Google Wifi launches today for $129

$129 for a single device, or $299 for a 3-pack.

Read the whole story

 

[EFCBeene]

This should be interesting; just bought the Orbi 2 pack and it's working really well. Looking forward to the comparison with the Google wifi.

 

[Maury Markowitz]

Frankly this product is rather underwhelming. But the timing couldn't be better - Apple's dropped their efforts, and it seems there is definitely room for at least one premium product that is actually usable.

 

[JerryLove]

On the up side: I have more confidence in Google's ability to configure security than most companies putting out hubs. I also think they will actually update it...

...until they don't. Google seems to be taking a page from Microsoft's book with abandoning projects lately. They have competing departments (Google Home vs Nest), and pretty constantly shifting focuses (Wallet which lost credit card processing, then lost spending to Android Pay; or on-again, off-again with Voice.. not to mention Chrome OS or their not bringing all their features to Nexus).

When looking at ecosystems to buy into; I'm getting more and more gun-shy about Google. I worry that my investments will be in lines that get depreciated too quickly.

 

[D.Becker]

I really wish they would have styled it to be even closer to my Nexus Q. They have the glowing ring, but the top doesn't rotate.

To put that in context, turning a product a useless brick because you decided to move onto some other shiny object results in customers not trusting your company to build that type of gadget.

 

[biffbobfred]

I haven't been following this closely - so this has the downsides of mesh, using some of your bandwidth for communication between nodes instead of available for devices? My wife will want one of these and I think I'd rather go with an AP (I have a cat 5e drop in a place an AP makes sense)

 

[Bixmen]

Missed opportunity for Google to integrate Google assistant or "ok google" in the device and have a distributed digital assistant like Amazon with their Dots.

 

[biffbobfred]

JerryLove[/url]":1lo1vxv4]
... Microsoft's book with abandoning projects lately. They have competing departments (Google Home vs Nest)...

This ain't new. Google is a huge company that lacks focus and they get by having a cash printing machine called AdWords. From their many failures in social media (orkut anyone?) to competing SMS implementations they're a bit all over the map.

 

[yoduh]

Bixmen[/url]":3rwx481q]Missed opportunity for Google to integrate Google assistant or "ok google" in the device and have a distributed digital assistant like Amazon with their Dots.

They already have a device like that, called Google Home. Just recently came out.

 

[sedirex]

D.Becker[/url]":1vg9kqe7]I really wish they would have styled it to be even closer to my Nexus Q. They have the glowing ring, but the top doesn't rotate.

To put that in context, turning a product a useless brick because you decided to move onto some other shiny object results in customers not trusting your company to build that type of gadget.

I thought they never even charged money for Nexus Qs. Honestly how much software support do you really expect for a device that they produced and ended up giving away for free?

 

[co-lee]

I want an appliance style approach to home networking -- this is a tech stack where I'd just as soon remain ignorant of the details. Tradeoffs: would rather spend my time learning Chinese ...

So, I'm interested in this for apple-style reasons: would be nice if it just worked. I'll trade off some in-house bandwidth for just working ...

 

[lyric911]

EFCBeene[/url]":1110ka3o]This should be interesting; just bought the Orbi 2 pack and it's working really well. Looking forward to the comparison with the Google wifi.

I also just deployed Orbi recently, in AP only mode. It's working great in our 3,600 sq ft and quite linear house. Had this been out already, I would have seriously considered Google and the Orbi. The thing I really like about Orbi is that it has a 3rd band so that it's not consuming the actual Wi-Fi bandwidth for between station communications. I've yet to see any tech specs about how Google's product handles this communication between stations.

 

[Maury Markowitz]

biffbobfred[/url]":3u8361jv]I haven't been following this closely - so this has the downsides of mesh, using some of your bandwidth for communication between nodes instead of available for devices? My wife will want one of these and I think I'd rather go with an AP (I have a cat 5e drop in a place an AP makes sense)

This is what they would call a "3rd generation mesh", meaning it uses a separate channel for the backhaul. If you have more than one channel with a clear signal, the effect on throughput is not really a huge deal.

But seriously, it took me 30 minutes to pull CAT6 into the basement on the far side of the house so I could plug in my Apple TV. Mesh does make things easier, don't think otherwise, but nothing says "interference free" and "no OTA bandwidth" like a piece of cable.

 

[MacCruiskeen]

sedirex[/url]":1dujxro3]

D.Becker[/url]":1dujxro3]I really wish they would have styled it to be even closer to my Nexus Q. They have the glowing ring, but the top doesn't rotate.

To put that in context, turning a product a useless brick because you decided to move onto some other shiny object results in customers not trusting your company to build that type of gadget.

I thought they never even charged money for Nexus Qs. Honestly how much software support do you really expect for a device that they produced and ended up giving away for free?

Yeah, it's totally the consumer's fault for thinking that they could depend on a product from one of the wealthiest corporations on the planet. I mean, that's just ridiculous.

 

[JerryLove]

Bixmen[/url]":166kr9xn]Missed opportunity for Google to integrate Google assistant or "ok google" in the device and have a distributed digital assistant like Amazon with their Dots.

I would hope that they would come out with a device that does exactly that... and soon.

Though I see the synergy the other way. If I'm going to cover my house in voice assistant devices; I'd like them to provide wifi as well.

 

[Quick599]

Stupid question... how does it work?

I connect it to the modem. But the modem only has one port. How do I connect all 3 devices to my modem?

Can't connect a switch to the modem. It has to me a router. Do I have to use a router first then connect all three Google Wifi deviced to it using ethernet cables?

 

[foofoo22]

TheBigBoss[/url]":1et5xxnh]Aaaaand... nobody with half a brain cares. Please don't buy this from Google. You are only going to get even more spied on... if that is possible.

Curious is this true as everyone seems to be voting this comment negatively?

 

[lyric911]

biffbobfred[/url]":1zp8brjh]I haven't been following this closely - so this has the downsides of mesh, using some of your bandwidth for communication between nodes instead of available for devices? My wife will want one of these and I think I'd rather go with an AP (I have a cat 5e drop in a place an AP makes sense)

If you haven't been following it closely, why are you stating that it's using some of the bandwidth for between device communication? I've yet to see that technical detail released for Google Wi-Fi. You're just assuming.

 

[lyric911]

Quick599[/url]":1rx598mv]Stupid question... how does it work?

I connect it to the modem. But the modem only has one port. How do I connect all 3 devices to my modem?

Can't connect a switch to the modem. It has to me a router. Do I have to use a router first then connect all three Google Wifi deviced to it using ethernet cables?

They communicate to each other wirelessly. Only one of them needs to be wired to your modem.

 

[sedirex]

MacCruiskeen[/url]":swayxoz6]

sedirex[/url]":swayxoz6]

D.Becker[/url]":swayxoz6]I really wish they would have styled it to be even closer to my Nexus Q. They have the glowing ring, but the top doesn't rotate.

To put that in context, turning a product a useless brick because you decided to move onto some other shiny object results in customers not trusting your company to build that type of gadget.

I thought they never even charged money for Nexus Qs. Honestly how much software support do you really expect for a device that they produced and ended up giving away for free?

Yeah, it's totally the consumer's fault for thinking that they could depend on a product from one of the wealthiest corporations on the planet. I mean, that's just ridiculous.

So you'd rather they just send all the ones they had produced to landfills? Giving away a product that was intended to sell for $300 is already way outside the norm for "one of the wealthiest corporations on the planet"; if doing so meant they were shackled to supporting the thing for a decade then they probably couldn't have given it away.

 

[lyric911]

foofoo22[/url]":1y2v83d7]

TheBigBoss[/url]":1y2v83d7]Aaaaand... nobody with half a brain cares. Please don't buy this from Google. You are only going to get even more spied on... if that is possible.

Curious is this true as everyone seems to be voting this comment negatively?

FUD should always be downvoted. Unless TheBigBoss has some citation or support to their comment, they are just trolling.

 

[recursivecrow777]

I kinda wish they would build some of this mesh technology into the Google Fiber network box. It would be nice to go out and buy a couple of these and then be able to configure settings only once on the network box. Currently, if I want to use my own router, I have to connect it to the network box and then if I ever need to forward a port for something, I'd have to do it on the third-party router and the network box itself. Maybe this is in already in the works.

 

[co-lee]

foofoo22[/url]":31rgvuqw]
<silly google paranoia deleted>

Curious is this true as everyone seems to be voting this comment negatively?

because it's a stupid comment that was posted mostly to get first posting bragrights and to get imagined geek cred rights by dumping on google.

Sure, if you're one of those people who never uses credit cards (cause the CC issuers and banks can see what you're buying), always uses a VPN from a company whose open source stack you've inspected and whose security practices you regularly audit, runs your own mail server and ensures all mail is encrypted when it goes out, puts on heavy makeup or masks whenever you leave the house, and doesn't use a cell phone, then sure, maybe this would open you up to more tracking by google.

Otherwise, if you're already bought into chrome, gmail, google DNS servers, etc. then this isn't something more to worry about ...

 

[barich]

It's not clear if this has a dedicated backhaul radio like Netgear's Orbi or if it uses the same radios for mesh and client communication. If it's the latter, considering that it's AC1200, it's going to be a lot slower for LAN transfers and people with gigabit internet than most current high-end routers. It would only be worthwhile if you absolutely need the coverage and can't run ethernet to access points. And even then, Orbi is going to be vastly superior in that scenario.

 

[ConLawHero]

foofoo22[/url]":2ydqap1y]

TheBigBoss[/url]":2ydqap1y]Aaaaand... nobody with half a brain cares. Please don't buy this from Google. You are only going to get even more spied on... if that is possible.

Curious is this true as everyone seems to be voting this comment negatively?

Sure... if you're a tinfoil hat type. Google is, essentially, a data company that uses data (and keeps that data proprietary, because that's where their value is) to serve you relevant ads. So, yes, if you use Google, it tracks basically everything you do in order to build a profile for ad service. That's why Google is valuable (to investors).

For those of us who don't particularly care about data profiles, and instead enjoy the fact that Google seemingly predicts everything we need and/or want, it's downright convenient. For example, when I go to BJ's (same thing as Costco or Sam's Club) to buy stuff, because Google's tracking my location, Android Pay pops up a notification with my Membership Bar Code. Then I scan that and pay with Android Pay. It's super convenient. Do I care that Google now knows that I shop at the BJ's down the street from my house? Not really, no.

I think it comes down to the fact that, we're going to see advertising whether we like it or not. If you accept that premise, then, personally, I'd prefer to have ads that are at least tailored to my likes. I don't need ads for diapers. But, ads for awesome new tech or whatever... sure, why not?

 

[beausoleil]

lyric911[/url]":2hkpzof2]

Quick599[/url]":2hkpzof2]Stupid question... how does it work?

I connect it to the modem. But the modem only has one port. How do I connect all 3 devices to my modem?

Can't connect a switch to the modem. It has to me a router. Do I have to use a router first then connect all three Google Wifi deviced to it using ethernet cables?

They communicate to each other wirelessly. Only one of them needs to be wired to your modem.

From the Google store: Each unit has 2 GigEth ports, so while it can be connected wirelessly via RF mesh, it's not required. So, Quick599 - you can connect them serially via Cat6 cable, or purchase a small 5-port gigabit hub for < $US25, and fan them out.

The first unit in a serial chain will automatically act as a router, with one of its ports configured as a WAN port and the downstream port as a LAN port. There aren't enough details yet to see how easy it is to configure as a pure access point, e.g., all three downstream from an existing internet router via a switch. I'll see if I can find the user manual online...

 

[Ordeith]

Who wants network monitoring equipment from the world's largest data harvesting and advertising company in their home?

 

[milan616]

Stupid question... how does it work?

I connect it to the modem. But the modem only has one port. How do I connect all 3 devices to my modem?

Can't connect a switch to the modem. It has to me a router. Do I have to use a router first then connect all three Google Wifi deviced to it using ethernet cables?

It has one ethernet port for internal network use so you can put a switch on it if you have more than one wired device you need to connect to it. I replaced my router and a wonky 5 port gigabit switch recently with an OnHub (which is Google Wifi's predecessor, updated with the same features) and a more reliable 8 port gigabit switch to make up for the loss of ports from my old router. It's working great.

 

[Coriolanus]

The history of Google Products is rife with redirected focus and promised features that never come. Just look at how many times they've changed the name for "Chromecast/Google Cast/Google Home/Chromecast again" in the past 2 years or so.

At this point, I feel like buying a Google non-phone related hardware product is just asking to be disappointed.

 

[Deleted member 174040]

EFCBeene[/url]":2y4w2equ]This should be interesting; just bought the Orbi 2 pack and it's working really well. Looking forward to the comparison with the Google wifi.

Why? How often do you replace your routers?

 

[bernstein]

well it's a sad month for customer network equipment...
- apple abandoning it
- google screwing it up (never fulfulling onehub's promises)
- isp's clusterfucking it (requiring provided routers yet failing basic security)

 

[ewelch]

Like I'm going to give Google unlimited access to what I do online?

Right.

I'll watch for the review to see if Google allows shutting them out.

My Ubiquiti Amplifi cost $100 more. But does Google Wifi have a 5 kHz mesh network option?

 

[ewelch]

co-lee[/url]":3oirm4eo]I want an appliance style approach to home networking -- this is a tech stack where I'd just as soon remain ignorant of the details. Tradeoffs: would rather spend my time learning Chinese ...

So, I'm interested in this for apple-style reasons: would be nice if it just worked. I'll trade off some in-house bandwidth for just working ...

You want style, check the ARS review for the Ubiquti Amplifi. I love mine. (Just a happy customer thanks to ARS letting us know it was coming.)

It's the router Apple should have done.

 

[SpecTP]

does this offer capabilities to manage usage and site blocking? I've got 3 tweens that are in need of such management. Right now I'm cobbling together manual firewall rules on my Ubiquiti.

 

[kuschku]

And yet again, their usage and "pause internet for user" features are misleading.

Any teen or tween can just turn on MAC rotation, and there's nothing the admin can do, as Google WiFi doesn't allow setting any restrictions by default - only for specific devices.

And even then, they'd just copy the MAC of the allowed devices.

It's, as always, a useless feature, hyped as more than it ever will be able to be.

 

[Tonkaman]

Maury Markowitz[/url]":sl4905jd]

biffbobfred[/url]":sl4905jd]I haven't been following this closely - so this has the downsides of mesh, using some of your bandwidth for communication between nodes instead of available for devices? My wife will want one of these and I think I'd rather go with an AP (I have a cat 5e drop in a place an AP makes sense)

This is what they would call a "3rd generation mesh", meaning it uses a separate channel for the backhaul. If you have more than one channel with a clear signal, the effect on throughput is not really a huge deal.

But seriously, it took me 30 minutes to pull CAT6 into the basement on the far side of the house so I could plug in my Apple TV. Mesh does make things easier, don't think otherwise, but nothing says "interference free" and "no OTA bandwidth" like a piece of cable.

Cable is superior. I ran CAT6 cable in my apartment in wire clips along the baseboards to a gigabit network switch mounted on my entertainment center for my SteamLink, Xbox One, and my modded PS2 (so I can load games onto the SSD).

Just required widening an existing hole from the bedroom closet containing the fiber ONT and switching out the wall plate to accommodate both cable and Ethernet ports instead of only cable. Didn't ask the landlord, but I doubt they'll complain about widening the networking options for their future tenants. Doubt they'll even notice unless I point it out honestly.

 

[M-S-G]

So everyone who got an Onhub got shafted.
Yet another product from google with planned obsolescence date already set.
No thanks.

 

[Null_Space]

kuschku[/url]":1ql4e7wq]And yet again, their usage and "pause internet for user" features are misleading.

Any teen or tween can just turn on MAC rotation, and there's nothing the admin can do, as Google WiFi doesn't allow setting any restrictions by default - only for specific devices.

And even then, they'd just copy the MAC of the allowed devices.

It's, as always, a useless feature, hyped as more than it ever will be able to be.

How would this proposed tween copy a MAC address onto their iPhone?