Like its close domestic relative, the boiler, the router is synonymous with pain, suffering and weird computer-speak like 192. Rather than an old drunk shouting across you whole house, its mesh system acts like a harmonious group of barbershop singers. Smaller flats can benefit from just one of its charming pucks, but Wifi really comes into its own in larger houses. That's because mesh systems like this consist of multiple routers that all work in tandem. The more units you add, the more robust your Wi-Fi becomes. This worked fine when we tested it with our Sky broadband router more on that in setup, below. It's also worth clarifying that this isn't to be confused with Google Fiber - in internet terms, Wifi is like upgrading to a multi-room sound system, but it can't do much if your broadband is feeding it the equivalent of chewed up cassettes. The white cylinders are incredibly solid, and the build quality genuinely excellent. These routers and they're all individual routers, not Wi-Fi extenders have a similar footprint to Google Home, which means they can hide away discreetly on bookshelves, desks or anywhere there's power available. Like Google Home, the design is non-descript yet stylish. The light strip in the centre adds to the appeal, glowing a contented teal when all is well with your connection. If you want to place one in the bedroom, google wifi parental controls can also lower the brightness. Setting up Google Wifi is google wifi parental controls incredibly easy. In my mid-size 1900s stone-walled semi-detached, my main router is in the dining room. Two rooms away is the utility and downstairs toilet, which is a notorious blackspot for us. Adding another unit to the utility area fixed this — something a repeater could never do. And all we had to do was set up another Google Wifi point in the app. We were set up with Google Wifi — from unboxing to creating our network — in less than five minutes. Do you really need your router to have 'features'. After all, you'd probably pass on your boiler learning to talk in return for an improved chance of it not going on strike in January. I thought the same, until I saw some of the neat things you can do with Google Wifi's app. This is where Google Wifi really beats the competition - the depth of features, and the simple way information is presented is something very special. I have two tablet-obsessed kids. Getting them off the internet is akin to anyone but Arthur pulling a sword from a stone. Or you can manually stop the connection. Google Wifi is just as handy for entertaining guests too. You can set up a separate network name and password, and turn it on and off at will. So if you have Hue lights in the spare room and guests want to turn them off remotely, they can. You can, rather brilliantly, prioritise traffic to a device, without having to dig around in any kind of router settings. You can change the duration of prioritisation as well. But isn't the main benefit of mesh systems that they avoid congestion by doing clever stuff like auto-switching channels. Yes, and Google Wifi will do that most of the time. Cruel, but all in the name of testing. The Google WiFi app is genuinely brilliant. We doff our nerd cap to you, but Google Wifi probably won't be for you. The app doesn't google wifi parental controls a lot of deep customisation, and it's not the absolute fastest for the price. Even in the garden we were getting a strong signal - and now it's getting sunny, that really is a boon. Download speeds were around the same as our Sky Q Hub our Sky Q system is a mesh network itselfbut we were definitely getting better coverage with Google Wifi. Network Assist is where Google Wifi just kills it. But for me, in a three-bed, old house with thick walls, a pair of them is fantastic. It shares many of the same mesh-based boons, including google wifi parental controls Wi-Fi coverage across your house, but is more expensive at £370 for a twin-pack compared to £230 for Google Wifi's equivalent. It also has an inferior app, and the units themselves are bigger and much less discreet. This means that, right now, Google Wifi is your best bet for a mesh system - and from what we've seen, it's going to take some beating. Google Wifi not only looks the part, it performs. Not everyone necessarily needs it — if you live in a small flat with generally good Wi-Fi, you're not going to gain much for your £129 apart from improved network handling and a nice app. But for families living in a larger house that's home to a increasing number of internet-thirsty gadgets, it's just the ticket. Google Wifi helps get rid of annoying blackspots, and the app is brilliant for parents, thanks to features like Family Wifi pause for scheduling 'internet free' breaks in the day. Competitors are coming from across the pond, but right now this is the best-looking and most user-friendly Wi-Fi system I've seen. There's no going back to my old black box now.
