just scrolled through countless amounts of user experiences regarding this matter. It’s now year 2023 and there still isn’t a solution/feature/upgrade/improvement implemented into the Google Home app. What’s strange to me is that other Wifi router brands allow the admin to remove and or delete active and inactive devices. Where Google Nest Wifi only allows you to pause the device. To be honest, customers are having a poor user experience and are articulating a need. For some unknown and unexplained reason the issue still has not been fixed. 

I truly enjoy the benefits of using the Google Nest Wifi and Points (mesh) systems, however, security is so crucial when it comes to personal home networks. I’m just confused as to why it’s not important enough to push an update. 

I too have been waiting since 2020 for this feature to be implemented into the system to meet similar needs as mentioned from others in the previous comments. 

[Macsware]

This is really frustrating, more than a year and no update whatsoever. We understand is not a security risk but it is a customer complaint 😤