Hello @VR6Pete
The CCU will be making the decision about which band to connect to. Google/Nest WiFi "band steering" is really just an implementation of the 802.11k and 802.11v standards, which let...
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Hello @VR6Pete
The CCU will be making the decision about which band to connect to. Google/Nest WiFi "band steering" is really just an implementation of the 802.11k and 802.11v standards, which let it give clients some extra information they can use to make better decisions about which access point and which band to connect to. But, the decision is still theirs – Google/Nest WiFi can't force them to do anything. However – and this is an important "however" – fixed devices like the CCU almost never implement 802.11k and 802.11v. So, it's highly likely the CCU isn't getting those "band steering" hints in the first place. It will just do a signal quality scan on startup and pick the best option. It's possible it's connecting to the primary Google WiFi unit at 2.4GHz rather than the closer secondary access point. This is more likely if you have restarted the Google WiFi network without also restarting the CCU. I would first try just unplugging the CCU after the Google WiFi network is up and stable, then plug the CCU in and see if it does a better job of connecting at 5GHz to the nearby access point.
If that doesn't work, then the most likely explanation is interference. If you have a wireless subwoofer, a wireless surround sound system, or even just a set of wireless gaming headphones nearby, they are very likely to be using the same part of the 5GHz band that Google WiFi does, and using it in a way that makes sharing that spectrum almost impossible. That could cause the CCU to see very poor signal quality in the 5GHz band and fall back to 2.4GHz instead.
All of that said, the CCU has an Ethernet jack in the power supply. If there's a Google WiFi access point 1.5m away, just buy an Ethernet cable and connect the CCU directly into one of the Ethernet jacks on that Google WiFi access point. That way you won't be using WiFi at all (however, if that's a secondary access point, and you do have interference from nearby equipment, you'll still need to address that issue, since the Google WiFi secondary units talk to the primary using the 5GHz radio as well).
I hope some of this helps – I'm a product expert in the Google/Nest WiFi community, too.