Nest and Google Wi-Fi routers experiencing sporadic, ongoing disconnection issues

A handful of months ago, 9to5Google reported on intermittent and sporadic disconnection issues with Nest and Google Wi-Fi devices for users, and new reports are surfacing now that indicate the problem is rearing its ugly head once more.

On Google’s Nest Help forum, a community member who goes by the name of Sydtriman states that for the past week, their Google-branded Wi-Fi router has randomly gone offline. Interestingly, this user has not changed any settings on their network or in their environment, so it’s hard to discount their experience, especially when over 200 others have chimed in to share similar accounts.

On Twitter, the same thing can be seen, with Made by Google replying in an attempt to troubleshoot the issue with no success. Instead, the router came back online of its own accord. Anyone who uses Nest products will be familiar with this story because it happens all too often with Nest Cameras and Nest Protect sensors for windows and doors.

Google has a track record for unreliable smart home products, and if I’m completely honest, I’m not surprised to hear about these Wi-Fi models. I love the company’s hardware, but its software ecosystem – though exciting and fun to tinker with – always seems to let me down in one way or another.

Actually, I’ve experienced this very same issue that’s being discussed. Just yesterday, my Google Wi-Fi in the living room disconnected for ten or so minutes, and that wasn’t the first time by a long shot. I frequently have my internet go offline – sometimes for nearly thirty minutes, and my ISP reports no outages in my area. They’ve recommended I get rid of Google Wi-Fi and switch to their router, but we all know that’s a worse idea, right?

At the time of writing this, there’s no resolution to this ongoing debacle, but we’ll update this article when and if we hear anything further. Since Google has yet to push a fix in over four months, there’s no guarantee that we will learn much more about it, but the fact that it’s becoming a bit more common to see Nest and Google Wi-Fi devices drop off without warning means it should most certainly be addressed and soon.