Nest thermostat: Should I assign an IP or Not?
Nest thermostat: Should I assign an IP or Not?
The question is: Does assigning the NEST thermostat a static IP using your router result in a more reliable wireless connection? For my first generation NEST running v4.2.3 of the NEST software, the answer is a definite no.
Background:
I am using my home router as a DHCP server in order to assign IP addresses to various devices behind it. This is the typical default behavior of most home routers. I like to tweak the setup, however and assign static IP addresses to various devices so that troubleshooting is simplified and IP address conflicts are avoided.
My NEST thermostat connectivity had been generally very good, until a couple of weeks ago when I found that the NEST thermostat could not connect reliably to my router. (I had updated my router firmware about that time as well). Rebooting the router did not solve the problem, so I decided to try deleting the static IP assignment for the NEST. This completely solved the wireless connection problem.
My conclusion is that my Gen 1 NEST does not like to have an IP assigned to it explicitly (a static IP). Instead , it seems to like to pick up an available IP from the pool on the fly. In fact, by checking the Thermostat Settings on my NEST home page, I see that the NEST IP address does change from time to time.
What changed with my previously stable setup and caused this problem? I don’t have a specific answer; I can only say that some interaction between the NEST thermostat and my updated router firmware caused a wireless connection issue which was resolved as I described above.
If you are having a NEST connectivity issue try testing both static and dynamic IP assignment to see which works best.
A good article on DHCP and static IP assignment can be found here: About.com Home Networking
You can check your router manual or help files for information applicable to your particular hardware.
Shaun M.
