time capsule not assigning IPv4 address to Nest Thermostat

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time capsule not assigning IPv4 address to Nest Thermostat

Hi,

Okay, so this issue has me stumped. I have a 4th generation 2TB Time Capsule with firmware version 7.6.4. I connected a Nest Thermostat in April. It worked flawlessly until sometime in the latter half of July (I was on vacation so I don't know the exact date). It has stopped connecting to the internet. It will find the wifi and connect, but the Base station does not assign it an IPv4 address so it will not connect "out" to the internet. All other devices in wifi work great (macbook pro, ipad, iphone, appleTV).

After a replacement Nest and over 4 hours of total phone time Nest has decided that the issue resides in my Time Capsule and that perhaps I should get a new one because it is, after all, over 2 years old. Seriously, this was their suggestion. I asked them "So in summation you recommend I get a new Time Capsule because mine is over 2 years old and that's the problem?" the answer was "Yes."

Well, I like my time capsule, but I'd like to make this thermostat work as well.

So I think the major problem is getting the Time Capsule to assign the Nest an IPv4 address. I tried reserving an address with the MAC of the Nest, but that didn't work either.

Nest support said I need ports 80, 443, and 4395 open, but I can't find a setting in my Time Capsule to ensure those are open. I added those ports with the IPv4 address I reserved for the Nest, no workie.

So I think the problem remains to be that my Time Capsule is not assigning an IPv4 address to the Nest,

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

James

Posted on Aug 18, 2014 9:21 AM

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Answer 1

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LaPastenague

Level 9

67,202 points

Aug 18, 2014 1:54 PM in response to Jh8man

There are loads of issues with this combo.. just do a search for nest in the wireless area and you find a fair number of hits.

eg. Nest thermostat compatible with Airport Extreme

nest thermostat

Nest thermostat - Airport Extreme

There are plenty more.

In a way what confused you was it working when you started.. for most people it just doesn't work period.

Reset the TC to factory and redo the setup. This time round do not give it typical apple names.. use names that are compatible with the rest of the world... which do depend on things being windows like. Windows has rules for naming.. must follow them.

So use short names no spaces and pure alphanumeric.

Not the names that the airport utility will suggest.

Eg TC base name. TCgen4

TC wireless name. TCwifi

Or even better whilst you are having issues.. name the two bands differently.. TC24ghz and TC5ghz

Now use no security as a first test.. and set the wireless channel to 11, 6, 1 in that order.

If the NEST works with 11 stick to it.

Do not hide the SSID.. that is very bad.

Setup security now.. try WPA2 Personal with a 10-20 character password. pure alphanumeric mix of case and numbers.

If the NEST now fails change the security to the lesser standard of WPA+WPA2

Having worked through this if you still are not able to connect which would surprise me... then the easiest way around the problem is to buy a cheap wireless router.. any of the N lite boxes from TP-Link, Edimax, Tenda etc. $30 or less in any computer store and use it plugged into the TC as an AP.

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Answer 2

Jh8man Author

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Aug 18, 2014 2:01 PM in response to LaPastenague

Thank you very much LaPastenague!
That all makes a lot of sense and I'll try and repost.
I was just very surprised that Nest support didn't mention any of these things and then told me to "get a new router" as the solution.

Thanks again!

James

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Answer 3

Jh8man Author

Level 1

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Aug 19, 2014 5:09 AM in response to LaPastenague

Hi,

well, I tried all your suggestions to no avail.

I will purchase a small router and connect it to the TC.

Very disappointed in NEST.

thank you for your help.

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Answer 4

Nov 8, 2015 5:13 PM in response to Jh8man

Okay I went nuts over this all day. I bought a new Time Capsule and wanted to do everything "right". I had very same issues and no matter what I did no joy.

Created same network name and same password. Reset my Nest more than 20x. Nada. So what is going on? I read this post about Time Capsule not assigning IPv4 and finally a bell went off.

I have Comcast as my provider and in my do everything "right ", I made a change on my Comcast router. I had changed the firewall for iPv4 from low to high.

Well once I logged back into my Comcast router and changed the firewall back to low I was able to access my Nest on all devices again.

-Not the Time Capsule

-Not the Nest

-Check the Comcast router firewall and set the IPV4 firewall to low

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Answer 5

Nov 22, 2015 2:52 PM in response to LaPastenague

This worked perfectly. Thanks!

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