Cannot connect my new Surfboard SB8200 to my Google Nest router

Problem was solved, finally through Google tech support.  I think that was right.  Between Cox and Arris, connectivity to the internet was achieved, so they had delivered what they were supposed to do.  It was Google Nest that couldn’t achieve connectivity.  Took 2 hours on the phone last night and two more this morning with them to resolve the problem.  Solution was to unplug everything, then plug in modem, REVERSE the ethernet cable between Nest and modem, then turn Nest on.  Then and only then did Google Home setup work.  Seems like Voodoo, doesn’t it?  In the middle, Google Tech tried to get me to get Cox involved, which I resisted but eventually did, and they in turn tried to get me to talk to Arris, who wanted to charge me to get more involved.  So I called Google again and this time they had the right people around to help me with this “voodoo” solution.

Truly I don’t like Google Nest and would not buy it again.  Their setup process is an opaque nightmare that hides everything from the user substituting bouncing shapes for any information that might be useful to the user.  However, it seems like the industry have all adopted smartphone apps as the way to set up mesh routers.  I think it stinks.

One thing to keep in mind next time is that the SB8200 has 2x ethernet ports. but Cox only supports a single public ip address. What that means is that only a single device can be connected to the SB8200. Or it’ll cause issues. And if the laptop was working connected, it probably assigned the address to the laptop. Next time it happens, make sure nothing else is connected to the sb8200, power everything off for around 10 minutes. then power on the modem and give it a few minutes to fully boot, then power on the google device. And make sure nothing else is connected to the SB8200. the 2nd ethernet port is for wan port aggregation, if you’re one of the lucky few who’s isp’s support more than 1 public ip address (cox doesn’t), or if you’re running a business line that support more than 1 public ip address. 

So what I think you’re saying is that my “experiment” of plugging my laptop in to verify internet connectivity was itself responsible for making Google Nest unable to get Internet connectivity because I didn’t let it sit long enough between the “experimental” Ethernet connection and plugging the router instead.  That makes more sense than “voodoo” I suppose. 

Probably. We see it all the time on modems that have more than 1 ethernet port. and you used to have to hardwire into them for setup and then connect the router afterwards.