The placement of your Google Nest Wifi router and points or Google Wifi points is vital for the reliability of your Wi-Fi network throughout your home. But knowing where to put them is an inexact science. The best location for your router and points depends on several different things like:
- Home size
- Home construction type
- Where you regularly use Wi-Fi
- Layout of your home
- Placement of your Wifi points
Place a new Wifi router or add-on point
Note: Nest Wifi Pro (Wi-Fi 6E) can't be combined with Nest Wifi routers or points or Google Wifi points (Wi-Fi 5) in a mesh network.
Where to set up Nest Wifi Pro routers
Place your Nest Wifi Pro router
Your router needs to be connected to a modem. This could limit where you place it, depending on where your modem is and the length of the Ethernet and power cables.
If possible, place your router off the ground and in plain view, like on a shelf or TV stand. If you can, try to choose a central location in your home that's at eye level.
Add a Nest Wifi Pro router as a point
Each Nest Wifi Pro device you add after the first is considered a mesh point. To provide expanded Wi-Fi coverage, the connection between each point needs to be strong. Make sure the router and points are evenly spread out, but not too far from each other.
- Start at your router.
- Now, think about where else you want a strong Wi-Fi signal in your home. Place your point about halfway in that direction, but no more than 2 rooms away from your router or another point. Choose an open area and avoid placing it near other objects that might physically block your signal.
- Find a nearby wall outlet. Make sure the power adapter is connected to your point, then plug the other end into the outlet. Follow the instructions for setting up your Nest Wifi Pro device.
- Once you've set up your network, you can perform a mesh test to verify that your connections are strong and readjust the placement of your points as needed. For more Wifi device placement tips, learn how to improve coverage for an existing network.
- Repeat these steps for any additional points.
Where to set up Nest Wifi devices
Nest Wifi devices include the Google Nest Wifi router and Nest Wifi points with Google Assistant speakers. You can also add Google Wifi points to your Nest Wifi network in the same way you add Nest Wifi points.
Place your Nest Wifi router
Your router needs to be connected to a modem. This may limit where you place it, depending on where your modem is and the length of the Ethernet and power cables.
If possible, place your router off the ground and in plain view, like on a shelf or TV stand. Try to choose a central location at eye level.
Add a Nest Wifi point or Google Wifi point
To provide Wi-Fi coverage to every corner of your home, the connection between each point needs to be strong. Make sure the Nest Wifi router and points are evenly spread out but not too far from each other.
- Start at your router.
- Now, think about where else you want a strong Wi-Fi signal in your home. Place your point about halfway in that direction, but no more than 2 rooms away from your router or another point.
- If you’re setting up a Nest Wifi point, this location will also be where you'll interact with the Google Assistant.
- Place your point in an open area and avoid placing it near other objects that will physically block your signal.
- Find a nearby wall outlet. Make sure the power adapter is connected to your point, then plug the other end into the outlet. If you’re setting up a Nest Wifi point, the point’s light will pulse to indicate that it’s powering on.
- Once you have set up your network, you can perform a mesh test to verify your connections are strong and readjust the placement of your points as needed. For more Wifi device placement tips, learn how to improve coverage for an existing network.
Repeat these steps for any additional points.
Where to set up Google Wifi devices
Google Wifi is made up of Google Wifi points. You can also add Google Nest Wifi points as additional points. The Nest Wifi point cannot be used as a primary point (router).
Place your primary Google Wifi point
Your primary Google Wifi point needs to be connected to a modem. This may limit where you place it, depending on where your modem is and the length of the Ethernet and power cables.
If possible, place your point off the ground and in plain view, like on a shelf or TV stand. Try to choose a central location at eye level.
Add more points
To provide Wi-Fi coverage to every corner of your home, the connection between each point needs to be strong. Make sure the points are evenly spread out but not too far from each other.
- Start at your primary Google Wifi point.
- Now think about where else you want a strong Wi-Fi signal in your home. Place your next point about halfway in that direction, but not more than two rooms away from the primary point.
- If you’re setting up a Nest Wifi point, this location will also be where you interact with the Google Assistant.
- Place your point in an open area and avoid placing it near other objects that will physically block your signal.
- Find a nearby wall outlet and plug in your point.
- Once you’ve set up your network, you can perform a mesh test to verify your connections are strong and adjust the placement of your points as needed. For more Wifi device placement tips, learn how to improve coverage for an existing network.
Repeat these steps for any additional points.
Once you’ve set up your devices, perform a mesh test to determine if one of your points has a poor connection. To improve the connection, try these recommendations:
Move the Wifi point within the same room
- Line of sight. Points perform better when they can see each other. Repositioning points to avoid obstructions like walls, doors, and aquariums can improve performance.
- Get off the ground. Placing devices somewhere off the ground, such as on a shelf, can greatly improve coverage.
Move the Wifi point to a different room
- Stay close. Points work best when they’re no more than two rooms away from each other. For example, if the far end of your house has weak Wi-Fi, don’t put a Wifi point in that exact spot. Instead, put it partway in that direction.
- Consider your overall mesh network. Points depend on each other to provide great coverage in your home. In order to fix a particular “weak” point, you may need to move a different point in order to fix it.
Check that you have the right number of Wifi points for your home
- If moving your points still leaves coverage issues in certain areas of your home, consider adding 1 or more additional points to provide more coverage. Learn how many Wifi points you need based on the size of your home.
- Nest Wifi and Google Wifi are designed to support up to a total of 5 routers and points per network and aren’t intended to be used across multiple dwellings. Using Nest Wifi or Google Wifi in this manner can result in slower Wi-Fi speeds and unreliable connections.
If you do move a point, perform another mesh test to make sure the new location gives you a good connection.
Wi-Fi network insights may show in your Google Home Activity for issues related to this article. When an issue with your network is identified by Nest Wifi or Google Wifi devices, you’ll have an insight card in your Google Home feed letting you know there could be a problem and suggesting a solution.
If you received a related network insight, check your insight message below for more information:
"Move [Wifi router or point] to improve signal"
You'll receive this alert if Nest Wifi or Google Wifi detects that a point that is connected to your network has poor Wi-Fi signal strength.
"Your Wifi point is connected, but it has had a poor average signal strength of less than -77dBm (decibel-milliwatts) for the last 24 hours."
Fix: Follow the steps above to improve your network coverage.