Google Nest Wifi is a popular solution to wireless dead zones in the modern smart home. They are easy to set up, and you don't need to lay any Ethernet cables because Google Nest Wifi is capable of meshing. When using multiple hubs, your Google Nest Wifi system will automatically switch between access points depending on signal strength. The second generation of Google Nest Wifi can also act as a smart speaker for the Google Assistant.
Control your Google Nest Wifi hubs with Home Assistant
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Unofficial beats official
While there is an official Google Nest Wifiintegration with Home Assistant, it doesn't provide you with useful data, in my opinion. Using it you can monitor the network status, up-time, the current IP address, and the firmware version. But don't worry, there is an unofficial Google Nest Wifi integration with Home Assistant, and it is much better!
I am well aware that using a mesh is suboptimal when setting up a home network. If possible, you should always use a wired connection for access points (you can also use a wired connection for the Google Nest Wifi hubs). But keep in mind that perhaps not everyone can route an Ethernet cable to certain places, and some people just like the ease of use that system like Google Nest Wifi provide.
How the Google Nest Wifi Home Assistant Integration integration works
This Google Wifi Home Assistant Integration will give you a number of sensors and switches, making it much more useful than the official integration. With it, you can even use your Google Nest Wifi system as a device tracker. If you only use Google Nest Wifi in your home, that is a big deal. Let me run you through everything this integration will provide you with.
A binary_sensor will show what the current connection status of your Google Nest Wifi hub is. It will also provide you with a custom service (googlewifi.reset), allowing you to reset either a single Google Nest Wifi hub or the whole system.
The device_tracker platform will let you know when tracked devices (most commonly phones are used for this) are either home or away. You can track and see the status of all the devices which are registered in your Google Nest Wifi network. Because Google Nest Wifi retains device data for an extended period, there will be many duplicate devices, which are reported as being away, present in your logs. As there is no way of resolving this issue, it's something you will have to live with.
A switch allows you to turn the internet on and off for any device connected to your Google Nest Wifi system. This might come in handy if you want your kids to finally stop playing Fortnight. There are also two services added, which allow you to prioritize any device connected to your system.
Finally, you will be provided with a light in Home Assistant that allows you to turn the lights of your Google Nest Wifi hubs on and off and adjust the brightness of it.
How to install the Google Nest Wifi Home Assistant Integration
As usual, this integration is best installed using the Home Assistant Community Store (HACS). The installation is much easier when using HACS and you will be able to install updates from the Home Assistant dashboard.
You will have to add a custom repository pointed to https://github.com/djtimca/hagooglewifi and the Google Wifi Home Assistant Integration should appear under Integrations. Once installed, you will have to restart your Home Assistant instance, and you will be ready to continue in setting the integration up.
You can then find out what your Google Refresh Token is using this Chrome extension. Once you have that done, you can return to Home Assistant, and go to the configuration and click on Integrations. From there, click on the big + button and add the Google Wifi integration. You will be prompted to enter your Google Refresh Token and once you have that done, the integration is complete.