B01MAW2294

Bought a new home and setup internet service. Didn’t have a router so was looking to purchase one. Google WiFi works great. I have 100 Mbps service from my ISP. On WiFi using the 5 Ghz band, which Google WiFi chooses automatically (it chooses between 2.4 Ghz or 5 Ghz band, whichever signal is better, providing you have BOTH bands available), I get full speed (speedtest.net shows 110 Mbps down, 6 mbps up) as if I was on a wired connection. I was surprised, because I thought I would get around 60-70 Mbps, not the full speed offered. I thought I would have to get a crazy expensive gaming router with 20 antennas that looks like Sauron’s helmet from Lord of the Rings to get those speeds, but Google WiFi does that for $170 less and it has cool sci-fi-ish looks.

Tips and advice:
1. To get full WiFi speed, make sure your device (PC, laptop, tablet, phone, etc.) has both 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz bands. If you don’t you’ll be stuck at around 30 Mbps to 70 Mbps.
2. A SINGLE Google WiFi covers 1500 ft. Make sure you’re within that range, or get more to create a mesh network so you fall within WiFi range. My home was 1300 ft. so I only needed one.
3. The Google WiFi router only has two ethernet ports, one of which is used to connect to the modem. If you need more wired ports, buy an ethernet switch and connect the router to the switch.
4. When WiFi first connects, it will likely connect you to the 2.4 Ghz band. Don’t freak out. If you have a 5 Ghz band and the signal is good, it will connect you within 24 hours. It connected me to 2.4 Ghz band the first time I connected for a long while, but the next day when I started my PC again, it was now using the 5 Ghz band.

I was in the same situation as others who have reviewed this product. We have a 2 story home and a finished basement. Prior to googles mesh system I had to have two routers to get a “decent” signal throughout my home. I tried extenders but they were worthless. I had to have several wireless networks setup. So you would have to switch networks if you wanted a decent signal in the basement. Once I hooked up this system I had a strong signal from top to bottom of my house. You will notice the difference in internet speeds in my picture once I switched over to google wifi (June 14).

People have complained about loss of flexibity and tweaking since they have to use their phone to configure the google network. I have no issues with doing anything I did prior to using this. I work from home and connect to my employer via VPN with no issues. I can view network traffic, turn off internet for the kids and see how many devices are connected at the click of a button on my phone. No longing into the router from my desktop or my phones tiny browser. When you walk from one level to the next, I can see which google router I am connected to. It automatically switches to the closest one as advertised.

This device has been a true godsend for me. I’ve tried Wi-Fi extenders, Wireless Access Points, and Powerline adapters with little to no success…and then Google Wi-Fi walked into my life. As soon as the device was announced I was ready to pick one up. Once I knew that it would be compatible with the Google OnHub I decided to pick one of them up as well to extend my wireless signal throughout our home and setup a 4 hub mesh network with OnHub and Google WiFi. So I setup the OnHub router first and added each wifi access point to our network. It was much easier than adding a wifi repeater, wifi extender, wifi range extender, wireless repeater, wireless extender, or range extender. The Google WiFi app makes adding wifi points simple and easy. Just open the app, select add wifi point and the app walks you through every step.

Adding the wifi points to the OnHub router allows you to create a mesh network that covers your entire house while allowing your laptops, smartphones, tablets, and other devices to seamlessly switch between the closest access point with the best signal. Google OnHub and Google WiFi points use technology called Network Assist to provide the fastest possible speed. Behind the scenes, Network Assist automatically helps to avoid Wi-Fi congestion, and transitions devices to the closest Wifi point for the best signal.

The network is then controlled through the Google Wifi app. Use it to share the Wi-Fi password, see what devices are online, and prioritize them for better performance. It also has Google Wifi’s family control which allows devices on the network to be paused. The Google OnHub and Google WiFi points work together to create a strong, dependable wifi network for you and your family.

The attached video from our YouTube channel -Smart Home Tech- shows the step by step setup process and some speed tests.