Why is my Google Wifi suddenly slow and dropping devices

Wifi
1

My Google Wifi mesh system was working fine, but over the last week it’s become very slow and randomly drops connected devices. I’ve rebooted the modem, main point, and all mesh points, changed DNS, and even did a factory reset, but the problem keeps coming back. I need help figuring out if this is a firmware issue, interference, or failing hardware, and what specific troubleshooting steps or settings I should try next to fix my Google Wifi performance and stability issues.

2

Sounds like something environmental changed, not your config, since you already rebooted everything and did a factory reset.

Run through these in order:

  1. Check your modem and ISP
    • Plug a laptop straight into the modem with ethernet.
    • Run speedtests at different times of day.
    • If speeds or latency jump around a lot, the problem sits with the ISP or modem.
    • If wired is solid and Wi‑Fi is trash, then focus on Google Wifi.

  2. Look for interference
    The last week part screams interference.
    • New gear in your home or your neighbor’s place, like:
    – Baby monitor
    – Smart TV or streaming box near a point
    – Microwave right next to a point
    – Cordless phones or older wireless cameras
    • Move each Google Wifi unit at least a few feet away from:
    – TVs
    – Big speakers
    – Microwaves
    – Metal racks or cabinets
    • If two points sit in a straight line with only one room between them, that is good. If there is concrete, brick, or a fireplace in the way, that is bad. Move the points even if it looks ugly.

  3. Change Wi‑Fi channel and 5 GHz preference
    Google Wifi tries to auto pick channels, but sometimes it picks trash.
    • In the Google Home app, run the network test to see if it flags congestion.
    • If you have the option, favor 5 GHz where possible, and reduce use of 2.4 GHz for heavy devices.
    • Disable “preferred activities” or QoS for a bit, those features get buggy.

  4. Check for DHCP or double NAT issues
    If your ISP modem runs its own Wi‑Fi and router:
    • Turn off Wi‑Fi on the ISP box.
    • Put it into bridge or passthrough mode if your ISP supports that.
    • Let Google Wifi handle DHCP so you avoid double NAT and weird drops.

  5. Look at the number of devices
    Google Wifi nodes start to choke when you throw 40+ devices on them, especially IoT junk.
    • In the app, look at how many clients connect to the main point.
    • Turn off or unplug stuff you do not need for one day and see if stability improves.
    • If a specific device repeatedly disconnects, forget the network on that device and reconnect.

  6. Heat and power issues
    • Check if any point feels hot to the touch. Overheating leads to random drops.
    • Move the points so they have airflow. No closed cabinets.
    • Try a different power brick on the main point, low voltage from a failing adapter causes random resets.

  7. Use a Wi‑Fi analyzer
    If you want data instead of guessing, run a Wi‑Fi survey.
    • On a laptop, use a tool like this Wi‑Fi analyzer for cleaner and faster home networks.
    • Walk around your place and check:
    – Signal strength at each room, aim for better than around -67 dBm.
    – Channel overlap with neighbors.
    • If you see heavy overlap on your channels, try moving the points or changing the environment to reduce blockage.

  8. Test one point only
    • Disconnect all mesh points, leave only the main Google Wifi connected to the modem.
    • Test a laptop or phone near the main unit for a few hours.
    • If it stays stable, add one mesh point back and test again.
    • If drops start when a specific point comes online, that point or its location is the problem.

  9. Firmware and age
    • Make sure your Google Wifi firmware is up to date in the Home app.
    • If your units are older than 4 to 5 years and run hot or slow, the hardware might be degrading. At that point, either reduce the number of mesh hops or start planning for replacement.

If I had to bet from what you wrote, I would suspect new interference near one of the points or double NAT from the ISP box. Start with wired speed tests, then a quick Wi‑Fi survey with a tool like NetSpot, then move points around based on signal maps.

3

Your timing actually lines up with what a lot of Google Wifi owners see when the system silently gets a firmware update, your ISP quietly changes something, or your spectrum gets crowded overnight. Since you’ve already done the “reboot everything, change DNS, factory reset” routine, I’d look at a few angles that complement what @boswandelaar suggested instead of just repeating it.

1. Check for a hidden bottleneck inside Google Wifi itself

Google Wifi sometimes chokes on its own features:

  • Turn off IPv6 in the Google Home app for a while. IPv6 bugs have absolutely caused random drops and slowness in the past.
  • Disable Guest Wi‑Fi temporarily. When that feature bugs out, you get weird client flapping between SSIDs or random disconnects.
  • Kill any VPN running on devices that stay on all the time (PC, NAS, router behind the router). A flaky VPN client can flood the network with retries and make it look like the Wi‑Fi is bad.

If the network suddenly becomes stable after turning IPv6/Guest off, you’ve probably hit a firmware quirk, not pure interference.

2. Look for a single “bad apple” device

This part often gets missed and I don’t fully agree with @boswandelaar’s emphasis on sheer device count. It’s not always “too many,” sometimes it’s one misbehaving client:

  • In the Google Home app, open each device and check for:
    • Constantly reconnecting
    • “Offline / online / offline” behavior
  • Typical culprits:
    • Old smart plugs or bulbs
    • Cheap Wi‑Fi cameras
    • Printers that randomly spam the network
    • A PC with a dying Wi‑Fi adapter

Try this test:

  • Turn off everything you easily can: smart plugs, bulbs, cameras, consoles.
  • Leave only 3–5 critical devices on (phone, laptop, maybe a TV).
  • If performance magically improves, turn things back on in small batches until the problem returns. It’s tedious, but I’ve found one bad camera wrecking the whole mesh more than once.

3. Double‑check the physical wiring and topology

Since it got worse suddenly, don’t rule out something boring like a failing cable or weird path:

  • Make sure:
    • Modem → main Google Wifi is on a good Ethernet cable (try another known‑good Cat5e/6).
    • No unmanaged switch or random device is sitting between modem and main point.
    • You’re not accidentally connecting a secondary Google Wifi LAN port back into the modem or to the wrong port on a switch. That creates a loop and horrible performance.

If you use wired backhaul:

  • Temporarily disconnect Ethernet from all secondary points and run them purely wireless.
  • If things get better, you may have a wiring loop or a bad switch.

4. Backhaul quality is often the hidden killer

This is the part many people underestimate: the link between your main point and the mesh points matters more than anything.

Your symptoms:

  • Suddenly slower speeds
  • Random client drops

Both match a backhaul that’s now unstable or very noisy.

Try this:

  1. Stand right next to the main Google Wifi.
  2. Run a speedtest multiple times.
  3. Then stand near a mesh point and repeat.

If the main point is solid but the mesh locations are trash, then:

  • Either the environment around a mesh node changed (new mirror, metal object, aquarium, appliance), or
  • The node is physically failing.

Temporarily:

  • Take one mesh point, move it to the same room as the main point, plug it in, let it mesh.
  • Test again.
  • If it still sucks while in ideal line of sight, that unit is suspect.

5. Power problems are sneakier than they look

I agree with the heat/power part, but I’ll push it further: the power brick or strip itself can be the villain.

  • Try plugging the main Google Wifi point directly into a different wall outlet, not the same power strip as your modem, TV, or PC.
  • If you have a spare 5V/3A (or spec‑matching) power adapter that fits, swap it on the main unit.
  • Watch for any micro‑reboots: LEDs briefly changing, devices falling off and coming back, logs in the app that show frequent “offline / online” for the router itself.

A failing power brick can produce random brownouts that look like “Wi‑Fi is crappy” when it’s actually micro power loss.

6. Take a more data‑driven look at your RF situation

Instead of guessing about interference, actually measure it. This is where NetSpot really helps and it’s far more practical than eyeballing bars on your phone:

  • Install NetSpot on a laptop.
  • Walk around your home and:
    • Map where your Google Wifi signal drops below about −67 dBm.
    • See which channels your neighbors are blasting on.
    • Check if your mesh points are in areas with heavy channel overlap.

You’ll get a clear picture of:

  • “This room is suddenly a deadzone”
  • “Neighbor’s AP is stomping on my 5 GHz channel now”

That beats just randomly moving units around. NetSpot is basically made for diagnosing this exact kind of “it used to be fine and now it sucks” Wi‑Fi issue.

If you want a direct starting point, you can grab it here:
boost your Wi‑Fi coverage and speed with a detailed home survey

Once you see the RF map, it’s usually obvious which point should move or which room needs a clearer backhaul line.

7. Quick experiment to isolate firmware vs environment

To separate “Google did something” from “my house changed”:

  1. Turn off all mesh points.
  2. Only keep:
    • Modem
    • Main Google Wifi point
  3. Put one laptop or phone on the network and use it heavily for at least an hour:
    • HD streaming
    • File downloads
    • Speedtests

If this is rock solid:

  • Add one mesh point back, test again.
  • If it breaks only after adding a certain point, your issue is either that unit or its location.
    If it’s bad even with only the main point, then:
  • More likely firmware, overheating, or ISP/modem issues.

8. Your actual question: “why did it suddenly go bad?”

From what you’ve described and what tends to happen with Google Wifi, the most likely causes are:

  • A firmware update that doesn’t play nice with IPv6, QoS, or a specific client device.
  • A new interferer in your or a neighbor’s home that wrecked the mesh backhaul path to at least one node.
  • A failing power brick or unit starting to overheat or brownout.
  • A single misbehaving device hammering the network.

Work the problem like this, in order:

  1. Main point only, no mesh, IPv6 off, Guest off, minimal clients.
  2. Confirm main point stability.
  3. Add mesh and devices back one at a time.
  4. Use NetSpot or similar to validate that your current mesh layout still makes sense.

Somewhere in that process you’re going to find either the one bad device, the one bad mesh point, or the one bad setting that changed when Google pushed an update in the background.

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