This is a We Own It, review of the home WiFi solution Google WiFi

What does Google WiFi do?

Google WiFi is a new mesh solution, the idea is it covers your house in a mesh network (see our article what is mesh WiFi). This is designed to prevent black spots and the headache of having to change network when you move between floors of your house, as you often do with extenders and repeaters.

PS. You can buy Google WiFi from Amazon from under £140.

Google WiFi

How easy is it to setup?

Super simple!

Connect the primary point to your router, in our case a Virgin Media Super Hub.

Power up the primary point, install the Google WiFi app scan the code on the primary points base. You then choose a name for WiFi network and its live!

We setup two additional points, so 3 in total. To do this it prompts

During setting ours up we received the message saying the connection was poor.

After a third location we found the perfect spot to get strong signal throughout the house.

We found the best location was the room above the primary point in the server room downstairs.

To give a bit of background it’s a large 3 bedroom house with very solid brick walls and just near the server room is a very large RSJ – yes not the best design but required unfortunately.

Once it was setup it installs the latest firmware, ours took less than 2 minutes.

Once setup you can see the features within the app, this includes:
Priority Device – This is a great feature and allows you to quickly priorities devices. For example, if you are streaming a film you want to give the TV maximum bandwidth.

Family WiFi – This feature allows you to group devices, for example Kids PlayStation and set automatic pauses to allow focus on homework

Guest WiFi – As the name suggest you can setup a guest WiFi, this is best practice from a security point of view, rather than letting your guests access your main network and what is on it.

House Control – This allows you to control your smart home from one simple interface, for example Hue lights.

One silly tip when setting up, the plug is expandable. If like me you quickly try and plug it in, it won’t fit as you need to extend the earth pin out. It just pulls open.

What’s the connectivity?

Brilliant it fully supports IFTTT and Alexa, we have set ours to allow voice prioritising via

If we are streaming a 4K film we simple ask Alexa to prioritise the TV to ensure a buffer free movie night.

How much does Google WiFi cost?

It depends how many units you need.

1-pack is £129
2-pack is £229
In our house we setup 3 units so the total cost was £350 – most houses will be ok with 2. We only got a 3rd to ensure the garden was fully covered.

What’s it like living with Google Wi-fi?

Google WiFi has dramatically improved the speed and stability of our WiFi.

What are our final thoughts?

We have tried nearly every Internet/WiFi solution on the market from Power Line to Access points and this is the best solution we have used.

So much so this is our first ever 5* review!!

PS. You can buy Google WiFi from Amazon from under £140.

Google has announced its virtual Assistant, no they didn’t give it a name like Alexa, Siri or Cortana, will be integrated into lots of new tech.

At the moment, you can only access Google Assistant via Google Home, Android Phones, iPhone App and Android Wear.

The technology supporting this integration initially includes speakers:

Anker – Zolo Mojo
Samsung Harman – Link 10, 20 & 300
Mobvoi – TicHome Mini
Onyko – Smart Speaker G3
Panasonic – GA10
Sony – LF-S50G

As well as some appliances manufactures, models to be confirmed:

Honeywell,
Netatmo,
TP-Link
Wemo

We are not at all surprised with the speaker integration. However this is turning into a battle with Amazon Alexa already dominating and Sonos announcing a virtual assistant integrated speaker very soon.
What is your favourite Virtual Assistant? Let us know in the comments.

The post Google Assistant has been set free! appeared first on Smart Home Geeks.

This week Google has advertised a job at its London office for a writer to help give this Google Assistant a human touch and personality.

In the advert they state:

“Google Assistant Personality team is dedicated to bringing a bit of fun and human touch to people interacting with the Google Assistant through chat, phones, TVs, watches, Google Home and other devices we haven’t even thought of yet”

This highlights how seriously Google are taking it’s virtual assistant and in turn Home. The advert also gives insight into how they want people to interact with Google Home by asking for a specific type of person to write it’s Assistant:

“You might have previously written for a character for film, TV, video game, or comic book who can deliver a joke that can make anyone smile or you’re the person at the party who wins the trivia contest because you can finish the fun film quote or recite obscure music lyrics.”

This indicates they plan on making Google Assistant fun and engaging, much like how Apple have tried with Siri. After all everyone loves asking voice assistants silly questions – just to see the reply!

Here is a link to the full job advert if this sounds like it could be for you.

The post Google is looking for writers for Google Home! appeared first on Smart Home Geeks.

What is Google Wifi?

Google wifi is essentially a mesh router, designed to spread fast wifi around the home without dead spots.They have commented for medium to large house or houses with thicker walls more than one might be required.

Taking a leaf from Apple the device is designed to be on display rather than hidden away, not looking like a standard router at all.

One innovative feature is the accompanying app that is built in parent controls allowing devices access to be paused. Brilliant for bedtime!

Prices start from £129 or a twin pack for £229.

Watch this space, we will get a review live as soon as we can get our hands on one!

The post Google Wifi coming to the U.K.  appeared first on Smart Home Geeks.

The gadget is similar to Amazon’s Alexa

It enables you to control your smart home via your voice. The added features Google offer is real time translation as well as they promise unrivalled voice recognition.

Google promised its UK fans it has “Hidden a few British treats” we cant wait to see what they are!

The gadget will cost £129 and be on sale from April 6th.

The post Google Home Coming to U.K. appeared first on Smart Home Geeks.