Use Nest Wifi as a speaker only with Nest Wifi Pro?

[FoughtSiren]

I have 3 Nest Wifi access points. These also act as a Smart Speakers (like a Google Home). I bought the Nest Wifi Pro. Is there a way to use these as a smart speaker only and not an Access point? I understand that the Pro is not backwards compatible, but are they essentially bricks on my new network? I was hoping they can be used as smart speakers only. 

[olavrb]

Not confirmed AFAIK, but it should be possible as mentioned here:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/GoogleWiFi/comments/t65glo/comment/ihcj6cy

If the Google Home app tries to add it as a Wi-Fi point but fails, try to add it to a new Google Home home without a Nest Wifi network already in it.

Edit: Some more, older resources:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/GoogleWiFi/comments/t65glo/using_nest_wifi_point_just_as_google
• https://www.reddit.com/r/NestWiFi/comments/jh6cdz/nest_wifi_point_possible_to_disable_mesh
• https://www.reddit.com/r/GoogleWiFi/comments/qmthv2/is_there_a_way_to_use_pucks_as_just_a_bluetooth
• https://www.reddit.com/r/GoogleWiFi/comments/oit5q9/how_to_disable_repeater_aspect_of_a_nest_wifi

[jimcapraro]

The solution recommended in this reddit thread doesn't work.  The Nest Mesh Point that I'm trying to use as a Google Home speaker on my new Google Wifi Pro network fails to connect to the network.

[FoughtSiren]

This is correct. It throws an error saying it can't connect to the router and gives no option to connect as only a speaker. So sad, I have 3 of these things and they work great as little Google Home devices!

[olavrb]

What if you create a new Google Home home, and try to add the point to that?

[FoughtSiren]

Thank you for the suggestion, I can try. I think it will complain with no router to connect to.

[olavrb]

I think it will try to connect as a Nest Wifi puck if added to a Google Home home where there is already a network.

So, worth a try at least.

[P4ND4M0]

I spoke with a rep by phone from Google today who said they think it would only be able to connect as a wifi point, according to the documentation, and would not work with the wifi pro. Something about the speaker being the secondary feature and not being able to connect if it can't connect as a mesh device. I read the couple of posts stating that people had success on other router brands to use them as speaker only, but no mention of someone having success using them as speakers with a wifi pro setup yet. They said in theory it could possibly be done, but I would just have to try for myself. I am hesitant to take the step up to the Pro for that reason since the current setup is really great for using google assistant, especially with kiddos in the house. The rep finished the conversation by saying I would have to try and see since they really didn't know. Seems a shame to have to dish out that kind of money just to trial and error.

[FoughtSiren]

Yeah, youre situation sounds exactly like mine. Kiddos and all. I have returned the Pro and will try to get at least another year out of the current setup.

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey folks,

We appreciate your interest however, we don't have any news to share about adding your Google Nest Wifi points as a speaker-only device with Google Assistant into your Google Wifi Pro network. We're always looking for ways to improve and we'll take it as feedback.

I also suggest that you send feedback by following this link. Let me know if you have other questions or concerns, otherwise I’ll be locking this thread after 24 hours. 

Best,

Mel

[P4ND4M0]

Feedback submitted, thank you. Out of curiosity, is there a metric that the ones on the receiving end use to gauge whether they will implement a requested feature or not? i.e. number of feedback requests possibly? I know sometimes practicality gets overlooked for the sake of improvement, and the bottom line is usually the main thing considered, but I would love to get a little more transparency on this procedure and maybe temper my expectations to plan accordingly. Feature regressions are never easy and can definitely be a make or break scenario for a lot of families when considering which ecosystem to use. Thank you.

[olavrb]

Don't get your hopes up.

I've never seen a user requested feature getting implemented, ever. I've suggested many myself. Even as a PE (product expert) I don't have any more insight into this process, or what features are planned for implementation.

I've requested a feature request voting system for years now, but Google are in no hurry to implement that either.

I read this as Google not being interested in user feedback, and not being interested in any transparency or commitment around feature implementation.

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey folks,

We deeply appreciate you sharing your thoughts and experiences. Your feedback is important and we hear you.

Best,

Mel