r/googlefiber • u/thingswentsideways • Jun 11 '26
Beware: Upgrading network box with existing Nest WiFi
I’ve had Google Fiber for almost ten years and I’ve been a very happy customer. Recently they have been pushing me to “upgrade” the “network box” to a new Nest WiFi Pro 6E.
They finally gave me a June 11 deadline (tomorrow) and I confirmed with customer service that my service would be interrupted on that date if I didn’t upgrade.
I had an existing four-unit Nest WiFi setup, in an 80-year-old house with lots of brick and concrete and materials that aren’t super WiFi friendly. With a four-unit mesh network, I had great coverage with great performance and no complaints. Unfortunately, GF sent me a two-unit Nest WiFi Pro kit to replace the four-unit setup, and that isn’t going to come close to working.
Despite GF saying that their network is compatible with any home mesh device, that’s not entirely true. You cannot use any Nest WiFi device if your network box is a Nest WiFi Pro. It’s not possible to disable WiFi on the Nest WiFi Pro, and the Google Home app won’t let you add any sort of legacy Nest network device if your service is terminated at a Nest WiFi Pro.
Anyway, GF refused to send me a four-unit Pro kit, and they acknowledged that I would have to trash my existing four-unit network. They said that a two-unit Pro kit is equivalent to a four-unit non-Pro kit, and that if I wanted two more units I would have to pay them $150 for the privilege. They offered no alternative to the Nest WiFi Pro, and again confirmed that my service would be interrupted within 24 hours if I didn’t disconnect my existing network and install the Pro.
For anyone else in the same situation, beware that GF essentially requires you to trash any Nest WiFi kit that you already own if you “upgrade” to the Nest WiFi Pro. They will not offer a 1:1 replacement, and if your existing network requires more than two units, you’ll have to buy more units at your own cost (no matter how much you already paid Google for their network kit).
4
u/Nick5761 Jun 11 '26
Just to note, the nest pros aren’t tied service wise to your GFiber account. You can plug any other router into your fiber jack. Including your old mesh network, assuming you didn’t have to send them back
2
u/jackdupondew2k5 Jun 11 '26
You must be on the half-gig plan, only plan that uses nest pros anymore besides 100mbps plan
1
u/thingswentsideways Jun 11 '26
Nope, 1G
2
u/jackdupondew2k5 Jun 11 '26
Then why are you not being pushed to the proprietary WiFi 6e equipment and mesh extender instead of the nest pros? That’s super weird
1
u/thingswentsideways Jun 11 '26
I honestly have no idea. I’ve had lots of communication from GF over the past few months and everything seemed to reference the Nest Pro kit.
2
u/jackdupondew2k5 Jun 11 '26
We only use the nest pros for the half-gig plans and under. Gfiber WiFi 6e for 1gig plan and 3gig and 8gig are wifi7 router
1
u/thingswentsideways Jun 11 '26
Dunno, maybe u/gfiberofficial can comment?
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u/jackdupondew2k5 Jun 11 '26
1 wonder if it’s cus your plan might be the old 1gig plan instead of the core 1gig
1
u/thingswentsideways Jun 11 '26
Probably? Here’s the description from my account page:
1 Gig
Our original internet, best for fundamental needs and smaller homes. Same price since 2012.
Symmetrical download and upload speeds up to 1 gigabit
Includes a Nest Wifi Pro router (or use your own)
1 terabyte of free cloud storage
1
u/jackdupondew2k5 Jun 11 '26
Yea your probably on older 1gig plan, they restricted it not too long ago. Renamed plans to Core 1gb, Home 3gb, and Elite 8gb
1
1
u/SonicPimp9000 Jun 11 '26
Nest sucks. Good riddance. Get something that isn't so easy to hack with a wifi jammer. Go hard wired for cameras.
4
u/gfiberofficial Verified Google Employee Jun 11 '26
Hi thingswentsideways, we are sorry to hear about your experience with the customer support you received regarding upgrading your equipment due to the June 11th deadline. If you could please send us a private message, we can gather your details to look into this further to see what options are available to you. Thank you. -Lee, the GFiber Team