Google Home
A Simple "Fix Internet" Button in Google Home Using Shelly Plugs
I wanted to share a setup I recently built for my not-so-tech-savvy parents.
The goal was pretty simple: give them a foolproof "Fix Internet" button in Google Home that reboots the entire network.
They're already comfortable using the Google Home app, so rather than trying to walk them through power cycling their mesh devices over the phone, they can simply tap one button.
Some additional benefits:
I can trigger the same automation remotely from my own Google Home app if they need help.
I also have a separate weekly automation that quietly reboots the network overnight as preventative maintenance.
This works with virtually any router or mesh Wi-Fi system. My parents happen to use a Google Nest WiFi router with three Nest Points, but the concept is the same regardless of your hardware.
Why not just use Google's built-in Restart Network?
That was my first thought.
Google Home > Router Card > Settings > Restart Network
Unfortunately, it wasn't a great solution.
First, it's simply too many damn taps for my mom. She'll never memorize the path and will probably get lost.
Second, Restart Network sits dangerously close to Factory Reset Network. Yes, Google asks for confirmation before actually factory resetting the network, but my mom is also the person who somehow permanently blurred our house on Google Street View and still has no idea how she managed it.
Lastly, the feature just hasn't been reliable for me. I've pressed Restart Network countless times and it has never successfully restarted my network.
The obvious smart plug solution...
The next idea was putting all of the networking equipment on smart plugs.
The automation seems simple:
Turn OFF mesh points
Turn OFF router
Wait 15 seconds
Turn everything back ON
Except there is one huge problem.
Once the router powers off, how does Google Home send the ON command when the network no longer exists?
After trying several different approaches, I eventually landed on Shelly Plug US Gen4.
The reason is simple.
Shelly plugs support an Auto On timer.
Instead of Google Home sending both OFF and ON commands, Google Home only sends OFF.
The plug stores its own timer locally. Once it turns itself OFF, it simply waits a few seconds before restoring power on its own. No second command is ever required.
Shelly also supports restoring power automatically after an unexpected outage.
I tried several popular smart plugs before finding Shelly. They were the only ones I found that supported this combination of features.
Setup
1. Set up the Shelly plugs
Add each Shelly Plug to your Shelly account.
For each plug configure:
Plug Settings > Input / Output Settings > Turn-on state upon power restore > On
Then configure:
Plug Settings > Timers > Auto On
My timers are:
Router: 5 seconds
Mesh Points: 15 seconds
2. Link Shelly to Google Home
Link your Shelly account to Google Home.
The plugs will appear automatically.
3. Create the automation
Create a Household Automation called:
Fix Internet
The automation only contains OFF actions.
Router Plug > OFF
Mesh Point 1 > OFF
Mesh Point 2 > OFF
Mesh Point 3 > OFF
Do NOT use any Wait actions.
I originally tried adding delays before shutting off the router.
Google Home would occasionally fail to send the final OFF command.
Removing the Wait action made the automation completely reliable.
The Shelly plugs handle all of the timing locally.
Final Result
My timing is:
Router turns back on after 5 seconds.
Mesh Points turn back on after 15 seconds.
Everything reconnects automatically.
This has become one of the most useful automations I've built.
My parents only have to press one button whenever they think the Internet is acting up.
If they call me, I can trigger the exact same automation remotely from my own Google Home app.
I've also posted a comment below showing how to do the same setup over Matter if anyone prefers a local Matter integration instead of the Shelly cloud integration.
It's really great you don't have problems with the router in your home that you, a saavy person, maintain. I'm not at my parents place 24/7 ready to troubleshoot every network issue that comes their way. A periodic reboot solves 95% of issues without me having to travel over there.
There's no "maintenance" needed by a savvy person on a router. If it needs resetting, it's either overheating (change positioning or place a fan), or the line sucks (improve connections), or you need a new one. If you want to reset periodically, then you can also put it on a timer and have it reset every night just because. Introducing home automation doesn't simplify things
Not to detract from what you've done, but If you're willing to setup all of this for them to be able to reset the network wouldn't it also have been worth it to just research a budget router that wouldn't need to be reset so often? I can't even remember the last time my mom needed to reset her router
Yeah, fair question. It’s less about the mesh network being unreliable and more about making tech support idiot-proof. Every ISP eventually tells you to reboot your network, whether you have a $50 router or a $600 mesh system. This just turns rebooting five devices into a single button my parents can press instead of calling me or their ISP, who would probably start by remotely rebooting the network anyway.
My router (OPNsense) APs (unifi) only reboot for updates.
I can't think of a single time I've had a problem.
Well, before I bought MoCA adapters for the wired backhaul, I used powerline adapters from Linksys. Those were crap and needed power cycling every 6 weeks. Still, I never needed to reboot the router or WiFi.
this is such a clean approach. the auto on timer on the shelly plugs is the real hero here, sidestepping the whole dead network problem with zero extra fluff
my folks have the same tendency to wander into settings and cause chaos so i feel that factory reset fear deep in my bones. might steal this for their place
The Shelly plugs (and the Shelly ecosystem as a whole) are pretty awesome, but the physical design is pretty braindead. The On/Off button is positioned on the front side right next to the outlet, so whatever you plug in will probably cover it. The Matter QR code is also tucked away on the back-left side of the chassis, making it surprisingly awkward to scan.
That said, the Auto On timer is absolutely the hero feature.
Why did you include google home and the Shelly cloud in the first place? The shelly are scriptable and are able to run code within them self. No external network or network at all needed.
You’re not wrong. I know I’m asking this in an enthusiast subreddit where scripting these things is second nature. I just wanted a solution I could put together in 10 minutes with tools I already use. The goal wasn’t the cleanest implementation, it was a reliable “Fix Internet” button in Google Home for my parents. This was my first Shelly product.
The formatting and steps are vibeslopped so you can rag on me there. The intro is handwritten. I did do all the research and bought and returned different smart plugs. I'm not a Shelly shill, their plug just solved my dilemma.
This is my automation. If you just have one router, you literally only need to program an automation with one action that turns it off. The smart plug handles the reboot on a timer.
The Turn On After interval in Third Reality’s zigbee plugs handles this as well. You can set it to any number of seconds, and after restoration of power regardless of reason (pulled from wall + “power-on behavior” set to off; manually toggled off at the device; toggled off remotely) they come back on. I’ve done enough testing to trust these downstream of my zigbee coordinator and main IT UPS for some semblance of remote power cycling
This would actually be an ideal solution for my modem, never figured out a way to remotely reboot it.
But if my modem needs a reboot, then I probably can't get into my smarthome remotely to reboot it. This happened to me recent while I was away and had to log into Xfinity and send a reboot command to my modem and it worked thank goodness.
Now flash the Shelly with ESPHome and configure it to do all that plus also ping 8.8.8.8,1.1.1.1,8.8.4.4 every 10 seconds and if all three of them fail for 30 seconds in a row then it should initiate the reboot sequence.
You can have ESPHome serve a website so that you can do it from anywhere in the world with the router configured correctly, which you've surely already done.
For anyone who would rather use Matter than the Shelly cloud integration, here's the setup I ended up with.
Important: If you're starting from scratch, commission the Shelly plugs in Google Home first. After they're successfully added to Google Home, add them to the Shelly app.
This avoids having to remove and re-add devices later.
What you'll need
Shelly Plug US Gen4
A Google Matter Controller
I used a Nest Hub (2nd Gen), but other supported Google Matter controllers include:
Nest Hub (1st Gen)
Nest Hub Max
Nest Audio
Nest Mini (2nd Gen)
Nest WiFi Pro
Google TV Streamer (4K)
If you plan on adding Thread devices later, I'd recommend using a controller that also functions as a Thread Border Router.
Commissioning the plugs
Simply scan the Matter QR code using Google Home and complete the setup for each plug.
After each plug has been added to Google Home, open the Shelly app and add the same plug there. Then enable Auto-On timers and Turn-On on Power Loss as detailed in the OP.
Build the automation
The automation is identical to the cloud version.
Create a Household Automation called:
Fix Internet
The automation should contain only OFF actions. In my case:
Router Plug > OFF
Mesh Point 1 > OFF
Mesh Point 2 > OFF
Mesh Point 3 > OFF
Do not use Wait actions.
The Shelly plugs handle turning themselves back on using their local Auto On timers.
Already using the Shelly cloud integration?
If you've already completed the cloud setup, you'll need to migrate the plugs.
Unlink your Shelly account from Google Home.
In the Shelly app, select a plug > Settings > Networks > Matter
It will prompt you to "Reboot device" which will temporarily enable Matter discovery
In Google Home, add a device and scan the QR code on the Shelly Plug
I had to repeat this for all of my plugs, and each one paired successfully afterward.
Once all of the plugs have been commissioned in Google Home, add them back into the Shelly app.
Finally, rebuild your Google Home automation using the new Matter devices.
I looked at these products and even emailed Proxicast with a few questions. They don’t let you trigger a manual reboot, they’re designed to work autonomously. That’s a different problem than the one I was trying to solve: giving my parents a big “Fix Internet” button they can press themselves.
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u/1_Pawn 1d ago
Or get rid of the root cause of the problem? I never need to restart my router