Can't locate Google Home on same AP

BenHead

Hi, I've recently set up two WBE660S access points on my home network, which has multiple Google Home devices. The Home app on my phone is unable to find devices connected to the same AP as the phone, but is able to find devices connected to the other AP.

My understanding is that Google Home uses broadcast or multicast packets to locate devices, so I'm guessing that these packets aren't finding their way to other clients on the same AP, but are being propagated through the wired LAN to devices on the other AP.

Layer 2 isolation and Intra-BSS traffic blocking are both disabled. I'm using Nebula to manage the devices. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Zyxel_Judy

Hi @BenHead ,

Thank you for providing detailed information. We have confirmed the issue where devices connected to the same 5GHz SSID and AP are unable to ping each other.

The issue you're experiencing will be addressed in the upcoming firmware update. Please stay tuned for further announcements regarding enhancements and fixes.

Zyxel_Judy

Hi @BenHead ,

The Home app on my phone is unable to find devices connected to the same AP as the phone, but is able to find devices connected to the other AP.

Could you perform a cross-test by connecting the device, which connect to the same AP as the phone with the Google Home app and aren't detectable, to another AP. After that, you can check if that device can be detectable by Google Home app. This will help us confirm whether the Google Home app can detect these devices by AP.

We have noticed that some Google devices can be difficult to detect with the Google Home app, as outlined in this section: https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/7212008?hl=en

If you've followed the above recommendation and the issue persists, please enable Zyxel support.

Additionally, please provide us with the name of your Nebula organization/site, the MAC address of the device with the Google Home app installed, and the MAC address of the device that cannot be detected by the Google Home app here or via the private message by clinking to my account > Message.

BenHead

Yes, the Home app can always find devices on the other AP, but not on the same AP as the phone, even after the phone roams between APs. That is, if the phone is connected to AP1, it can find devices connected to AP2 (but not AP1). If it roams to AP2, it can then find devices connected to AP1 (but not AP2).

With more testing, I've found that it's actually narrower than that. It can find devices connected to the same AP if they're on a different SSID.

Furthermore, it's only an issue with device discovery. If the phone is on AP1, and I connect to and begin using a device on AP2, then the phone roams to AP2, it continues to work. My understanding is that device discovery relies on mDNS (multicast) but subsequent ongoing connections are unicast.

I've enabled support in Nebula. My organization name is "Turner family" and my site name is "home". The phone's MAC address is 3C:01:EF:A9:DF:D2. Two device MAC addresses are 1C:F2:9A:4B:1E:6A and D8:8C:79:34:63:B6.

Zyxel_Judy

Hi @BenHead ,

We attempted to replicate your situation using the same firmware version and access point (AP) model. We were able to find and manage the Google devices (Chromecast and TV) using the Google Home app when they were connected to the same SSID and AP.

Additionally, there were no abnormal event logs associated with the MAC addresses you provided.

it's only an issue with device discovery.

If the issue reoccurs, please take a screenshot of the Google Home app on your phone showing that the device could not be found. Also, keep the connection status and note the device's MAC address and the time of the incident to share with us. This information will assist us in further investigating the issue.

BenHead

Sure. Detailed repro and screenshots….

Using my phone (named "Xperia 1iii" in Nebula, MAC 3C:01:EF:A9:DF:D2), which is connected to access point "office AP" (F4:4D:5C:7C:AF:A0) on SSID "Anime5" on the 5GHz band, I open the Google Home app.

I click on Devices, then select device Kitchen display. This is a Google label, but the corresponding device in Nebula is "Google Home Hub kitchen" (D8:8C:79:34:63:B6). It's connected to the same AP, same SSID, same band.

The first thing I see is this: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1stxfyFtnNbkunbRIDMqMufFIBdUN3igj/view?usp=sharing If it connected successfully, it would instead show the current volume and what image is on the display.

If I click the gear in the top right I see this message: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1spfsWImrRTm-Ag4Omd4ctcaQA1TueBY_/view?usp=sharing The message at the top with the blue warning icon isn't there when it's working correctly.

Or, if I simply leave it at the first "0% Not playing" screen for 5-10 seconds, it sometimes changes to this: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1srRqHp4VoLfqcoUpZ5prS9UEORW0wG2T/view?usp=sharing Or I can reliably get that error by attempting to cast my screen to the device.

I did the above testing (many discovery attempts) between 9:35am and 10:05am EDT on 3/27/2024, if you want to investigate logs at that time.

Zyxel_Judy

Hi @BenHead ,

Thank you for providing detailed information. We have confirmed the issue where devices connected to the same 5GHz SSID and AP are unable to ping each other.

The issue you're experiencing will be addressed in the upcoming firmware update. Please stay tuned for further announcements regarding enhancements and fixes.