This is just so extremely stupid. lets say you change ISPs. well with a normal router you just swap the modem and maybe login to 192.168.0.1 to change the router settings (DHCP, PPPOE, etc)...
Not so with google wifi. Google doesn't believe a web interface is necessary. The only two ways to change google wifi settings is via a phone app that can only communicate directly with the router after you perform a hard reset on the router. Otherwise your router must have an internet connection in order to receive the changes to the settings you make on your phone app. Obviously when you switched ISPs you can't use the internet connection method so the factory reset route it is.
The factory reset method is so very very slooooow. 20 minutes later when you are done you need to factory reset all the other wifi points because obviously you can't just tell the networks to merge. then once you have factory reset them (which again, is slow) you need to add them one by one to the new network (which is slow).
Also it tends to require multiple restarts / resets before it manages to connect to the moden and complete the configuration.
But wait, there is more! The stupid app refuses to configure mesh points via ethernet connection. you can use ethernet as a backhaul afterwards (which is as simple as just plugging it in via ethernet), but during setup you must connect the two pucks together via wifi which refuses to work unless the signal is extremely strong (read, in the same room as the main router. You can move it to the actual spot where it will reside in later on and it will give you a good to excellent signal, but you can't set it up there. all you would do is waste 5 minutes to be told its too far away from the main router... even if it is plugged in via ethernet)
So you need to go through the house, collect all the google wifi pucks, and configure them all and then return them to their actual final spots.
The pucks take 5 minutes to be ready for configuration once factory reset. But they show you they are ready after about 1 minute (blue light). This is a lie though and falling for it will just slow you down further. The stupid setup program just auto connects to the first one of them that it detects (very rarely will it actually let me choose between two unconfigured google wifi routers), and it can easily be one in a different room from you (that is considered too far away from base point to finish setting up, but not too far away to start). so then when it scans the QR code it complains its the wrong one. To work around it you want to only plug in one puck to power at a time to add mesh points. Not only is the adding process slow, it is slowed further by the fact you must reset them one at a time.
Oh yea, and PPPOE support on it is terrible and missing vlan tagging so you need to buy a router from the ISP and set it to transparent bridge mode in order to properly use google wifi with many companies.
The review sites do nothing but praise google wifi and claim any non technical person can easily set it up, and I don't know what they are smoking. The only good thing I can say about it is that the mesh actually works and as a result its transmission is fast and robust all over the house.
For those trying to install it, a few reminders:
1. configure only 1 unit first without mesh points. Tell it you want to add 0 mesh points and finalize the setup. Then afterwards add the mesh points one at a time (to clarify, units not being currently configured should be unplugged from power)
2. press the factory reset button (for 10 seconds), even on a new unit, then wait 5 minutes until its ready to connect to the modem. Make sure it is only plugged into the modem and not to any other device, the stupid thing would try to get an internet connection via your PC instead of the modem and fail miserably, requiring an additional factory reset.
3. when adding mesh points, do so one at a time by pluginging them into power, factory resetting, waiting 5 minutes, then adding them to the network with the app while in the same room as the base point. one configuration is finished unplug it and move it to its actual final location. Then bring in the next mesh point for configuration
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Since the review sites are completely worthless, anyone else here with personal experience with competing mesh products can tell me how do they compare to the above?
Not so with google wifi. Google doesn't believe a web interface is necessary. The only two ways to change google wifi settings is via a phone app that can only communicate directly with the router after you perform a hard reset on the router. Otherwise your router must have an internet connection in order to receive the changes to the settings you make on your phone app. Obviously when you switched ISPs you can't use the internet connection method so the factory reset route it is.
The factory reset method is so very very slooooow. 20 minutes later when you are done you need to factory reset all the other wifi points because obviously you can't just tell the networks to merge. then once you have factory reset them (which again, is slow) you need to add them one by one to the new network (which is slow).
Also it tends to require multiple restarts / resets before it manages to connect to the moden and complete the configuration.
But wait, there is more! The stupid app refuses to configure mesh points via ethernet connection. you can use ethernet as a backhaul afterwards (which is as simple as just plugging it in via ethernet), but during setup you must connect the two pucks together via wifi which refuses to work unless the signal is extremely strong (read, in the same room as the main router. You can move it to the actual spot where it will reside in later on and it will give you a good to excellent signal, but you can't set it up there. all you would do is waste 5 minutes to be told its too far away from the main router... even if it is plugged in via ethernet)
So you need to go through the house, collect all the google wifi pucks, and configure them all and then return them to their actual final spots.
The pucks take 5 minutes to be ready for configuration once factory reset. But they show you they are ready after about 1 minute (blue light). This is a lie though and falling for it will just slow you down further. The stupid setup program just auto connects to the first one of them that it detects (very rarely will it actually let me choose between two unconfigured google wifi routers), and it can easily be one in a different room from you (that is considered too far away from base point to finish setting up, but not too far away to start). so then when it scans the QR code it complains its the wrong one. To work around it you want to only plug in one puck to power at a time to add mesh points. Not only is the adding process slow, it is slowed further by the fact you must reset them one at a time.
Oh yea, and PPPOE support on it is terrible and missing vlan tagging so you need to buy a router from the ISP and set it to transparent bridge mode in order to properly use google wifi with many companies.
The review sites do nothing but praise google wifi and claim any non technical person can easily set it up, and I don't know what they are smoking. The only good thing I can say about it is that the mesh actually works and as a result its transmission is fast and robust all over the house.
For those trying to install it, a few reminders:
1. configure only 1 unit first without mesh points. Tell it you want to add 0 mesh points and finalize the setup. Then afterwards add the mesh points one at a time (to clarify, units not being currently configured should be unplugged from power)
2. press the factory reset button (for 10 seconds), even on a new unit, then wait 5 minutes until its ready to connect to the modem. Make sure it is only plugged into the modem and not to any other device, the stupid thing would try to get an internet connection via your PC instead of the modem and fail miserably, requiring an additional factory reset.
3. when adding mesh points, do so one at a time by pluginging them into power, factory resetting, waiting 5 minutes, then adding them to the network with the app while in the same room as the base point. one configuration is finished unplug it and move it to its actual final location. Then bring in the next mesh point for configuration
----
Since the review sites are completely worthless, anyone else here with personal experience with competing mesh products can tell me how do they compare to the above?
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