On July 28, 2020 at 08:25, goldenzrule said...
I will start by saying Google WiFi is possibly the worst system I have seen. Incredibly limited settings and works about as well at providing wifi as a pile of dog crap in a yard.
With that out of the way :-)
I was brought in to extend a network from a house to a barn to provide internet to the office space in the second level. Hardwire connection works fine, no dropouts, full throughput speeds. The client had the Google system prior to calling use to extend the wiring to the barn. He purchased a second kit to provide the wifi out there, which we connected. The second kit is hardwired directly to the main Google WiFi unit in the house. The google search I did said that the second unit should automatically set itself as a "slave" unit or whatever term it used. It has constant drop outs, every minute, and speeds will sometimes be fast and often really slow. All the while, hardwiring through the Google WiFi unit in the barn still provides a constant connection and full speeds.
Client claims there are issues in the house as well, however this was not discovered during my visit and I have not been back to confirm. I will say that they have Altice One for ISP which uses a ridiculous router built into the cable box. You cannot set it to bridge mode or shut off routing in any way. Google WiFi cannot be set to bridge mode as it turns off mesh (at least to my knowledge, I know it was like this previously and assume its still the same). So he has a Double NAT. I instructed him that he will need to either change his internet service to Optimum provided by the same company which will utilize a regular modem, or switch to something like Eero for wifi.
Does anyone have experience with Google WiFi that would know if we can solve the issues with that system, or if the Double NAT is the issue? Client claims it as solid before adding the second Google kit, so I am wondering if it did not shut off the router functions on that as the search I did led me to believe it would. I instructed him to call Google to see what options we have, if any with this system. I have very little experience with Google WiFi as we have steered people clear of it after issues in the past, but this client had already purchased it before we could have a conversation with them.
I'm not sure the client will ask the right questions if they call Google. I posted about a job where I had installed EERO but it was replaced after the freaking genius from Spectrum told him it's not a good system, so he switched to Google because he has it at his other house. I'm not convinced it will do the job but I'm planning to install their app on my phone and get his log-in info so I can look at the settings. So far, I haven't seen speeds that were close to the EERO system and his tail was between his legs when we talked about this. At this point, we're planning for me to run a cable from the basement to the storage area behind the TV and Roku, so another Google unit can be placed there as a way to boost the signal. I'm not hopeful that it will be great.
