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Nest Hub Max stuck on 'finding joining device'

MSM01
Community Member

Nest Hub Max stuck on 'finding joining device'.  We've tried rebooting. 

It is 'found' by Google Home app. Then google home can't add it (keeps saying 'loading'). Then Hub keeps saying 'looking for joining device to help connect'.   . .then it says 'cant connect'

50 REPLIES 50

MplsCustomer
Bronze
Bronze

@MSM01 

The challenge you have is that Google Nest does not tell you which of your existing Google Nest devices is the "joining device" or "assisting device".  (The "assisting device" is supposed to provide the new device with the Wi-Fi network name [SSID] and password, to save you the trouble of entering it, but the process often seems to fail,) There are many posts about this dilemma. Some have had success moving the device they're trying to install (like your Nest Hub Max) closer to another Google Nest device during the install. Some have turned off all of their existing Google Nest devices during the install. Others have created a temporary second Google Nest "home", added the new device there, then removed it from that "home" and added it to their original "home" and then deleted the now-empty second "home". The last two workarounds seem designed to get Google Nest to treat the install as an installation of the first Google Nest device at our location and thereby let you enter the Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password instead of getting them from the unreachable "assisting device".

The real issue is the fact that the joining device issue only happens when someone tries to activate nest cam from a hub max.

the hub max already is connected to WiFi.

why in the wide world of wonders does it even require an assisting device is beyond most of us. Any stand alone Nest Hello Camera does not need this strange process. Perhaps the new nest security Cameras need this, and that points right back to Google and the terrible merger hatchet job they have created.

we all depend on each other as users to find solutions to the dumbest implementation failures Google can craft. Bad on Google.

I have tried several times once I changed my router. If it is saying trying to connect to a joining device. If you are trying to reconnect a device you have to reset all cameras or devices to factory settings before proceeding to reinstall or installing a new device. I have had to in the past have a couple of accounts. So reset all products to factory settings and reinstall them. It sounds like a lot of work but only takes a few minutes. It’s a pain but this is the solution 

MSM01
Community Member

thank you...we did a separate home and we've now got it to 'join' . but after we view the camera live once, home app can't seem to ever re-connect to the camera.  the camera page on the home app is just black , constantly "connecting". may be time to just return this thing and stick with small size. thank you though.

@MSM01 

If your Nest Hub Max is in a location where there is good Wi-Fi signal strength and it's behaving like this, then it does sound like you should return it or contact Google Nest Support (https://support.google.com/googlenest/gethelp?hl=en) for a replacement. We're happy with our Nest Hub Max and have not seen issues like this.

Jake
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey MSM01,

 

I wanted to check in and see if you managed to see MplsCustomer's post. Please let me know if you have any questions from here. I would be happy to assist, and make sure you are good to go.

 

Thank you so much MplsCustomer for the helpful reply.

Best regards,
Jake

MSM01
Community Member

Thank you,  yes. I have an open case with Google Support now. They want a video of the issue -not sure how to take a video of my phone while using the Home app on the phone!  Will probably do screenshots. If that doesn’t work, back it goes to the store.  Thank you again.

Captain565
Community Member

Sane thing here...connecting to joining device...oops something went wrong!

Both hub max units can not join nest aware. ! was previously and I stopped it. Google has serious issues with the method of implementation. Frustrating beyond belief

 

Azarco
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey folks,.

 

MSM01, thanks for letting us know and glad to hear you're now being assisted by our support team. 

 

Captain565, have you tried the steps above? Did reinstalling your Google Home app work? Have you had the chance to reset your Google Nest Hub Max? 

 

Best,

Alex

MSM01
Community Member

My post Below: The WORST customer experience ever! After all this to/fro , nothing works (but thank you Captain 65 - Tried your method as well)....The "higher" beings at Google can't be reached by customer OR by their own tech staff (email only) Now the device is out of the Best Buy return window.; and we're stuck with a $200 piece of junk!  Google's support line just says 'we'll work on the best resolution for you." "Give me my money back". "We'll work on the best resolution for. you" . . .There's a reason we're an apple family -- should've stayed there. 

Captain565
Community Member

These support forums seem to be a place where troubled users post the solutions they have found after lengthy periods of trial, and error that Google, or its “teams” don’t do.

”teams” is actually quite hilarious, as it is a massive joke. Google support is a massive joke. I still like the devices, and do find them superior for what I need, but once you buy…that’s it…you are in your own.

 

so did my solution work for you?

MSM01
Community Member

Unfortunately your solution didn’t work either for us . But, thank you. Yes, I’ve found more helpful suggestions here than in my 2+ hours “troubleshooting “ with Google tech support. 

Captain565
Community Member

I was reading all you had posted.

so in a new home the hub joins, and nest cam works? Moving the working hub over to the original home fails on usage?

that is a new one. 

is it possible to just move the rest of the product to the new home and call it a day?

 

Captain565
Community Member

The whole setup for nest cam is absolutely beyond reason.

Yesterday after joint the hub max back to google, I went to join nest cam with the whole “assisting device” garbage. I asked it a question and it said “hold on while I get connected to wireless. How idiotic is that?

it was already connected! The software engineers are not to bright I suspect.

that is likely where the failure is for you.

Captain565
Community Member

Yup have done it all. I have installed the Hello Door Bell countless times, and always get failure on either of the Hub Max devices. This implementation of joining the nest cam is terrible. I have all but given up, and will not be moving forward with Nest security Cams indeed. Even after creating new homes and only trying to add the Hub Max to Nest Cam…zero. This system is broken.

 

thanks

Azarco
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey Captain565,

 

We understand how difficult this is for you. If you wish to continue troubleshooting your device, could you fill out this form  and let us know once you're done? Also, kindly provide the cast firmware and software version of your Google Nest Hub Max.

 

Thanks,

Alex

 

Done

both are in the same firmware. I just joined preview on both…

Azarco
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi there,

 

We received your form — thanks for filling it out. Our team will reach out to you via email to further assist you. Let us know once you receive their email.


Cheers,

Alex

Azarco
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey MSM01,

 

We haven't heard from you in a while so we'll be locking this thread if there is no update within the day. If you have any new issues, updates or just a discussion topic, feel free to start a new thread in the Community.


Best,

Alex

I filled out the form as requested and am waiting on something from your end.

now you want to lock the thread?

how much sense does that make?

Azarco
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey Captain565,

 

We already forwarded your case to our team. Keep track of your inbox as our team will be emailing you soon for more details.


Thanks,

Alex

MSM01
Community Member

The Team's response is  an insult to my time.  They obviously did not review ALL the "solutions" I've tried before this 'escalation'.  Regardless , we tried their 'solution' again, only to have it fail.  All this nonsense is beyond ridiculous.   I again asked for our money back for a defective (and useless) product that has never worked since its purchase.  It's positively SHAMEFUL that google has known of this problem for years and yet has neither fixed it nor warned purchasers of it.  Do the Google outdoor cams (hardwired/ battery) operate with Amazon devices?

Captain565
Community Member

Oh yah…google support…or at least anything Nest or Home is an absolute joke.

The MODS are joke that read scripted, canned responses. Amazon had issues but not like this level of avoidable stupidity.

 

Captain565
Community Member

How long does it take for the “team” to get back to me?

is it as quick as Google auto renewing my useless nest aware subscription today?

Thanks

Captain565
Community Member

Anyone? Anyone?

Captain565
Community Member

Ok

i fixed it myself. I highly doubt even Google knows this. Here we go! 

regarding factory reset…it’s a must, but try this little trick, and it will work as it worked on both my hub max units. Hold the 2 volume buttons though the verbal warning but…keep holding until reboot, and a whole other factory reset option comes up! That’s the one that actually wipes it out clean! When it reboots…it magically gets a firmware update and nest cam sets up successfully afterwards. The second hub max had to go through nest cam install twice, but it still worked like a charm!

Captain565
Community Member

Ok

i fixed it myself. I highly doubt even Google knows this. Here we go! 

regarding factory reset…it’s a must, but try this little trick, and it will work as it worked on both my hub max units. Hold the 2 volume buttons though the verbal warning but…keep holding until reboot, and a whole other factory reset option comes up! That’s the one that actually wipes it out clean! When it reboots…it magically gets a firmware update and nest cam sets up successfully afterwards. The second hub max had to go through nest cam install twice, but it still worked like a charm

MSM01
Community Member

Tried this as well. So it sets up the Hub Max, but doesn’t fix the camera issue. That’s just in “joining connecting device” purgatory!  But you have some awesome solutions- I shudder to think how much time you’ve spent troubleshooting your devices! Thank you 

Captain565
Community Member

You did the reset twice thing?

holding the volume buttons all the way until after reboot and after the second different reset?

 

have a look in settings…assistant…devices…

any lingering products?

you have a stumper for sure.

MSM01
Community Member

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73EB3D22-D950-48FB-B9CE-3AAD48D59AAE.jpeg

Yes… I saw that it was a complete “wipe

out” and it had additional set up screens specifying it’s a factory reset. Unfortunately all that did was allow me to set up the hub max. Once we got to camera set

up- it’s the same issue about “joining devices “… and from there it’s a fail. 

Captain565
Community Member

Do you have any other Nest camera’s? (If so…have you tried removing them first, then install the max, then the rest)

I forgot to mention I has a hello doorbell that I removed prior to the successful completing of this crazy nest cam crap.

Are you a mesh wireless?

I am guessing that the new home only had the hub and all worked?

what assistant device? what a process!

 

 

 

@MSM01 

Before incurring all the effort of removing any other Google Nest devices (besides your Nest Hub Max), you might try just turning them all off while trying to install the camera on your Nest Hub Max; some users have reported that worked for them.

This failure to join a connecting device or assisting device during the install process has been reported in this forum for over a year now.

That sounds like a good idea.

luckily I only had 1 Hello Door Bell, but how painful that would be if I was running many…

Thanks for the tip

MSM01
Community Member

The WORST customer experience ever! After all this to/fro , nothing works (but thank you Captain 565 - Tried your method as well)....The "higher" beings at Google can't be reached by customer OR by their own tech staff (email only) Now the device is out of the Best Buy return window.; and we're stuck with a $200 piece of junk!  Google's support line just says 'we'll work on the best resolution for you." "Give me my money back". "We'll work on the best resolution for. you" . . .There's a reason we're an apple family -- should've stayed there. 

Captain565
Community Member

Just by chance…are you using iOS Goolge home app?

I am, and did notice that disabling the  private address setting in WiFi helped with initial setup.

just a thought.

Captain565
Community Member

Here is the email from higher ups!

 

 

Hello Captain

Thanks for reaching out to the Google Nest Customer Care Team.

 

My name is Ressa, one of the senior specialists for the Google Home Support Team. Your case has been consulted to us. Apologies for the delayed response due to the high volume of cases we're handling.

Let's try the recommended steps below:

  • Identify an Assisting device Nest Protect, Nest Cam IQ, Nest Cam IQ Outdoor, Nest Hello Doorbell, Nest Connect, Nest Guard)
  • Turn off other Nest Assisting devices aside from your Google Nest Hub Max and 1 Assisting device
  • Move your Google Nest Hub Max closer with the chosen Assisting device
  • Reboot router
  • Attempt to set up the camera.

 

here is my response

 

The joining assistant process was not well thought out I suspect.
I ended up fixing by using the method you and everyone else suggested, but with 1 more step.
I reset the Hub Max and kept holding the volume buttons through the reboot and it magically offered another reset with an entirely new looking screen. This “double” reset forced the unit to grab firmware after the initial home installation. Once completed, Nest Cam installs were successful on both devices, and the the Nest Hello was reinstalled.
 
The assistant is supposed to hand off wireless information to a product that is already connected to wireless?
 
This was not though out, or documented well enough before implementation.
I have been a loyal Google Home advocate since inception and have torn through a minimum of 25 Google home devices over that time. This was indeed the most frustrated I have ever been with Google Home.
Sadly I decided to grab a few Amazon Echo Shows, and almost fell over, at how easy it was to setup, and control my switches, plugs, and automations. 
Consider that Google Home devices lack the ability to be silenced with regards to “talk back” when initiating a task. 
This has been promised forever, and “quiet time” does not solve this ongoing issue that is been requested, and promised a fix for a very long time.
Assistant is getting extremely sloppy with integration to HOME. Far to many deep caverns of software that make little sense to the user. 
The ability to delete orphaned product is still an absolute disaster.
I never thought the days would come, but they have. I suspect I will transition to another platform, and at minimum, have a mixed assistant platform that will accomplish the “heavy lifting” needed by such menial tasks.
Support seems to be non existent across all platforms it seems.
The Nest forums have become a self help center, monitored by copy/paste mods who give the same generic answers that “higher ups” give. 
This is quite discouraging to the average consumer, who doesn’t have a 20+ yr career in IT like myself. That employment helps me look at things a little more logically, and follow the standard troubleshooting techniques of data flow, and failure.
From my perspective, Google Home, with the ill completed Nest integration is an abstract failure. Imagine being one of many users with and Android TV device when you discover the Nest App Is an abomination that does not work at all, as you can’t even sign in with out side loading the much older version of the Nest app. Once again, discovered through “self help” google forum.
You folks are literally giving the smart home space away to the competition, and that is frustrating to many who have invested a small fortune so they can voluntarily turn themselves into pretzels keeping up with the sheer volume of software fails that are coming from the “engineers”. I use that term with great humor intended.
 
Sad

MSM01
Community Member

Well put! I got another 'please try' from the escalation team...the usual 'set up a new home and put this device in there'....All this nonsense is beyond ridiculous.   I again asked for our money back for a defective (and useless) product that has never worked since its purchase.  It's positively SHAMEFUL that google has known of this problem for years and yet has neither fixed it nor warned purchasers of it.  Do the Google outdoor cams (hardwired/ battery) operate with Amazon devices?

Captain565
Community Member

I have never checked.

my older nest hello is viewable via the echo show devices but not the Alexa app.

apparently that option is only available for the newer nest bells. Naturally this has absolutely jack to do with ability, and is done by choice to make people get the new product. Regarding battery, we should consider doing careful research. I know that nest aware subscription is useless if it’s battery alone. I have been in IT a very long time, and as much as I appreciate wireless for music and phone etc…

WIRES are the absolute best, and present none of the garbage protocols that google rams at people.

at this point a wired SWAN system from Costco with a decent phone app and home integration is better. I have HiK 8 channels with 8 turret 4K’s, and they record 24/7. But the downfall is the software sucks.

anyway, I will look and report back.

when my Google devices start to fail, they will NOT be replaced. Google seems to break everything it touches.

for example

i have 2 Schlage Encode locks. After the last update I now only get the device info when I access from Google. Know what google said?

yup! The same garbage they always say.

so I added the Schlage skill to Alexa…presto.

funny enough, I got an update on ALEXA IOS last night, and everything still is what it was!

i am

done with google.

MSM01
Community Member

K.. I will research Amazon compatibility as well...We had HiK wired cameras before this....OMG that was another type of nightmare. (constant port issues!).  Needless to say, they blamed that on Comcast who was supposedly 'purposely messing with the ports so that [I] will buy Comcast security'. . .the company that comes out with a truly simple, versatile and WORKING home security system will rightfully mint money!