Google Pixel 8 Wi-Fi issues on mesh network escalated for investigation (potential workarounds inside)

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Update 1 (December 8, 2023)

12:36 pm (IST): Multiple fresh reports suggest that the latest Pixel December Feature Drop update has finally fixed the Wi-Fi issues on mesh networks for those affected. More on that here.
Original story follows:

According to recent posts on the official Google support forum and Reddit, some Pixel 8 users have noticed that their Wi-Fi speed is significantly slower than expected when connected to a mesh network. Others have complained that their Wi-Fi connection keeps dropping or disconnecting, and they have to manually reconnect or restart their phone to restore it.

It’s worth pointing out that even the Pixel 7 series and Pixel 6 series suffered issues with Wi-Fi connectivity. But this time around, the problem is more apparent to Pixel 8 users on mesh networks. The main thread about the problem on the official support forum has 90 ‘I have the same question’ votes. So it’s clear that a number of users are affected with the problem.

Apart from slow speeds, some users also claim that they are noticing random drops in their Wi-Fi connectivity. Despite having the mesh setup and covering the entire area, the Pixel 8 drops connection in some spots. The same users confirm that other devices maintain their connection in the same spot.

Luckily, a product expert on the Google support forums confirmed that they have escalated the issue to the Google team for further investigation. They also suggest filing a feedback report to Google to speed up the time it takes Google to act on the problem.

According to the product expert, the issue was raised to Google’s team for investigation on October 21, however, there’s still no official word on the matter. The November update also doesn’t mention of any fix for connectivity or speed issues when connected to Wi-Fi on a mesh network. That said, there are a few fixes recommended by affected users that you can try out in the meantime.

Some users have shared workarounds that seem to fix the problem in their situations. Disabling mesh connectivity on the router is one such workaround. Another user claims that disabling the ‘randomized MAC Address’ feature fixed the problem for them. To do this, go to Settings > Network & Internet > Internet settings > Wireless Settings for the specific network you have a problem on > Disable randomized MAC Address option in the ‘Privacy’ section. Disabling ‘Fast roaming’ is another potential workaround that helped at least a couple of Redditors fix the problem.

You can also try some basic troubleshooting steps like the following:

• Updating your Pixel 8 to the latest software version.
• Checking the Wi-Fi settings to make sure that the network frequency band is set to automatic, Wi-Fi scanning is turned on, and the private DNS is set to off.
• Restarting your device and the mesh network devices, then reconnecting to the Wi-Fi network.
• Forgetting or deleting saved the Wi-Fi network on your device and adding it again.
• Changing the Wi-Fi channel on the mesh network devices, or switching to a different mesh network device if possible.
• Performing a complete network reset.

However, these workarounds may not work for everyone, and some users have reported that they still face the same Wi-Fi issues even after trying them. If none of the workarounds provided above help you fix the problem, then you may have to wait for Google to address the issue. Stay tuned to PiunikaWeb to know when a proper fix for the Wi-Fi issues on the Pixel 8 series goes live.