Wifi Keeps disconnecting

[Evanhunter]

I have the nest Wi-Fi as my router, as well as 2 nest Wi-Fi points and 1 of the old google points.

It seems that a few times a day everyday, my Mac laptop loses connection and and can’t connect for about 5-10 minutes. I have a brand new computer and made sure nothing else could be causing it and it’s obvious it’s the google Wi-Fi dropping my connection.

software is 14150.376.32

I have seen a few threads here but no one seems to have resolved it. Any tips?

[AbigailF]

Hey Evanhunter,

Thanks for posting — let's see what's going on. 

Are you using a modem/router combo from your Internet Service Provider (ISP)? Is it just your MacBook that's dropping from the network? Also, do you have any paused devices? 

Give these steps a try:

If you're using a modem/router combo, set that to bridge mode to avoid double NAT issues.
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.
Remove any special characters in your network name and password.
Turn off IPv6.
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.
Unplug the power from your Google Wifi devices for 2 minutes.
If the issue persists, try factory resetting your network.

Let us know how it goes.

Best,
Abi

[Evanhunter]

Hi There. It's a modem and router I believe. It seems to mainly my Macbook but also at times our TV. We do not have any paused devices.

Earlier this week I had already did the following:

• Turn off IPv6. 
• Change your DNS server into 8.8.8.8 on the primary and 8.8.4.4 on the secondary server. 

• Reset the modem by unplugging and also reset the factory settings.

Any tips on how to " If you're using a modem/router combo, set that to bridge mode "

[AbigailF]

Hi Evanhunter,

You will need to contact your Internet Service Provider to assist you with bridging your modem router. Once done, you have to unplug the power from your modem router and your Nest Wifi router for 2 minutes before plugging everything back in. Update us with the results after.

Regards,
Abi

[AbigailF]

Hey Evanhunter,

Chiming in to see if you still need assistance with this. Hope the previous post helped. Let us know if you have additional questions ― we'd love to help.

Best,
Abi

[AbigailF]

Hello Evanhunter,

We haven't heard from you in a while so we'll be locking this thread if there is no update within 24 hours. If you have any new issues, updates or just a discussion topic, feel free to start a new thread in the Community.

Cheers, 
Abi

[Evanhunter]

Hi, I tried everything and it worked better for a day but it’s now back. Seems like no one has really been able to solve the issue from what I’m reading. 

[AbigailF]

Hey Evanhunter,

Thanks for the update. To confirm, were you able to bridge your modem router? We'll wait for your reply.

Regards,
Abi

[drw3]

Maybe you can educate us on why a double nat situation would cause Nest points to restart?  As stated here:  https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/6277579?hl=en#:~:text=A%20double%20NAT%20happens%20if,a....

this is a wasteful scenario, but not one that should actually cause the type of issues that users are seeing.  After looking through all of these very similar threads on wifi disconnects, it is clear that Google doesn't have a solution to this problem and is stalling by asking customers to perform a random set of tasks that are proven to not be a solution.  Extremely disappointed.

[AbigailF]

Hi drw3, 
 

When your Wi-Fi keeps on disconnecting, it could be a symptom of a modem router that hasn’t been set to bridge mode yet. As stated from the article you mentioned, when you have two routers, each with their own private Wi-Fi network, your personal devices can have a hard time communicating with each other. 

In this case, that’s Evanhunter’s modem router and Nest Wifi router. To fix this, Bridge mode lets multiple routers share one single Wi-Fi network. Let us know if you’re also experiencing the same issue so we can help you out.

Thanks,

Abi

[drw3]

I suppose it would be possible for one of @Evanhunter 's points to be in NAT mode when it should have been in Bridge mode.  He can check that under Settings -> Advanced networking->Network Mode (at the bottom).  All of mine show as Bridge mode - except for the one that is connected to the modem which is in NAT mode - which is expected. 

As far as having the ISP modem in NAT mode - which is what the article I linked describes - it should not cause his access points to simultaneously drop.  From the article: For most people, a double Network Address Translation (NAT) configuration doesn't create a noticeable effect on network performance.  For me (and in other descriptions of the problem on this site), it is clear that the wifi network stops functioning and all devices disconnect until the network is re-established.  This is a sign of a daily catastrophic hardware problem that Google needs to resolve.

What steps is Google taking to resolve these issues?

[AbigailF]

Hello drw3,

When issues persist even after doing all the necessary troubleshooting steps, we escalate each case so our senior support team can work on them until the issue is resolved. Since Evanhunter hasn't confirmed if he has set his modem router to bridge mode, we'll need to wait for his update. You can also read this article for more details. Feel free to let us know if you're also encountering a separate issue so we can also work on yours.

Best,
Abi

[Evanhunter]

I can’t find the ticket to respond but yes I did change the modem settings which seemed to make no difference.

[AbigailF]

Hi Evanhunter,

I'm sorry to hear that you're still having an issue with your Google Nest Wifi. We'd like to take a deeper look into this — could you fill out this form and let us know once you're done?

Cheers,
Abi

[drw3]

I think you have touched on the primary issue, @AbigailF .  You say the senior support team works on these until the issue is resolved, but I don't see any resolution on threads like these.  Can you point me to one that has been successfully resolved?

[AbigailF]

Hello everyone,

@Evanhunter, I’m sorry to hear the issue still persists. Were you able to read through the last email you received from our support team? We’ll need the case ID number in the email so we can check the latest update for you.

@drw3, I appreciate your concern in terms of getting a resolution. This might not be the answer you’re looking for, but we don’t usually share information publicly, especially if we move a conversation through forms as we value our customers’ privacy. Just to give everyone a preview, what normally happens after each escalation depends on the concern. We do our best to work hand in hand with the right escalation group and circle back the information to our customers.

Regards,
Abi

[drw3]

@AbigailF, but surely you would take personal information out of these conversation threads and boil them down to the steps needed to resolve the issue so that people can find them and take action without your intervention.  Isn't that kind of the point of a forum like this?

To re-frame my question:  Has your support team collected enough information on this issue (understanding that this is not just a problem experienced by Evan and I) to get to root cause?  If yes, do they plan on taking steps to resolve the issue, possibly with another firmware release?  Alternatively, have they stopped collecting information and given up on solving this since they have a new version of the product out.

[AbigailF]

Hey drw3,

Yes, you are correct. The point of a forum is to share steps that could help Community members in solving their issues with our Google products. However, the steps that solved one Community member’s issue may not apply to another Community member as there are different factors involved in how each issue started in the first place. This is why we request our customers to fill out our form so we can work on their case with the help of a senior support team, one-on-one. Providing a generalized solution doesn’t always work and can potentially become counterproductive, that is why we go this route instead.

Our escalation team is regularly collating data about every issue our customers experience to understand why and how they started in the first place, regardless of whether we have a new product or not. Whenever a new firmware version is released, we inform our Community members here in our forums. You won't need to do anything to receive the update and it will install automatically once it's available for your hardware.

Best,

Abi

[drw3]

Hi AbigailF,

I agree with your depiction of software support in general.  The problem in this case, is that what customers are experiencing is identical and not something that should happen with out-of-the-box configuration or likely ever - with a product that is functioning properly.  The typical customer simply plugs these units into the wall and runs your app-based setup process - the only variability should be the signal strength between the units (because of how they are placed in the house).  Note that what is going on with an external ISP should have no bearing on the quality of my internal network. 

When this issue was originally reported, Nest did get to a root cause and indicated resolution would come through a firmware update.  That update came and went with no improvement.  In an effort to help them "give it another shot", I too have filled out the support form mentioned above.  I will make sure to share the outcome in this thread.  As a point of irony, the issue just occurred while typing this response.

[AbigailF]

Hey drw3,

Thanks for the update. You mentioned that you were already in contact with our support team before. Could you provide the case ID number of that interaction so I can take a look at all the troubleshooting steps that were already exhausted? We'll wait for your update.

Thanks,
Abi

[drw3]

I had not contacted support earlier, but was watching the progress of other threads where they mentioned the firmware update as the fix.

[AbigailF]

Hi drw3, 

We got your form — thanks for filling it out. Keep your lines open as our team will reach out to you via email anytime soon. 

Also, please continue the conversation there as this thread will be locked after 24 hours.

Cheers, 
Abi

[Evanhunter · Accepted solution]

They won’t be able to fix it so I would recommend doing what I did which is purchasing a different system.

So far the eero has been working great, much faster and not a single dropout. 

[Evanhunter]

Updated modem/router still the same issue. No improvement 

[Evanhunter]

I already filled out the form. Have been emailing with someone. It’s just the same information being recycled though here. 

[AbigailF]

Hey Evanhunter,

Thanks for the update. Normally, there is a case number in the emails sent by our senior support team. Could you check the last email you got from them to confirm this? We'll wait for your reply.

Best,
Abi

[Evanhunter]

After reading  all the comments here and the google team reaching out to help resolve my issue, I finally found a fix.

I got rid of the google mesh network and bought the eero mesh network instead. I am now getting 3x the speed and no dropouts.

[AbigailF]

Hi Evanhunter,

We're sad to see you go. If ever you change your mind, we're here to help.

Thanks,
Abi

[AbigailF]

Hello Evanhunter,

Checking back in should you still have some questions here. Let us know by replying to this thread. 

Regards, 
Abi