My smart device isn’t connecting to Wi-Fi #
Google Nest Home devices-First, make sure that your smart device and your router are both updated. Then try resetting your router and rebooting your smart device. You can either unplug and plug in the smart device, or check its app for a reboot option — the Google Home app, for example, has a Reboot tool under each device section that you can use.
If the device still isn’t connecting properly, try moving it next to the router and seeing if it connects then — distance and interference can make a difference, especially for smaller smart devices. You should also double-check to make sure that your smart device doesn’t need a Zigbee hub to operate, which is more common among older smart devices but a problem that still occasionally crops up.
If your smart device keeps dropping a signal, especially during busy times of the day, check to see if your router supports automatic band switching for devices. If it does, try turning this feature off: Sometimes a router will try to switch a smart device to a different band, but the device isn’t ready for that, causing it to lose a connection. There may also be issues with connecting to a mesh router, and you may have to be very specific about your network connection to make smart devices work.
It’s also a good idea to check if your particular device is suffering from temporary bugs that make connecting to Wi-Fi difficult or impossible. Nest minis and HomePod minis have both encountered such errors in the past. In these cases, a fix is usually patched in before too long, so keep making sure that your device is updated. Sometimes operating system updates, like a new iOS patch, can also affect smart device performance.
Finally, there are a number of other router settings that may block smart devices. If you can’t find what’s wrong, call up support for that device and explain that you think your router is having trouble connecting.
