#Google nest wifi router free

Google’s first-generation mesh system worked with the standalone Google Wifi app, but the new one is integrated into Google Home. There are still plenty of home devices that require or benefit from a wired connection, yet these can only be connected to the hub (or to an older satellite) and if you want to hook up more than one of them you’ll need to use an external Ethernet switch. In all, the Nest Wifi units are impeccably tasteful but the shortage of Ethernet provision feels like a minimalist step too far. Two touch zones on the top also light up when tapped, allowing you to manually nudge the volume up and down – the base light illuminates at varying intensity to indicate the volume level – and dotted around them are four small microphone apertures providing 360-degree listening. A small LED set into the front of the hub unit glows white when you’re connected to the internet, while the speaker unit has encircling downward-facing lighting that indicates when the Assistant is listening. At the back of the speaker node there’s a privacy switch to disable the microphone but, where the last-generation Wifi nodes had two Gigabit Ethernet ports each, the new one has none.Īside from that, all there is to see is a few discreetly embedded lights. The hub’s socket is recessed, with a Gigabit Ethernet socket on either side: one connects to your modem, while the other lets you connect a single wired client. The old Google Wifi units were powered via USB Type-C, but these new ones use more mundane slim-barrel plugs. Netgear Orbi Voice review: A mesh Wi-Fi system with Alexa built inĪt the rear of each you’ll find the power socket.

#Google nest wifi router free

The new units are fully interoperable with first-generation units, so if you want to refresh or expand an existing Google Wifi setup, you’re free to mix and match. The new system also introduces remote access points that double up as smart speakers with built-in microphones allowing you to access the Google Assistant. It works in the same way as the original 2016 model but it’s been upgraded with faster radios and 4x4 MIMO on the 5GHz band, up from 2x2 on the first-generation hardware. The Google Nest Wifi is a dual-band 802.11ac mesh wireless system that’s designed to replace your existing router, although it can also operate a separate subnet connected to a primary router if need be. READ NEXT: Google Wifi review Google Nest Wifi review: What you need to know Is it enough to restore Google as the king of mesh? Let’s find out. Now Google has responded, launching an updated mesh Wi-Fi platform with faster hardware, a rebranded name and a built-in voice assistant. Since then, however, a whole market of competitors has emerged, challenging Google on price, performance and features. We were big fans of the original Google Wifi mesh system when it first appeared in 2016, deeming it “mesh Wi-Fi done right”.