ALL nest speakers randomly disconnect from WiFi, will not reconnect until reboot

[Biggsyboi]

Hi,

For ages now, had an issue where any of our speakers will randomly disconnect from WiFi. Ignored it but it gets more and more annoying.

You don't realize it's happened until you try and cast music (doesn't show on list) or say "Hey Google" (response is "Hang on whilst I get connected to WiFi")

No other devices on our WiFi network (TP-Link Deco Mesh), are having any problems

Affected Devices:

1 x Home Mini

2 x Nest Mini

2 x Nest Audio

1 x Home Max

We have 1 x Chromecast; I'm not sure if this is also affected.

Once a unit disconnects, it starts broadcasting it's setup WiFi name and the Google Home App shows "Set up Nest Mini" etc. It refuses to reconnect to the WiFi when trying to set it up using the menu. The ONLY way to get it to reconnect is to power cycle the device, in which case it then reconnects to the WiFi and starts to behave normally until the issue happens again at random.

I spoke to Google Support about it, but so far they've not resolved the problem. They made me factory reset every single speaker, which didn't resolve the problem. They want me to set up my smart home entirely from scratch now - routines, devices etc, hours of my time.

I've checked the security on our WiFi network, it's compatible with these speakers. I've also assigned each speaker a specific IP address, this hasn't resolved the issue, either.

When the issue occurs, I've also tried connecting the unit to a mobile hotspot and it couldn't.

Again, the only way to get the unit to reconnect to anything, is to restart it.

Any help is greatly appreciated

[plod_along]

This is disappointing @Biggsyboi 

Its a shame because all of my other devices that aren’t compatible with WiFi 6 still work without issue and maintain their internet connection. You would not think that devices from Google, one of the big 5 tech companies, would be the only WiFi devices that have WiFi problems. The router is still backwards compatible, transmitting using the g, n, ac and ax standards (WiFi 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively). 

Can this issue be fixed with a firmware update and, if so, is there a fix planned?

[plod_along]

It’s a good thing I kept my old AC router. As per a suggestion in the other post, I have powered up my old router and set it up as a repeater with a different SSID and connected the problem google devices. Fingers crossed they remain connected. 
Shouldn’t have to do this though 

[Biggsyboi]

If you do this, are you able to be on your main network and then cast with Spotify etc to your speakers? I cannot. I presume it's because they're on a separate WiFi network.

[plod_along]

Yes Spotify is working fine with this set up. No issues as yet. 

The set up is essentially as follows:

Modem ➡️Router(SSID1) ➡️Devices

                             ↙️  ↘️ 

Old Router (SSID2)   Repeater (SSID1)

            ⬇️                                 ⬇️

Google speakers.             Devices

So, in a nutshell, my old router is acting as another repeater solely for google speakers. The separate SSID means that my google speakers will never connect to the main WiFi 6 router. Never thought I would have to do work arounds like this with a google branded product when all other products work on the new router just fine. My wife and I have considered whether a popular smart speaker from a Google competitor would have the same issues and have been close to switching. Only thing that has put us off is the fact that we have 5 google speakers and replacing all could be costly. 

[Biggsyboi]

Yes, it would be costly - as it was costly getting your speakers in the first place only to be told by Google that they won't work.

Well I don't know why it's different for you, if my phone is on the main network and my speakers are on the Guest network, I cannot cast to them. Hence, they can't stay on the Guest network.

[Biggsyboi]

The fix is exactly what I'm wondering. What disappoints me most is that when I was buying my latest Nest Audio pair, they were saying they would fix the problem before they knew what it was. Then with support, I asked if they don't fix it can I have a refund, and it's "no refunds" after they ran down the clock...

Even when I asked them if their speakers would work with their own WiFi 6 Mesh system, they replied that they "may experience some network issues if the WiFi 6 protocol is enabled since it's yet to be supported by our speakers and displays" even though, quite rightly, other devices that don't support WiFi 6 can connect just fine.....?!

[Fairwaysalways]

I have the same issue; however the minis (x3) rarely disconnect and when they do, they cycle back. My Nest Hub and 2 Next Hub Max on the other hand, disconnect almost every day and do not reconnect. Unfortunately, common folk like us can't erven figure out how to assign IP addresses. These things should just work because, you know, Google!

[Biggsyboi]

I switched on notifications for my Google devices connecting or disconnecting, and it turns out every single one of them is disconnecting and reconnecting on a regular basis...until they randomly refuse to reconnect.

Several of us have tried assigning/reserving IP addresses manually - it doesn't fix the issue unfortunately so you're not missing out

[Biggsyboi]

Your thread has been locked, even though you said the problem has not been resolved for you