Secondly, the Google Nest WiFi does have an API, which although fairly rudimentary, can actually be used to glean some useful information about your network and its status. In my scenario, where my second router is in the garage, that would be very inconvenient, though luckily I’m quite happy with my setup now and have no plans for a third router.Īlong the way of trying to figure this out, I found out a few things on my router that could be useful, so I thought I’d share them.įirstly, although the instructions that come with the Google Nest WiFi tell you to use the Google Home app to set it up, you can also download the Google WiFi app, which gives you a lot more information about your network and allows you to configure it in much more detail. One question that I’m left with is what if I wanted more than two routers? As each router only has one WAN and one LAN port, I guess the routers would have to be daisy-chained, so the second router connects to the first and the third connects to the second etc. So, the long and short of it is that if you want to add a secondary router, make sure it’s wired directly into the primary router and not via a switch. I then tried setting up the secondary router and it worked just fine. As mine were connected via a switch, I tried connecting the primary router’s WAN port directly to the BT Smart Hub and the cable from the garage router directly into the LAN port of the primary router. One thing I found on a Google forum indicated that there shouldn’t be any other devices between the primary and slave routers. I knew this was supposed to work, so I started Googling for a solution. I thought I must have a cable connection issue, but after going through and validating all the cabling, I figured it must be an issue with having two routers on the same network. This is where my problems began, as when I tried to set up the new router via the Google Home app, I kept getting an error saying there was a “Problem connecting to cloud”. At the garage end, I connected the cable up to the new Google Nest WiFi router. I ran a network cable from the house to the garage and connected it to the switch at the house end. This was enough to get the Google Nest WiFi working, with the points attaching via a wireless mesh network to the Google Nest Router. I also connected my Google Nest router to this switch. I had a wired connection from my BT Smart Hub to a 16-port Gigabit unmanaged switch. On my existing modem/router (a BT Smart Hub), I’d disabled WiFi. I find this a bit annoying, as I’d prefer to use a point in the garage, as it also comes with the Google Assistant, which the router doesn’t have. I’d read up before I bought anything, to make sure that a second router could be added as a slave to the master router in the house, as I figured I’d need to wire a connection to the garage and the Google Nest Wifi points have no wired connection, making another router my only option. Adding the second router was a bit more troublesome. Up until this point, setup of the Google Nest WiFi system had been really straightforward, simply adding devices via the Google Home app. I could have just bought a router on its own, but I wanted the extra point for the house. I resorted to plan B to buy another router/point pack and install the router in the garage, running a network cable from the house to the garage. I set the router up and tried the point in the garage, but the signal wasn’t strong enough for it to work properly. I initially ordered a Google Nest Wifi bundle with one router and one point. I was hoping that installing a Google point in the garage would be sufficient and it would have a strong enough signal to pair with the router in the house, though I always suspected that wouldn’t work. To cut a long story short, I decided to install a Google Nest WiFi setup, to make use of the mesh network functionality, to improve the WiFi coverage in the house.Īs a secondary requirement, I wanted the WiFi to extend to the garage, as I’m spending a lot of time there at the moment (see my other blog for more info on that – ). I’d worked from home sporadically before, but doing so permanently highlighted some issues with my home WiFi setup. With the COVID-19 lockdown in place, I suddenly found myself working from home more than I’d ever done before, from the end of March 2020.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |