Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

EDIT on 24 Feb 2016: A new update has brought the two biggest fixes, a guest network and the ability to custom name all connected devices. Both are very easy to implement and work great. EDIT on 15 Oct 2015: I've been using the OnHub for over a month. I've added my thoughts at the bottom. I bought mine from Wal-Mart since the Amazon resellers were asking for ridiculous prices. It actually showed up last night (the day before official release), so I guess they ship pre-orders early. I was a bit ashamed buying a router this expensive (retail price, not the crazy prices posted by Amazon resellers), but a few things drew me to it. 1. Say what you will about Google, but they put a lot of thought into their hardware. It may not always succeed (Google Glass, anyone?), but it isn’t due to a lack of effort. 2. My house has thick concrete walls that murder WiFi signals. The OnHub has a bunch of antennas and is designed for maximum signal quality. 3. Easy customization. I’ve used DD-WRT, OpenWRT and Tomato for years, and they work great, but the setup isn’t fast, and it’s not always easy. OnHub claimed to make device prioritization a snap, so I want my Chromecast playing Netflix to never buffer because someone on my network is looking at Facebook pictures. 4. The Internet of Things. I plan to start automating my house and devices like OnHub and Amazon Echo look like they are going to be excellent additions to the connected home. And it looks good So how did it work out? SETUP: Setup was a breeze, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who owns a Google device. 1) Download the app. Simple. 2) Plug OnHub in. This is a bit more involved since you have to open the shell to plug in the wires. This is so the device looks less cluttered in a central part of your home. Since you shouldn’t be doing this often (or more than once…), it’s not a big deal, and it’s not hard to do anyways. 3) Open the app. It will find your OnHub (using sound waves I guess, I didn’t hear them) and guide you through the setup, which is super easy. USAGE: It works! I’ve only been using it for a day, but so far it works exactly as it should. You can prioritize devices for a set amount of time, which is cool if you are trying to get a download completed or watch a movie without other people slowing you down. My internet is rather slow, so this is good for things like streaming video. You can send the WiFi password to people through the app, though I don’t know why you wouldn’t just tell them. You can even add “managers” who can modify the OnHub settings, but they have to have a Google account. The bandwidth usage stats are easy to lookup too. SIGNAL STRENGTH: Much, much, much better than my old crummy router. I get full reception everywhere in my house now, on both floors. I used to lose my connection once I got to the driveway, now it extends well into the street. I haven’t used the directional antenna much, but maybe I’ll run a couple tests and see how far it reaches. The point is, I haven’t needed to. The regular antennas cover every inch of the house. This is what I wanted from the OnHub, and I got it. So is it worth the retail price? I don’t know, that’s up to you. I got exactly what I wanted from it, and down the road we’ll see if the support for home automation devices is good. I will happily recommend this to my nerd friends. PROS: - Looks good, and won’t be horribly out of place when prominently displayed in the home - Very easy to setup and configure - AWESOME signal strength and coverage - Updates automatically, so if Google adds features, they will just be there - Simple way to give certain devices bandwidth priority - Always looks like it is seconds away from producing a laser light show! CONS: - Price. Hey, it’s a lot for something you can get free with your internet subscription. - You need a google account to use it. Most people have Gmail anyways, but if you are against having a Google account, you are out of luck - You still need to use a modem, which means more wires. And your modem probably doesn’t look as good as the OnHub - Doesn’t actually produce a laser light show :-( If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I’ll be happy to give you an answer based on my experience with the OnHub. I’ll also update the review if I discover any big differences in the next few weeks. Cheers! Update on 24 Feb 2016: With the latest update, the OnHub is ready for primetime. You can now easily activate a guest network and give custom names to all devices on your network. Google has shown they are committed to adding features, so I expect more to come, but with these new features it is ready to work in the majority of homes. Power users will still want a different router for advanced features (QoS, Tx power, VPN).