Is my extender breaking my Google Nest Hub (2nd gen)?

The short answer

Camera feeds and casting break across a split network. Cheap extenders make a second network. Once your phone and the gadget end up on different halves of it, they can no longer find each other.

What's happening underneath

Needs local discovery traffic (mDNS/Bonjour) so your phone can find it. Routers that filter this make the speaker vanish from the app while it is still online. An extender that makes its own network name puts your phone and the gadget on two different networks.

Source: Manufacturer documentation

Try these, in this order

• • Put it in range of a 5 GHz signal — video needs more than a voice answer does.
• • Keep the phone and the hub on the same Wi-Fi name.
• • Turn off client isolation on the router so it can see your cameras.
• • Check the signal where the gadget actually lives, not where you're standing.
• • Move the router off the floor and out of any cupboard before buying anything.
• • Put the gadget and your phone on the same Wi-Fi name.
• • Restart the gadget before the router — it is quicker and it fixes more.

Setting it up again properly

• • Stand next to your router while you set it up, then move the gadget to where it lives.
• • Put your phone on the 2.4 GHz network name for the setup, or use one name for both bands so the phone can follow.
• • If your router splits bands into two names, turn the 5 GHz one off for five minutes rather than fighting it.
• • Turn mobile data off on your phone during setup — some apps quietly use it and never find the gadget.

When it's worth spending money

A mesh box in the same room, if the screen is the thing you actually use.