Google WiFi Crashes on Fiber Internet (Solution)

[AJ_Winslow]

The Issue:

Google WiFi stalls and reboots while modifying settings through APP. Upon restart, Google WiFi Cloud Services becomes unresponsive (disabled) and Google WiFi requires factory reset in order to change any setting.

I am posting this encase anyone else is having trouble and can not figure out why. So the issue is on the Google WiFi mesh system when used as the primary, internet facing, router on a fiber network (i.e. FiOS) that uses VLAN or DDNS. My original setup was as follows:

 

FiOS ONT (Optical Network Terminal) --> Google WiFi --> FiOS Router --> All Other Wired Devices
 

As listed above, the Google WiFi is directly connected to the ONT and thus received the WAN IP. I then connected the FiOS router to the Google WiFi and disabled the DHCP & DNS server so all DHCP and DNS requests would be sent through to the Google WiFi. All wired devices are connected to the FiOS router which is essentially being used as a managed switch.

According to Google, Google WiFi does not support VLAN or DDNS and thus Google WiFi Cloud Services will crash and become unresponsive through the mobile app. This will also cause the diagnostic report function to fail.

The Solution:

The solution to this issue is simple enough, but does require another piece of hardware. Simply place a network switch in between the ONT and the Google WiFi. The setup should be as follows:

 

FiOS ONT --> Network Switch --> Google WiFi --> FiOS Router --> All Other Wired Devices

 

By placing the switch before the router the switch removes the 4 bits added onto the packets from the VLAN and thus allows Google WiFi to operate properly.

My Rant:

This is extremely annoying for a number of reasons. First, I bought the Google WiFi router for the ability to manage every device on my network through a convenient app. If I placed the FiOS router before the Google router I would either have to configure it to act as a switch, which means I would loose MOCA connections such as my cable boxes, or set it up as a router and thus loose the ability to manage any device on the FiOS router from the Google WiFi app. Next, by using a network switch before the Google Wifi I remove any VLAN issues but I now have a $25 switch that I am unable to use three of the ports on because it is before the primary router. What is the point of buying the Google WiFi mesh setup if it requires other hardware to properly operate on a fiber network? Finally, this is a small issue but it managed to make my night very long, Google WiFi does NOT allow you to release the DHCP Lease which means, on FiOS at least, I have to call and wait 25 minutes on hold, hang up from frustration, then wait TWO HOURS before the ONT DHCP Lease expires to be able to test that the Google WiFi works behind switch (before going out and buying one).

The Conclusion:

Google WiFi is an easy to setup and use mesh network that I would definitely recommend to anyone. By simply adding a network switch before the Google WiFi this issue can be resolved. Hopefully, Google will soon support VLAN and DDNS so this issue will go away =]

[BubblyCharizard]

8 minutes ago, AJ Winslow said:

Google WiFi does NOT allow you to release the DHCP Lease

This is not a google issue its with the way the ISP's manage their IP pools, usually if you bridge the FIOS router, it will still control the vlan that the IPTV boxes are on, and only pass through the WAN address for your regular internet connection

[AJ_Winslow]

4 minutes ago, BubblyCharizard said:

This is not a google issue its with the way the ISP's manage their IP pools, usually if you bridge the FIOS router, it will still control the vlan that the IPTV boxes are on, and only pass through the WAN address for your regular internet connection

 

The boxes are not on the VLAN, they get their IP from the local DHCP server. Every other router that I own has the ability to release the DHCP Lease. I feel this is a simple function that could be added down the road. As I stated not a huge issue but a slightly annoying one none the less =P

EDIT: The IPTV might be apart of the VLAN, I have not done any research into how this works. The boxes do however connect to my local DHCP Server to get an IP so they can access their guide information.

[BubblyCharizard]

1 minute ago, AJ Winslow said:

The boxes are not on the VLAN, they get their IP from the local DHCP server. Every other router that I own has the ability to release the DHCP Lease. I feel this is a simple function that could be added down the road. As I stated not a huge issue but a slightly annoying one none the less =P

releasing it from the end user level doesn't release it from the ISPs end.....it still looks for your old ONT+MAC address combination when trying to assign a lease.....some cable providers offer multiple IP's (Both Rogers and Shaw here allow up to 2 for this purpose) to allow some time for the lease to expire

[AJ_Winslow]

5 minutes ago, BubblyCharizard said:

releasing it from the end user level doesn't release it from the ISPs end.....it still looks for your old ONT+MAC address combination when trying to assign a lease.....some cable providers offer multiple IP's (Both Rogers and Shaw here allow up to 2 for this purpose) to allow some time for the lease to expire

 

It does on FiOS as I have done it multiple times when testing out my ASUS router and having to switch back and forth between the ASUS and FiOS router. Attached is a photo from the FiOS router that shows the ability to Renew. When the router has a WAN IP it says Release. Once clicked it releases the mac address from my ISP and I can immediately connect another router and obtain an IP without having to call my ISP to release it.