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Will a Google Nest Access Point help with 5Ghz coverage?

rgaila
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Disclaimer: This thread was migrated from our previous version of the Google Nest Community. You can continue to receive updates on your thread issue here or simply ask, browse or more in the new Google Nest Community.

Original Poster: Tom Cunningham 1740 

 

I have a google nest wifi and coverage is good with just the router for my 1,800 sq feet.  However, it's hard to get 5Ghz anywhere but in the room with the router.  Would adding an access point allow greater 5Ghz coverage.  I have a significant drop in speed even with a strong 2.5Ghz connection from one room to the next.

4 REPLIES 4

rgaila
Community Specialist
Community Specialist
Hello Tom Cunningham 1740,
 
It's hard to answer a question like this without a little more information. 5GHz definitely doesn't go as far as 2.4GHz, but when you say "the room with the router", how big is this room? What are the materials the room walls, floor, and ceiling made from? What is the layout of the house? Where is "the room with the router" in that layout? I'm not asking for an architectural drawing, but it would help to get a better feel for it – is it a ranch-style house, or a two-floor house, for example.
 
Beyond those questions, here is some potentially-useful information about how Nest WiFi works. The primary provides both 2.4GHz and 5GHz access to nearby clients. If you add on a Nest WiFi Point unit, or another Nest WiFi Router unit, that secondary will talk to the primary using their 5GHz radios. Then, the secondary will also provide 2.4GHz and 5GHz access to nearby clients. So, the secondary needs to be close enough to the primary to get a strong 5GHz connection itself. From there, it will provide coverage for more distant clients. If you place the secondary in an area where clients are already struggling to get a 5GHz connection, the secondary will struggle as well (and will still "attract" nearby clients).
 
Note that since the secondary uses the same 5GHz radio for both talking to 5GHz clients and talking to the primary, the peak performance is reduced (since all of that traffic has to go over the same channel twice). But, in exchange, you get a larger reliable coverage area.
 
So, the optimal placement advice is to put the primary as close to the center of your home as possible, with secondaries one or two rooms away from there to provide coverage for more distant clients. You may find you can place your primary a bit off center and add a single secondary to get reliable coverage everywhere. But, it may also take some experimentation to optimize the system.
 
I hope this helped. I am happy to try to provide more specific advice if you can provide a little more detail.
 
-From MichaelP, Gold Product Expert.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hello, Tom Cunningham 1740.

I just wanted to check in real quickly to see if there's anything else we needed here. If I can help out in any way, just let me know.

Thanks.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi, all.
Just one quick final check in here since activity has slowed down. We'll be locking the thread in the next 24 hours, but if you still need help, I would be happy to keep it open. If there's more we can do, just let me know.
Thanks.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi, everyone.
As we haven't had any activity here recently I'm going to go ahead and close the thread. If you have more to add, feel free to start a new discussion.
Thanks