Google speakers keep losing wifi on new router ("Hold on while I connect to the internet")

[dbsb3233]

I have 4 Google speakers (one old Google Home and 3 new Google Nests).  They worked fine on my old AC1700 wifi router.  I just recently replaced that router with a new 2-unit TP-Link Deco W7200 Tri-Band Wifi6 system.  Every other device I have connected (20+) works great on it, but all 4 Google speakers lose their wifi connection daily.  They connect fine when I set them up, or when I unplug and plug back in.  But they won't STAY connected.  Anywhere from ############ hours later, they give the dreaded "Hold on while I connect to the internet" message upon using the wake word.  I have to unplug/plug to get it to reconnect again.  Highly frustrating.

Any ideas?

[Muddi]

Hey dbsb3233,

 
Thanks for your feedback and we're sorry to hear about your experience.
 
Sometimes, these random disconnects are caused by several factors such as network congestion, distance of your Google Home/Nest devices from your Wi-Fi router, or outdated Google Home/Nest devices firmware version,and others.
 
We'd love to dig deeper into this. Try setting up one of your devices using a mobile hotspot to see if your device will have the same behavior. Please note that you will need two mobile devices for this setup (one will serve as a router and the other to be used to set up your Google Home/Nest speaker).

Let us know how it goes.

Cheers,

Muddi

[dbsb3233]

I can try that if really needed, but if the point is to simply try the speakers on another wifi network, I've already done that.  All 4 speakers were working fine on the TP-Link AC1700 wifi router I had previously been using.  No connection drops on that wifi network.  It's only when I retired that router and replaced it with the TP-Link Deco W7200 Tri-Band Wifi6 2-unit mesh system 3 weeks ago (and reconnected all units from scratch) that they started randomly dropping the wifi connection every 1-2 days.  All other devices (smartplugs, Ring cameras, Chromecasts, cell phones, etc) stay connected just fine.  It's only the 4 Google speakers that have the issue.  3 of them are pretty new (bought in last 4 months), the 4th is an older Google Home.  The minis tend to drop connection at the same time, but the other two each independent of that (random times)

Nest Audio Charcoal, Firmware 279716, Cast 1.54.279716

Nest Mini (2), Firmware 279716, Cast 1.54.279716

Google Home, Firmware 282045, Cast 1.56.282045

I've contacted TP-Link Support too.  They suggested I turn Mesh off for each speaker in the Deco app (router admin).  I tried that, but no difference.  I also tried unplugging the 2nd router altogether and running it all just off one router (no mesh), but no difference.  Internet is good and signal strong by every speaker.  I measure 60-110 Mbps on the cell phone next to every speaker. 

I turned on notifications in the Deco app to alert me every time any of the 4 disconnects. There's no real pattern to the timing.  Sometimes midday, sometimes, overnight.  The 2 minis tend to drop at the same time, but the Audio and Home are each just random. 

[Flightsim1]

I have a Google Home speaker, it has been set up, and is no more that 10 Myra away from a BT Home Router, it keeps dropping out and saying could not connect go  to the Google App and set up!!! What!   After the 10th time of getting a signal, then dropping out it is SO Frustrating!  A waste of money in my view!!!!!!!

[Chegtzx]

I have 100% the Same issue with AVM wifi6ax Router. Google gold me it is because of the Sonos legal issue but they didnt understand the Problem.

[gp1]

Exact same issue here!  I was having many problems with my Google nest mesh wifi, so I changed it out for a TP Link mesh system.  The routers work great with all of my other devices,  but I still have issues with all of my Nest speakers.  They will not stay connected longer than a day.  I've tried numerous factory resets, nothing fixes them.  It's extremely frustrating!  Google needs to resolve these speaker issues.  I've spent way too much money on my many Google Nest products for them not to work! 

[dbsb3233]

It's really annoying.  I finally worked around it by pulling out my old AC1700 that I'd retired and plugged it into one of the W7200 mesh units, so I'm now broadcasting another 2.4g wifi signal in the house just for the Google speakers.  They work perfectly on it, but not directly on the wifi6 mesh.

But that's a crappy solution.  Shouldn't have to keep two different routers broadcasting just to get the Google speakers to work.

[Muddi]

Hey folks,

Apologize for the delays. Could you list all your devices and with the firmware version if possible. I'll just need to check some information and we'll get back to this thread once I know more.

Looking forward to your response.

Cheers,

Muddi

[Chegtzx]

Google Nest Mini	1.54.279716
Google Nest Mini	1.54.279716

also seen in previous FW versions.

devices without issues:

Google Nest Hub (2. Generation)	1.56.290464
Google Nest Hub (2. Generation)	1.56.290464

[gp1]

I have 7 Nest Audio Speakers, all of them lose connection daily and I have to unplug/plug them back in to reconnect.  They all have the 279716 firmware.  

[Tctimber]

Question: did you set up your old router in bridge mode?  And if not, how did you get around double NAT?

[AdamLives]

What you want to do, like I have done to mitigate this TP-Link/Google disconnect issue, is run your old wireless router in Access Point (AP) mode, create a unquie SSID for it. This way it runs without the Firewall, DHCP services etc, no double NAT happing. Just one network structure. Connect a LAN port from it to your switch or a broadband router LAN port.  Then in the Home app forget network on each speaker and setup again. Names and rooms should remain when connected to new wifi network. I turned down the transmit power on it as the speakers are the only thing using it. Haven't lost a speaker in 2 weeks. I also set the APs IP address to be static so I can find the admin interface easier. Hope that helps. 

[Tctimber]

Thank you so much, that is working

[Chegtzx]

I also found that the problem is much less frequent if I reduce the 2.4ghz wifi channel width from 40mhz to 20mhz.

[dbsb3233]

Nest Audio Charcoal, Firmware 279716, Cast 1.54.279716

Nest Mini (2), Firmware 279716, Cast 1.54.279716

Google Home, Firmware 282045, Cast 1.56.282045

[a_nearby_josh]

Having this exact issue with any number of my speakers (1 Google Home Mini, 2 Nest Minis, 2 Nest Audios, and can't confirm but my Google TV has had some weird connectivity issues since getting the Deco W7200. It got a LOT better after turning off both Fast Roaming and Beam Forming in the Deco settings, but today just had another round of 3 Nest devices disconnecting themselves. One other note was that I assigned each device a unique IP but the problem persisted.

Minis:
2x @ FW 282045 Cast 1.56.282045
1x @ FW 279716 Cast 1.54.279716 (this one disconnected today)

Nest Audios:
2x @ FW 279716 Cast 1.54.279716 (both of these disconnected today)

Google TV: Cast 1.56.276477

[Muddi]

Hey folks,

My apologies for the delays, and thanks for providing all those information about your devices. To confirm, does the same thing happen when you connect some of your devices on a different network like mobile hotspot? These will help us further isolate the issue.

Keep us posted.

Cheers,

Muddi

[XL]

1 year later… @Muddi  why did your team stop replying to this thread? There is no solution and the thread poses the same consistent issue. 
- it is clear the defect is with the Google devices. 
- the people are asking for a refund or a firmware fix. 

Please follow up. 

[XL]

SOLUTION: There is none

Nest is a broken product that Muddi & Google, as repressed by Google, gave up on the product. It appears that not 1 representative has replied to this thread for almost  a year now. 
- This post is evidence that this is a product issue. This is NOT a TP Link issue. 
- Multiple opportunities to fix the issue on firmware updates. 

- Nothing in this post will work, unless (MAYBE) you are willing to step back a few generations and degrade your high tech modem (not even a reserved IP will work).

[dbsb3233]

Mine work fine on another network.  They stay connected just as they should on my TP-Link AC1700 (the old router I replaced with the new W7200).  I finally had to pull the old AC1700 back out and I'm now broadcasting a 2nd 2.4Ghz wifi signal through the house just to get the Google speakers to stay connected since they won't stay connected to the W7200.

[Muddi]

Hey dbsb3233,

Thanks for sharing that information. It's nice to know that you were able to find a solution. To confirm, how far are your speakers from the router? It's possible that it has something to do with the distance that's why it keeps on disconnecting from the other router. We can also consider that network is congested and needs other speakers to be connected to a different band.

Please note that if you want a better and a longer range for your devices, use 2.4 GHz. If you need higher speed and could sacrifice for range, the 5.0 GHz band should be used. The 5.0 GHz band, has the potential to cut through network clutter disturbance and interference to maximize network performance.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Muddi

[eddieee]

community specialist is a joke

[dbsb3233]

Distance from the router made no difference.  In fact, I had one of the Google speakers right next to one of the W7200's.  Another was 5 feet away, another was 10 feet away, and about 15 feet on the other two.  They all dropped the wifi connection with similar frequency (every 1-2 days).  Usually at different times. 

The AC1700 I have them connected to now as a bandaid workaround is further away that the W7200 was, because it's a single router that I had to place in the middle of the house.

Congestion seem unlikely too as all the same devices were connected to the AC1700 before I upgraded to this better W7200 Wifi6 Mesh 2-unit router.  Same amount of devices, same congestion, but they never dropped connection from the AC1700.  I only upgraded to the W7200 because I added a Chromecast to the farthest bedroom that was struggling to handle that distance and supply the speed needed. 

[Muddi]

Hey dbsb3233,

Got it! Those are the things that we normally check on network settings. There are other settings on router to consider like channel settings to improve the signal of the router. I suggest you contact your router manufacturer to check with them if there are other things that you can do with the router since the issue is not happening on the old one.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Muddi

[Muddi]

Hey dbsb3233,

I just wanted to check if you're able to check the settings of your new router? Feel free to respond if you still need help with your device, and we're glad to help.

Cheers,

Muddi

[dbsb3233]

Thanks Muddi.  No, none of that worked.  I've posted the same issue on the TP-Link forum (as have other customers) and they had us try a few different settings, to no avail.  I'm guessing at this point it would take a firmware upgrade to fix some software bug.  Haven't heard anything new from TP-Link in a while, and I've gotten tired of messing with it anyway.  It's currently working with my messy workaround of running both the old router (just for the Google speakers) and the new router (for everything else) concurrently in the house.  I'll just live with that as long as it keeps working, or until TP-Link puts out a fix. 

[Muddi]

Hey dbsb3233,

Understood! It looks like we can consider this one complete, so I will lock the thread shortly unless I can help out with anything else.

Cheers,

Muddi

[Chegtzx]

Hi nothing is complete here, me and a lot of other people having the same issues and using no TP-Link routers. Please deliver a fix.

[gp1]

Hi Muddi, So you are absolutely sure the issues are TP-link's responsibility to solve?  I really don't understand why all 7 of my Google Nest speakers have this issue, however my 2 Google Max speakers have never lost their connection on my same network. 

I actually had the same issues (and many more) when I had a Google Nest Wifi system in my home.  Those issues drove me to replace my entire expensive Nest wifi system with my TP-Link wifi.  Replacing the Nest wifi corrected all of my previous issues for everything in my house.  With Nest wifi, all devices lost connections nonstop and my speeds would slow to a crawl daily.  The TP-Link wifi has  been absolutely perfect, except for my Nest Speakers.

Since those speakers had the same issues on the Nest wifi and TP-Link wifi, I find it hard to believe the issues are with the wifi, not the speakers themselves.

[dbsb3233]

Wow, I'm glad you posted this.  At one point I was actually considering just writing off the W7200 as an expensive mistake and getting a Google wifi system instead, assuming that would work perfectly with the speakers since it's all the same Googleverse. 

Glad I didn't do that now.  Thank you.

[Chegtzx]

Hi, the problem is not caused by the routers, at most with the features that some new routers deliver and cause problems for Google Nest mini. And only minis are affected. There is also no common denominator among the affected users as far as the router manufacturer is concerned. The common denominator is the Google nest mini.

[dbsb3233]

It happened on my Minis, my Nest Audio speaker, and my older Google Home speakers too.  But all the other devices in the house stay connected fine.

[a_nearby_josh]

That's the boat I'm in. Nest Audios, Google home mini, nest mini, even my Google TV and Chromecast enabled JBL soundbar are having the exact issue, randomly dropping and requiring reboot to reconnect, with the TP-Link. No other IOT devices having the issue including super old generic wifi lightbulbs. I'm about to give up and go to fire stick and echo and I really hate the idea because I'll likely have to switch back to Spotify from YouTube Music too.

[dbsb3233]

I don't have Google TV, but I do have 3 Chromecasts (not built-in, but the HDMI dongles).   I'm actually not sure how well they're staying connected. One we rarely use, and one of the others I have powered from the TV USB (thus it powers off and on with TV, reconnecting each time it turns on).  But the 3rd one is on it's own USB power so stays powered on 24x7.  I did have to restart it the other day, but I think that's the only time.  It seems to stay connected to the W7200 most of the time.

That's actually one of the main reasons I upgraded to a new mesh router.  The Chromecast in the far room where I exercise daily seemed to be getting a weak signal and slow wifi on the old AC1700.  Some YouTube videos would buffer a lot, and the audio would go dead for like 5 seconds every 20 seconds or so.  Really annoying.  Now on the W7200, the buffering is usually fixed, but some videos still have the audio cut in and out.  But only like 20% of videos. They rest are fine.  Frustrating.

[gp1]

Exactly same thing for me!  I only mention the 7 nest audio speakers as not working in my posts because I gave up totally on the several minis I have and I assume my Google home speakers are obsolete at this point.  I've totally lost faith in Google after all of this.

[Shahram]

Hallo everyone,
I have two Nest Hub 2 and 4 Nest Audios and I have exact the same issue with my Nest Audio devices. I have an AVM Fritz!box7530 Modem/Router with WIFI6  and I can confirm that it doesn't have anything to do with distance because two of my Nest Audios are just 4 step away from my router! 

Regards

[gp1]

I'm glad I could save someone else from that big mistake.  I assumed all would be great with all Google equipment....big mistake.  I even added extra nest wifi points to see if that helped, it didn't.  It was throwing good money at bad.  Huge regrets.  My tvs we're buffering, doorbells lost connections, cameras never worked... It was terrible.  Getting the TP-Link mesh setup solved all those issues, but the speakers still don't stay connected.  It's absolutely a Google issue.

[dbsb3233]

FWIW, if you're still having the issue I guess you could always do what I have cobbled together - use an old cheap basic router that works with the Google speakers, and plug that into one of the W7200 (or X68) ports to broadcast an extra 2.4ghz signal.  The Google speakers stayed connected with no problem on my old TP-Link AC1700 router.   When they wouldn't stay connected to the W7200, I pulled out the AC1700 to see if it would work if I just plugged it into a W7200 port. Kinda surprised me, but it worked.  The AC1700 speed and coverage isn't as good (which is why I was replacing it), but it's good enough for all my Google speakers when I locate it in the center of the house (which I could now do by placing the 2nd W7200 unit there). 

Messy workaround, but it works.  All my other devices are just connected to the W7200 wifi. When I configure the Google speakers, I do have to connect my cell phone to the AC1700 wifi though.  That's a little annoying, but I rarely need to do that. 

[a_nearby_josh]

Thank you for that tip. I had a question if you don't mind answering.. is it all the same SSID? Like are you able to login to the extra router and set it to 2.4 only? I was thinking if it's a different SSID, i won't be able to cast without switching my phone to the same wifi. I'm moderately versed in these things but this is about out of my depths.

[dbsb3233]

No, I had to give the AC1700 a different SSID.  But I only have to connect my phone to that wifi when configuring the Google speakers thru the Home app. 

I did log into the AC1700 router admin page (via web browser) and turn the 5ghz signal off.  I probably didn't really need to do that, but I figured the less interference the better.  The speakers work fine on 2.4.  I think I just used a direct connection (ethernet cable) to configure it through. 

My Chromecasts are still connected to the W7200 (same as my phone usually is), so I don't have to change the wifi everytime I want to cast.  If you put your Chromecast-enabled TV on the AC1700 instead, you'd probably need to just leave your phone connected to that router instead.