For most people, a Wi-Fi router is like a Ronco rotisserie: You set
it and forget it. These often ugly networking boxes have one job: Give
us Wi-Fi or else we'll freak the hell out (and it won't be pretty).
When Google announced its own Wi-Fi router, called the OnHub and designed by TP-Link, I vehemently shrugged it off and successfully convinced a Mashable intern to cancel his pre-order for the $199 device and Save His Money™.
Then the OnHub arrived for testing
and I started to warm up to its promises of faster and better Wi-Fi
coverage through intelligent software, not to mention super-simple setup
via an app.
Still, I wondered who would be willing to pay $200 for Google's Wi-Fi
router? Perhaps the same kind of buyer who would pick up Apple's $200
Airport Extreme, I mused. Also, the OnHub had sold out immediately, so
tons of people are clearly interested.
The OnHub is an unassuming tube-shaped gadget. As I said in my unboxing, it reminds me very much of the Amazon Echo, right down to the light ring on the top. It's designed to look good in your home as opposed to certain other wireless monstrosities.
There's a 3-watt speaker on the top, but it can't be used to play
music. It also doesn't have a microphone so you won't be able to talk to
it. Not that you'd want to talk to your router, anyway.
The router comes in black or navy and Google says it's designed to be
be placed in the center of your home so its 13 antennas can blast Wi-Fi
in all directions, but I don't see that happening. Not only is the
power cable only 5 feet long, but the OnHub needs to be plugged into
your modem, which needs to be connected to a coaxial-cable outlet, which
for some inexplicable reason is always in the worst place possible —
like in a closet or next to a door.
App smart
If the Nest Cam
taught me anything, it's that a delightfully simple and quick setup,
and easy-to-use user interface is worth paying a premium for. You spend
less time troubleshooting your gadgets and more time doing important
stuff like watching Game of Thrones reruns.
Setting up a regular Wi-Fi router isn't a fun experience (unless
you're an IT guy). If you don't know what you're doing or have little
experience setting up a home Wi-Fi network, racking your brain around
ports, channels, proxies, and gibberish like http://192.168.1.1 can be
like pulling teeth.
The OnHub eschews a browser-based interface for the Google On app available for iOS 7 and higher and Android 4.0 and higher.
Just plug the OnHub into an outlet, connect the Ethernet cable to your modem, and follow the instructions
Just plug the OnHub into an outlet, connect the Ethernet cable to your modem, and follow the instructions in the app — within a few minutes, you've got a Wi-Fi network up and running.
Everything is handled via the app, which is more than just a means of
setting up the OnHub. Through it, you can access more advanced
networking settings (DNS, WAN, PPPoE, port forwarding and a handful of
other nerdy stuff you'd find on a regular router) and perform a network
check and speed test.
The app's strength is its visual layout. The Overview tab tells you
the status of your Wi-Fi network in "human" language like this:
Not like this:
Image: Screenshot by Raymond Wong/Mashable
The
light ring on the top makes it easy to understand what the OnHub's
status is (no more blinking lights!): No light for "needs to be plugged
in," blue for "ready to be setup," teal for "on and active," and amber
for "offline or another error."
Tapping on the Devices node shows you which devices are connected to
the Wi-Fi network and how much data each device is using in real-time.
If someone is downloading a huge file or if you suspect someone is
freeloading on your network, you can easily monitor it all.
In the lower right corner is a green icon with a star inside of a
computer monitor. Here you can prioritize a specific device for one, two
or four hours. For instance,
if I'm watching Netflix on my Apple TV and I want a smooth streaming experience, I can prioritize it for better performance
if I'm watching Netflix on my Apple TV and I want a smooth streaming experience, I can prioritize it for better performance (less buffering). The downside is all the other devices on the Wi-Fi network will have slower performance.
I usually have to turn off the Wi-Fi on all of my devices when I'm
streaming video to my TV. Prioritizing a device does seem to make its
Wi-Fi connection more reliable and faster. I noticed YouTube videos
loaded a lot quicker when my MacBook was prioritized than when it
wasn't, while other devices were connected to the network chewing
through data.
Faster and more reliable
At $200, the OnHub had better offer something more than just an easier setup experience. And it does.
The OnHub is a powerful cylinder. It's powered by a 1.4GHz dual-core
processor, 1GB of RAM and comes with 4GB of internal storage, but none
of those specs really matter to most people.
What matters are the 13 antennas inside that are designed to shoot
Wi-Fi in all directions and provide greater coverage. Six of those
antennas are 2.4GHz (802.11 b/g/n) and six of them are 5GHz (802.11
a/n/ac), and the last one is an AUX antenna and radio that automatically
looks for the least congested channel every five minutes and switches
to it so your Wi-Fi performance is always at its best.
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