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Weak Connection

brownel02
Community Member

I have a split level home of roughly 2700sf.  My nearest neighbor is about 1/2 mile away.  No new services/devices have been added to my house although 1 wall was removed to create a more open concept.  My services come into the basement (power, cable, internet...).

Case 1: For the past 3 years I have had my 1st Google Wifi set up in the basement attached to my router.  My 2nd point is in my dining room (1 room and 1 floor away), 3rd point is in the living room (2 rooms away but within eye sight, no walls).  

I started having internet issues about 3 months ago (weak connection, dropped service, tv (in living room) buffering.  All speed tests show 450+Mbps and all connecting lines are CAT6.  I followed these instructions (they have been given multiple times on this forum): 

 

*Do a full power cycle of the network - this will allow the entire network to re-establish connections. Here's how to do it properly.
  • Disconnect the power cable and Ethernet cable from the Google Nest Wifi router.
  • Disconnect the power cables from the other Wifi points.
  • Disconnect the power cable from the modem.
  • Allow the power to stay disconnected from all for 5 minutes.
  • Connect the power back to the modem only and wait for it to fully boot back up.
  • All lights should be lit up before moving to the next step.
  • After the modem is back online, connect the Ethernet cable to back to the Google Nest Wifi router's WAN port (globe symbol).
  • Connect the power cable back to Google Nest Wifi router and to other Wifi points.
  • Allow the all Wifi points to be fully back on.

These instructions made no difference to the signal quality, still showing as Weak on both of my wifi points.  

Case 2: I moved my Main Google Wifi to the 1st floor running new CAT6 back to my router (30').  My 2nd wifi spot is now in the living room (eye sight to the main Google wifi modem) but the signal still shows as a Weak connection. No 3rd wifi puck is currently installed.   

Any help on getting my service back to stable before I ditch these pucks?

Thanks

337 REPLIES 337

brownel02
Community Member

Any help here?  Any thoughts?

olavrb
Platinum Product Expert
Platinum Product Expert

Is running wired backhaul (ethernet cable between the points) an alternative for you? If pulling cable between them is problematic, ethernet can also go through power line (PowerLine, HomePlug) or coax (MoCA).


I don't work for Google.

brownel02
Community Member

Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of having wifi (running lines all over the house)?  And I am still not sure why my wifi point (in direct sight of my router) has a weak connection.  Surely ~25 feet is not too far for the mesh to work.  

olavrb
Platinum Product Expert
Platinum Product Expert

I think of WiFi as a suitable way of connecting non-stationary, movable devices. Wire will always be superior for speed and reliability. Thus one should always prefer wired routers and access points, if possible, so that you get the best experience possible for the devices you connect wirelessly. And the less devices you have connected wirelessly, the better performance wirelessly connected devices will have.

That being said: 25ft. Having points too close can damage performance due to interferrance. See:

I live in a apartment with solid concrete walls, no coax, so I've chosen to have wireless backhaul with my 2x Nest Wifi routers. So here I am, preaching wired backhaul, but using wireless backhaul myself. 🙂


I don't work for Google.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi, brownel02.
I just wanted to check in real fast to see if you saw olavrb's last reply and to find out if you still needed any help on this. If you're still needing assistance, please just let me know and I'll be happy to continue helping.
Thanks.

JeffKaem
Community Member

Hi Jeff. 

 

I keep having this same issue and my nest point keeps showing weak connection every day. It's less than 100 feet diagonally from the router. There is a small hallway and closet between the router + point however it's just wood and sheetrock.

 

Secondarily and less frequently, my nest point in my son's room is also less than 150 ft. Away from router and throws weak connection messages at least 3x a week.

 

What was the documented fix for this as I see no resolution posted or this issue closed.

 

Thanks

LovelyM
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hello everyone, 

Thanks for reaching out. We're sorry for this experience.

A few questions: was your connection working well before? If yes, when did the issue start? What troubleshooting steps have you tried? 

If the issue persists, please give these troubleshooting steps below a try:

  •  Ensure that there is minimal to no interference (concrete, bulletproof glass, metal, mirror, etc.) and that the Wifi points are no more than two rooms apart.
  • Change your Wi-Fi password and make sure it doesn’t contain spaces or special characters.
  • Change your DNS servers to 8.8.8.8 on your primary servers and 8.8.4.4 on your secondary servers.
  • If you're using a modem/router combo, set it to bridge mode to avoid double NAT issues.
  • If the issue persists, try factory resetting your network. Take note that this will remove all network data.


Keep me posted.

Best, 
Lovely

WhoDis
Community Member

This is too funny! 😂 After almost 2 years of no help from Google, I think most of us have realized the solution. Stop buying Google products, because you don't support them. We've moved on.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, everyone.

As we continue to look into this, would you all be able to send in feedback from your device? This lets our internal teams not only receive a report of your issue directly, but it gives them more detailed data about your situation. We're looking into this still, but your help could speed it along. I'll put the info for doing that below.

 

Step 1. Turn on device reports

  1. Make sure your mobile device or tablet is connected to the same Wi-Fi or linked to the same account as your Chromecast, or speaker or display.
  2. Open the Google Home app Google Home app.
  3. Select the device you want to share feedback about.
  4. At the top right corner of the screen, tap Settings   Recognition & sharing.
  5. Turn on Send [device model] device usage and crash reports to Google. (Example: Send Google Home device usage and crash reports to Google.)

Step 2. Share your feedback

  1. Open the Google Home app Google Home app.
  2. At the top right, tap your account.
  3. Tap Feedback and then tap the type of device you'd like to submit feedback for.
  4. To display available emails, in the "From:" section, tap the arrow on the right. Select your email address.
  5. In the feedback summary, write a brief description of your issue.
  6. Be sure to check the box for Screenshot and System logs.
  7. To submit feedback, at the top right corner, tap Send .

Thanks.

Bee20
Community Member

Do you have anything else connected to your modem or router? I recently had the same issue and it was solved when I unplugged my smart hub for other devices. The smart hub must have been causing interference? 

olavrb
Platinum Product Expert
Platinum Product Expert

Which smart hub exactly? Would be interesting to read the specifications to see if it broadcasts anything that could interfer. And search to see if others have experienced Wi-Fi problems with it.


I don't work for Google.

Bee20
Community Member

The Wyze hub. 

Stustu
Community Member

Yeah my Roku stick is 3 feet away. If i could i would hard wire it. Also, it shows a weak connection on Google mesh routers. The roku shows excellent. Roku is connected to 5ghz too on the router.

Jfritton74
Community Member

This is happening for me as well. I just purchased the Google wifi three pack, set them all up and for about two weeks the mesh connections were showing as great. All of a sudden all connections are now showing as "weak" even though there has been no change to the network or locations whatsoever. 

I tried the power cycling advice and it hasn't worked. Any thoughts?

yeah they are garbage no help from support throw them out

brownel02
Community Member

I appears that the answer is to wire them to your main router/switch or each other.  Yup, that totally defeats the purpose of having a mesh network.  I ran several trials pulling the power to all devices, routers and switches between trials and the result is still the same, crap!  This only started happening to me a few months ago but has continued since regardless of configuration. 

 

Test 1: Main point in dining room wired direct to my router (CAT6 about 30 feet).  Wifi point 2 installed in living room (line of sight to the main point and 27 feet away).  Result: Wifi point 2 = Weak connection

 

Test 2: Leaving the main point (as it is wired back to my router) I moved #2 point two rooms over (2 walls in between devices and about 35 feet).  Result: Wifi point 2 = Weak connection

Test 3: Moved wifi point 2 upstairs to the opposite end of the house (split level so only 8 steps and 2 walls between devices, ~35 feet).  Result: Wifi point 2 = Weak connection

I believe guyguy is on to something!  Support is no help.  My initial layout did not change when I started having issues.  I have no neighbors within a  1/2 mile and no new equipment was added.  Signal went from great to weak.  See my OP.  

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, brownel02.

Sorry for the connection strength issues you're having. As others are seeing this, it's an issue we're tracking now and are working on internally and I know how frustrating it can be to have this going on with your network. I'm going to pass your info onto another team and they will be reaching out to you via the email you have used to sign up for the forums.

In the meantime, I'll continue to update the forums as I have more information to share on this issue.

Thanks.

Momo21
Community Member

I'm having the same problem now. One router and one point. No issues for 18 points until I experienced the exact same thing the Op mentioned. I'm not in a position to go 100 % wired. Can you kindly advise? 

cnunns
Community Member

Same issue here. Had great connections and all of a sudden all are showing weak. Have tried moving around, reconfiguring, even moving the router and still have issues showing a good or great signal. Was excited about how well these were working for about a month and now issues with them linking. 

Relaw
Community Member

Same issue here. Shows weak connection or offline if I’m 5’, 10’, 50’. Have tried placing in every room or hallway possible and nothing is working. How can I get support or should I just return the products?

WhoDis
Community Member

Unfortunately, Google doesn't really support any of their hardware. Return it and get the TP Link Deco. Been very happy with mine. I had 4 Nest points and only need 2 of the Deco to get even better coverage. I'm slowly replacing every Google product.

Same.. My Main Point is wired directly to my switch, and switch to google fiber modeom.  I have a point in my dining room-- started having weak connection 6-8 months ago..  I moved it closer, and has a good connection now in the hallway.  Then it started having weak connection again.   

 

It is only 12 feet away. the only thing between the two points is a couch!!!

Same issue. 2600 single level home. Main point direct to fiber in central area of home. All Wi-Fi connections say weak between points. 
thus actually varies. Sometimes I have a great signal, other times not enough signal to work… literally. It has to be an issue with the main hubs. 

I’ll also share that my points are so close together that when I say “hey Google” they all answer. Surely their connections can’t be weak. 

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, everyone.

It's been a while, but I still don't have anything new to share on this. I did want to check in and let you know that it's still being looked at internally and I'll update when I know more.

Thanks.

Huangdc14
Community Member

Been having this week connection issue past 2 months as of today 12/24/2022, and still nothing from google to help.  Everyone keep telling me just throw google WiFi in the trash and get something else since google support can’t even find the issue that looks like been going on for a while now 

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Sorry about that, Bel. Thanks for adding your experience in here, however. Every report helps us to sort out what's going on with this. Hopefully I'll have an update on a fix soon.

Thanks.

Glims
Community Member

I have one router and one point that I set up a couple weeks ago. At setup the point said great connection then after about a week it said weak connection so I moved it, and it said great connection. Its been about a week and now the signal is weak again.

Shrizzle521
Community Member

If you want more data points Jeff, I’m having the same problem. I have a set of three with my main point in the basement and two other points in the house - the two points are showing weak and I can’t get it back online.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Thanks everyone for continuing to add your experiences in. This is still being looked at internally and I'm hoping to have more news soon. I know it's confusing and frustrating, but thanks for hanging in there while we work it out.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, all.

Just a quick reminder and a heads up for the new arrivals to the thread, make sure you're submitting your device feedback through the Home app. It really helps in the information gathering efforts and can speed up the arrival of a fix. As a reminder, here's the process:

  1. Open the Google Home app Google Home app.
  2. In the top right, tap your account  Feedback.
  3. Select the device you would like to leave feedback for.
  4. Enter your feedback. Make sure “Screenshot” and “System logs” are checked to include them in your feedback.
  5. Tap Send .

Make sure to give a brief summary of your situation as well. Thanks.

Nyg
Community Member

Thanks Jeff! I did submit my feedback through the app and included the screenshot and diagnostics. Please keep us posted!

rwb
Community Member

Wired back haul doesn’t work on current generation Nest Routers - I have 6 of them in my house. I have one nest router acting as the router connected to the modem with 800 meg speed. I have five more nest routers, with wired ethernet connections, throughout the house acting as points. All show as mesh connection, none as wired (one briefly did show as wired - seems to be no way to force this).  Best Wi-Fi speeds I can get in the house are approx 100 Meg, most running around 30-60 Meg.  Connecting a PC to the ethernet feed at each one of the points gets at least 700 meg.  I have tried factory resetting, swapping out the router that acts as a router, reinstalling the whole system, checking all the ethernet cables for shorts, nothing works.  Surely someone at Google has an answer. 

Ajbrandao
Community Member

Hi RWB I have a similar issue with my 5 which some are wired. Have you resolved this? If so how? 

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, Walker.

Thanks for sending in those logs. You won't receive a direct reply though the feedback process. If you contact support, they will talk to you directly about your issue. The feedback you send goes to our internal teams that use the data to help diagnose issues, but those teams do not contact customers directly. If you're looking to speak with someone, try support at https://bit.ly/3o1aRK5.

Thanks.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, Walker.

Thanks for updating again. One thing the network will do over time is learn and adjust. While large issues can't be ironed out through the learning process, tweaks and improvements do make for a better network over time. I personally used to move my points around to try and find minor improvements. Eventually I go things as best I could initially and let the network sort things out. While my situation isn't the same as yours or others here, it was kind of a cool thing to see the network learn over time.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey, BSCD.

Just a quick question. You're seeing weak connection, but are your speeds slow as well?

Marty
Community Member

I am experiencing the issues as reported by others. I have two routers, one is set up as as a point with ethernet backhaul. However this now reports weak connect although it is physically connected to the main Nest router. All was good until a couple of weeks ago.

My setup is two routers at opposite positions at the ground floor. Then 3 points at the first floor spaced pretty evenly. Two are within line of sight..

mi5key
Community Member

Same here, 1 router, 2 points.  Weak Connection between them.