nest camera connecting to nest wifi always uses the furthest access point

[Chook71]

I have had an on going issue where my Nest outdoor camera will connect to the Nest wifi point which is actually the weakest point from where the camera is located. This makes the camera pretty much unusable. 

The frustrating part is that the camera is located outside the windows of my home office where the Nest wifi router is. The camera is literally less than 6 feet from the access point through a window (which is not tinted). Instead, the camera constantly connects to the Nest Wifi point at the other end of the house. There is also another Nest wifi point in between these two which it will not connect to. 

If I reboot the camera (disconnect the power) it will connect to one of the two closest points momentarily but will then switch to the furthest one again. 

According to the google Nest Wifi site each router and point should be able to support 100 devices each. I have one router and 2 points and at most I have a total of 55 devices connected at any one time. Most of these devices are smart lights and plugs. 

Is there anyway to force the camera to connect to the closest and most reliable connecting? 

If not then I will have to replace this camera with a hardwired version which will mean moving away from Google products and this is not offered. 

[MichaelP]

Hello @Chook71 

WiFi client devices decide which access point and which band to connect to and when to switch between them. Google/Nest WiFi does provide client devices with some extra information they can use to make better decisions, but fixed clients don't usually support the specifications used for that (802.11k and 802.11v), so they make their decisions entirely on their own.

It sounds like your camera is deciding it can get a better signal from a more distant access point for some reason, which is pretty strange given that it connects to the nearest one initially. Is there any chance you have some source of interference nearby, perhaps something intermittent, like a wireless subwoofer or surround sound system?

[Chook71]

Hi @MichaelP 

The only thing between the router and the camera is a window that does not have any tinting on it and is open 99.9% of the time. It does have a security screen (aluminum). There are no wireless sound systems in the house (or next-door) 

Unfortunately, I cannot rely on this camera for security anymore and will have to replace it with a wired system. 

I'm now having other issues with the Nest Wifi system which appears to have become very unstable recently and if this continues then I will have to replace it as well.  

[Jeff]

Hi, Chook71.

Sorry to hear about the instability on your network. Can you give me a few more details about the instability? Are you seeing network disconnects with devices, network outages, speed issues, or a combination of those?

Thanks.

[Jeff]

Hi, Chook71.
I just wanted to check in real fast to see if you saw my 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.

[Chook71]

Hi @Jeff 

Since posting this I have had another issue with my Google nest wifi. Here’s the funny thing my 2 points now say they are offline and according to the app nearly all my connections are now wired connections neither of these situations are actually correct however as the system now thinks there is only to one router in my office I have had no issues with the camera. Unfortunately pretty much nothing else works. At this point the only thing I haven’t tried is to blow away everything and start from scratch which I suspect if it works will simply put me back to the original issue with my camera. I’m seriously considering moving away from the Google echo system as it appears to becoming more and more unstable. I shouldn’t have to rebuild my network and smart home infrastructure every 6-12 months for it to function 

[Chook71]

Hi @Jeff 

well I bit the bullet and did a full factory reset on all my Nest wifi devices. 

did it resolve the issue with the wifi points showing as offline? Yes (at the moment)

did it resolve the issue with the camera connecting to the wifi point the furthest away? No

as usually it initially connected to the router in my office but within half an hour had switched and become unstable.

for me this now means I will be switching to hardwired cameras. The current nest cameras are just way overpriced for a battery powered wifi camera especially when the wifi connection is just too unreliable when the device is being used for security. Not much good if it doesn’t work.

[Jeff]

Sorry we weren't able to get this resolved in a way that works for you, Chook71. I understand why you're looking into other options. I just wanted to follow up to see if you had any other questions on this.

Thanks.

[Jeff]

Hi, everyone.
I'm going to go ahead and close the thread. If you have more to add, feel free to start a new discussion.
Thanks

[Jeff]

Hey, Chook71.

I wanted to follow up and see if you read MichaelP's replay and to see if that made sense for you and to see if you had any other questions. If there's more you need, just let us know.

Thanks.

[Jeff]

Hey, Chook71.

I just wanted to check in again to see if you were still needing some input and help on this. If so, just let us know.

Thanks.