dropping mesh points and wired backhaul Nest WIFI Pro

[PByron]

I have 5 Nest WIFI Pro units, 3 in the main house and one in each of two outbuildings.  The unit connected to the modem is also connected to a switch.  The two outbuildings are connected by ethernet from the switch.  The switch is TP-Link TL-SG116, which is described as plug-and-play with no web interface.  

PROB LEM:  I get random disconnects for the various Nest units, there seems no rhyme/reason.  Sometimes a wireless unit in the house disconnects, sometimes a wired unit disconnects.  Quite often the unit in one of the outbuildings drops from wired to wireless backhaul (it gets a weak wireless signal from the house), or disconnects completely.  

I understand from reading other posts that some advanced features in the switch might interfere with the mesh network, but I have no idea what the lingo means.  I had assumed that this unmanaged switch would work but checking the specs it shows these "features" that can not be disabled:

• 16 10/100/1000Mbps Ports, Auto-Negotiation, Auto-MDI/MDIX
• Green Technology
• 802.3X Flow Control
• 802.1p/DSCP QoS
• IGMP Snooping
• Transfer Method: store and forward

Can somebody help me understand if my switch might be incompatible?  I don't have a different one to try but if I clearly need something different I will pick one up.  

thx

[MichaelP]

Hello @PByron 

The issue with switches and wiring secondary Google/Nest WiFi units (including Pro products) is "loop detection" via variants of the Spanning Tree Protocol. The switch you have does not appear to include that, so it should not be an issue here. I would focus on ensuring the wires and ports are working reliably. I would try adding a small 5-port switch at the remote ends of long cable runs, especially any runs to outbuildings. This can help provide some isolation in case of lightning strikes, but if it also includes LED indicator lights, it may help you see whether that cable run is flaky. I would also try using different ports on the 16-port core switch to feed those long runs in case one or more of the ports have issues. I would also consider buying an Ethernet cable tester to just focus on those cable runs in general.

Lastly, when everything is working, you will want to run a mesh quality test in the Google Home app and make sure everything (wired and wireless units) shows a "great" rating. Anything less than that should be investigated (for wired units, that means focusing on the cables and ports; for wireless units that means making sure they are no more than one or two rooms away from the primary).

Basically, this should "just work", and I suspect you have some wired network issues.

[olavrb]

To add to what MichaelP already said, I've read about people having similar issues until they put their modem in bridge mode to avoid what's know as double NAT. Example:

• https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Nest-Wifi/Nest-Wifi-Pro-mixed-backhaul/td-p/398858

More about double NAT:

• https://dongknows.com/double-nat-vs-single-nat/

It also seems like you're using a mixed backhaul, where some units are connected by wire, and some by wireless. It's recommended to go all wired or all wireless, mixing can cause strange behavior. More on that:

• https://www.google.com/search?q=%28site%3Agooglenestcommunity.com%2Ft5%2FNest-Wifi+OR+site%3Areddit....

[PByron]

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately I cannot enable bridge mode on our modem (xplornet LTE).  And I don't have any way of getting the whole network on either wired or wireless backhaul (the outbuildings have to be wired and I can't pull wire where I need it in the house)

Today I checked the device status and they all show "great connection".  Then I run a mesh test and suddenly one of the wired units shows "weak".  Sure enough it is now connected wirelessly.  I will try to check the Ethernet cable by plugging my computer dock in but I will be very surprised if this is the problem since I didn't have any of these issues until the Nest Pro "upgrade".  

I had the old Google Wifi pucks before and they worked great with none of these issues. I wish I had ignored the warnings that they would not be supported any more, or had bought something different entirely...

[olavrb]

I see. Just to mention some more alternatives, ethernet can travel over coax (MoCA) or power line too.

And for greater performance between buildings you could look into dedicated wireless equipment for directional outside Wi-Fi. TP-Link and Ubiquiti have some of those.

[PByron]

I decided to give up on this system and put in TP-Link hardware.  It was easy to set up and everything actually does "just work".  Mixed wired and wireless backhaul, and all their models are still backward compatible for years (I have 2 different models mixed together with lower end units in the outbuildings).  

[AbigailF]

Hey folks,

Thanks for lending a hand, @MichaelP and @olavrb.

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

Thanks,

Abi

[LovelyM]

Hello PByron, 

Chiming in should you have any concerns or questions you need help with. Let us know by replying to this thread. 

Regards,
Lovely

[LovelyM]

Hi PByron, 

It's been a few days since your last reply — we're going to lock the thread within 24 hours. If you have further concerns, please feel free to create a new post.

Cheers,
Lovely