help: "plug and play" switch with google mesh!

[HotJambalaya]

Right, I have a hyperoptic fibre router, and am using google mesh. So far so simple. The problem is the google mesh only has 1 ethernet port so the majority of my things that needed wiring were in the router, whereas half the time i was on the mesh system with my phone, so to operate things that were on the router I'd have to keep changing network.

So I bought this switch:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PWHGQSS/ref...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07DGN7LRP/ref...


In the meantime, they've sent me a new router, so I figure, I'd just unplug everything from the back of my old router, stick it in the switch, plug the switch into the google mesh system, and the mesh system into the new router, and I'd be off and running.

Well that didnt seem to work, weirdly my phone and computer could find the internet through google mesh, but they couldnt see the other devices, and the other devices, like the tv, couldnt access the internet.

In an unusual moment of clarity I took the router out, and plugged google mesh straight into the wall socket and it worked magnificently. I'm clearly a genius, everything could see everything, everything worked great. Then I realised that my land line is in fact a voip line, and is plugged directly into the router, and now since I'm not actually using it for anything, it doesnt work.

I tried using the mesh's one socket to plug into the router, but that didnt do anything.

So, what are my options, plans?

Sorry for the wall of text, but I dont have the vocabulary to describe this concisely!

[Captain_Morgan]

In general it should go.

Fibre Wall box (ont) > isp fw/router/access point box (wan port)

Then connect

isp fw/router/access point box switch port > netgear switch
isp fw/router/access point box switch port > google mesh

Note you should disable the WiFi on the isp fw/router/access point box

Hard to give more specific advise without knowing the make/model of the isp fw/router/access point box & the exact type of google mesh devices as they’ve made a few.

[Gren]

I have a similar setup which has been working fine for a few years now.

Virgin hub (in modem mode) > Google Nest router > Netgear unmanaged switch

Switch allows me to hardwire a PC, NAS drive, Hive hub and burglar alarm

[xeny]

HotJambalaya said:

So, what are my options, plans?

If you need mesh and wired connections, buy a mesh product where one of the nodes has two ethernet ports, one to go to the router, one to go to the switch.

According to https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/62409... google mesh doesn't appear to support mesh and bridge mode which otherwise would have been an option.

[Paulduckworth]

I have a similar setup to you…

Sky router with VOIP socket, Google Nest Wi-Fi mesh, net gear 8port Switch. I also have a completely separate access point for smart sockets that seem to hate working out how to decide between 2.4/5 ghz.

Everything works ok. It didn’t when I had some things in the router and some in the switch - down to two routers/firewalls.

I think the Google mesh used to be in a DMZ but not sure if it is now. Will try and remember to check how it’s all configured and come back.

[paulrockliffe]

I use Google WiFi and it does what you want perfectly. I have a Broadband modem only, which feeds the master Google puck-thingy, the spare port on that goes to a gigabit switch, which then sends stuff everywhere. I have 3 other pucks plugged into that switch dotted around and then they all feed smaller gigabit switches too.

The rules you have to stick to are everything must be downstream of the master Google puck-thingy and each puck-thingy has to be setup using WiFi only before it gets plugged into a switch.

So I think you need to put your router into modem-only mode so that your master Google can deal with IP address allocation and possibly reset your slave Googles so they're on the mesh network before they're forced to find the master through whatever array of switches you have setup.

I had loads of problems with this because when I set it up the instructions didn't really make a great distinction between ethernet and wireless connection.