Nest (Google) - Google Wifi (AC1200)

4 Google wifi pods for a 1800sq ft house. Awesome

I just bought one and used it for two days. It's a 2025 and hardware 1.0 version. It took me an hour phone call with the Support to resolve WAN connection issue to be able to start to use it from the get-go. I have Xfinity. For some reason, 2 out 3 times, the WAN light is red after connecting the cable modem to 10G WAN port. I don't have this issue with my old Google WIFI router. So the Support asked me to unplug cable model for 2 minutes and plug it back on and then log onto Web UI and go through "Quick Internet Setup" to detect connection. After this, WAN issue was resolved. I was able to use it. I updated the firmware to the latest version: 3.0.0.6.102\_37548. Over the last two days, it suddenly rebooted four times. The longest hours it's running so far is 18 hours. I am still researching this rebooting issue. It looks like might be a firmware bug somewhere as I couldn't see anything from system log that would explain the reboots. Whenever it rebooted, I touched the router and it wasn't overheating. I can totally understand why the reviews are so mixed. I will probably have to keep it as it's the only WIFI7 router at $200-$300 that supports 2.4G/5G/6G, VPN, 10G WAN port, 4x2.5G LAN ports, and 5G Mobile tethering...

My 1st gen Google Pucks have been solid for the last few years. House is 2300sq-ft, two floors plus it reaches out to my backyard which is nice if I want to have my phone and a speaker outside. Only recently have they started to have problems and drop connections, but I'm thinking that might be more because of their age. I started buying some Ubiquiti gear to replace them. My router is a little Intel NUC running PFSense with the Ubiquiti controller running in a Jail. Although I may just buy a Unifi Express or Cloud Gateway and consolidate everything. That's one thing I liked about the Google system was that all my options (limited as they were) were available in the app. No fuss, no fighting. If I wanted to setup stuff in a sandbox, it was kind of a pain although my cable modem has multiple LAN ports so segregating was easy.

I cannot get my Deco Xe200 to connect to the network despite many hours on the phone with customer support. My OLD SLOW google wifi is rock solid. With the new push from congress on May 15, I'm done fooling with it and sticking with what works.

Went from Google WiFi to TP-link Omada. Night and day improvement.

I had the original Google WiFi mesh ones, the pucks that aren't curved on top, and they were fabulous. Used them for many many years, I just recently switched to 2x Unifi U7 Lite bc I wanted to be able to control more. I never had issues with any of my Chromecast devices or other devices dropping. The ability to set schedules for the kids' devices was also really easy. At this point I'm time though, they are getting a little old and you might want to try newer tech if spending that amount of money on a router/mesh setup.

I had the original Google WiFi mesh ones, the pucks that aren't curved on top, and they were fabulous. Used them for many many years, I just recently switched to 2x Unifi U7 Lite bc I wanted to be able to control more. I never had issues with any of my Chromecast devices or other devices dropping. The ability to set schedules for the kids' devices was also really easy. At this point I'm time though, they are getting a little old and you might want to try newer tech if spending that amount of money on a router/mesh setup.

Yeah? I’ve got google wifi + 1 extra access point to create a mesh because the google wasn’t covering my whole 2 bedroom apartment. I’m wondering if I should try another brand

Linksy WRT1900ACS was great for it's time. However it is WiFi 5 and old. In the U.S. the Linksys MX4300 WiFi 6 is what I'd recommend especially at the bargain basement price of $25. You maybe able to find it or it's foreign equivalent cheap before it gets popular again. If you are on a budget then just want a cheap OpenWRT thing for you to play with, the Google WiFi 1st gen is everywhere and dirt cheap. Support of it ended years ago and I'm sure you can pickup 2 for $40... even less. Just be sure to get the one with USB-C. Both that I suggested are QualComm based with hardware accelleration support with custom builds. I personally use them and they are SOLID. I'm still waiting for woot to have more of the MX4300s. With Amazon's backing, it's just a matter of time. They have already restocked twice, maybe three.

To add to what others are saying, in addition to GWifi being quite locked down and having no way to access configuration via a browser (only via the Google Home app), the other problem is support. When Google no longer feels like supporting this version of the hardware, they will essentially brick it. They did exactly that to my old OnHub units. I cannot trust Google for networking hardware.

TP Link Deco 6E - had it for about 2 years and it's been good and super reliable. There were some concerns recently about TP Link routers phoning home to China, so something worth looking into I guess if you're worried. The management app (so take it for what it is, requires a phone app to manage) is decent, although a little annoying with the upsell of the safety suite. The feature set is great - guest network, IoT network, QoS, VPN server and client, 3 ports (only gigabit though) on each device, and 6Ghz wireless backhaul (or wired is also supported). At the time the Wifi 7 model just came out and was much more expensive so I didn't really see the point. If I were buying a new router today I'd probably go for a Wifi 7 model. Another upgrade in that is it looks like the Wifi 7 model has 1x10Gbps port and 2x2.5Gbps so that's some good future-proofing right there. Came from having Google Wifi, which I think was overall a little bit better, but I'm not upset about it. Obviously Ubiquiti is the gold standard if you wanna go that deep into it, but for a more casual (and much more affordable) solution I am not upset with my Deco. It's about $300 for 1 - have a 3-pack (~$700). If you don't need mesh, I've had good luck with Asus routers in the past and last I heard reviews for them are pretty good. Around $300 the TUF BE3600 looks like it might have all modern features you'd want.