REVIEW: Google Nest Wifi Router with Speaker is a Very Versatile Product

People often ignore the importance of the air we breathe in the same way that we forget the importance of Wi-Fi in our everyday lives. Knowing this, since 2016 the Google entered the router market with the Google Wifi (we already have review), his first router that already came with a connection of the type mesh (we will explain further below).

Three years later, in 2019, the manufacturer updates its portfolio of routers with Google Nest Wifi, the second generation of the router mesh, which promises a strong and stable connection throughout the home, as well as additional features like speakers, voice control and integration with other smart devices.

We'll explore Nest Wifi's features and performance to help you decide if it's the right choice for you.

What has changed?

In addition to completely changing the name, the second generation brought other notable differences: some things got better and some things got worse.

What got better?

• Design: Nest Wifi is different from Google Wifi, featuring a more modern and elegant design, as well as a greater variety of colors in the access points. It ceases to look like a device and passes almost as a decoration item.
• Voice and speaker control: Nest Wifi supports Google Assistant, allowing users to control connected appliances, play music and ask questions via voice commands.
• Speed: Nest Wifi offers up to 2,2Gbps (on the router), versus 1,2Gbps on the previous model.
• Integration with other smart devices: Nest Wifi can be integrated with other Google Assistant compatible smart devices such as lamps, thermostats and TVs.

What got worse?

• Connectivity : Google Wifi has two Ethernet ports on each access point (point), while Nest Wifi only has one Ethernet port on the router, access points have none. This somewhat limits the uses of access points and forces it to be close to the router.

Design

I'd say it's the most minimalist designed router on the market. And maybe one of the few that can be said to be used as part of the decoration (which virtually no router model on the market is capable of being).

Unlike Google Wifi (previous model) which has the kit with the same devices, Google Nest WiFi has a difference between the router and the Wi-Fi points. While the main router has a power input, a network input and an output, access points only have a power input. Another difference is that Wi-Fi points have a ring of light to signal Google Assistant commands, as Wi-Fi points (and only them) are also smart speakers – and therefore also have sound outputs.

In the photo below, you can clearly understand the physical difference between them:

The router only exists in one color, white, as the Wi-Fi points can be purchased in 3 colors: Mist, which is a light blue; Sand, which is a shade of beige; it's white. Here we have a matte white, different from the glossy white of the past model.

There are no screws and no vents or vents, which makes it a little warm.

In the Wi-Fi points we have a ring of light at the bottom and two LEDs at the top, along with the ultrasonic buttons to recognize touches. Also on top are the 4 microphones to receive voice commands. Finally, on the Wi-Fi point we have a physical button to turn off the microphone.

Mesh network, what is it?

Nowadays, with so many devices connected to the same network, it is difficult for old and conventional routers to manage all data traffic and prioritize who needs more data or who needs more signal. Sometimes you even have a good internet plan, but your router can't handle all the bandwidth your home consumes and you get very weak internet.

The protocol Mesh come to solve this. the routers mesh, in addition to working with higher bandwidths (the Google Nest Wifi operates at up to 2.200Mbs), they function as mini-computers managing the internet in your home. It can handle a much larger number of devices connected at the same time (some reach over 100 devices) and it knows how to automatically prioritize where it will allocate more bandwidth, so that the user has a better connection according to what he is using.

Performance

In my house I had 2 routers, one on each floor. They were connected via cable and a single Wi-Fi network. I put them with the same name, and the same password. It had everything to be a good enough system, but it wasn't.

I had a very big problem with the YouTube which I no longer have. Even with my PC connected directly to the router via cable, whenever I opened YouTube videos they were in 360p (very low resolution) and I needed to increase the quality. Always same. Here at home we have a 300Mb internet plan and there was no reason for that to happen. Since I installed Google Nest Wifi videos are uploaded in 1080p (high resolution). Amen!

In the old network, when I moved from one floor to the other, it was noticeable that the cell phone switched networks and if I was in a video call via WhatsApp, for example, there was a small crash between the moment the cell phone left the Wi-Fi signal on one floor and went to the Wi-Fi on the other floor, even though it was a single network. Something a bit similar happens with the Google Nest Wifi Kit.

When I'm far from the point I'm connected, I see the signal of 3 or 4 dots going to 5 dots, indicating that it left one point and went to the other or that it left the 5Ghz network and went to 2.4Ghz (which has a higher latency but reaches a larger radius). Unlike what we see out there, Google Nest Wifi creates a single network with both bands and it determines which network is best for you, the 2.4 or the 5Ghz.

With a processor quad-core 64-bit ARM at 1.4 GHz (which the Google it doesn't say if it's just on the router or on the Wi-Fi points too, I assume it's on all) the router has 1GB of RAM memory and 4GB of Flash memory, while the Wi-Fi points have 768 MB of RAM and 512 MB of Flash. Look, that's almost more power than my first cell phone, the Razr XT910. Need this? Perhaps yes, each device is capable of connecting up to 100 devices at the same time, transmitting up to 1Mbps for each (according to own Google), so processing everything must be quite heavy for a device with basic settings.

About the speed tests, I did it in 3 ways 40 cm from the router: in the first print I tested it through Google, in the second it was through fast.com, and in the third it was through Google Home. There was variation, but still better results than the old router.

Via cable, comparing the old model (which receives the internet and sends it to Nest Wifi), the result is still better for the Google device, which is strange, since it is not the first to receive internet.

About 7 meters from the routers, testing through the Google I got the result below:

The Google device registered almost 30 times more download speed, while the upload speed was almost 100 times greater. Its coverage is without a doubt much better (because now there are 3 devices, and not just 2) and the speed has increased, so it's double the joy.

About the local network, despite being informed that it is possible to transmit up to 2200Mb/s, the number I got is way below. I'm 30 centimeters from the router and the result was this:

In all, I have about 20 devices connected to Wifi and it distributes the 300Mb I have hired very well. No one complains about speed and everyone watches Reels, Stories, videos, and anything with great resolution. Thing that didn't happen so well in the old days, my brothers were always complaining.

Internet of Things (IoT)

I'm not — yet — the person full of connected gadgets, but I have a few. Until I installed these routers I believed it was normal to have a delay between running some command via app on my lamps, for example. Was a delay minimal but present. With Nest Wifi things got faster. In the USA I saw a lot of people saying that it is not the best device for connected products, but for me it has worked well.

Tasks

1 router can cover an area of ​​200 m², 1 router + 1 point covers 350 m², and 1 router + 2 points covers about 500 square meters.

O Google informs that a router and a Wi-Fi point can keep up to 200 devices connected at the same time, with more than one user seeing 4K video at the same time.

The company also reports that updates are done automatically and there is an advanced security chip inside the router to keep the network secure. In addition, in some configuration screens, warnings appear informing that some configuration is set in a way to keep the network protected against attacks.

Fortunately it integrates with other systems from other manufacturers, so you can use products like Arlo, Hue, Nest, Ring, SmartThings, Wink and others.

Asset

Look, setup can be extremely easy or extremely difficult. Here at home, my old router did the dialing, not the modem. The old router was in PPPoE mode, so when I connected the Google Nest Wifi to the modem, nothing happened. I tried several ways to connect and it is a very complicated process, since it can only be done via the Google Home application, you cannot do it through the computer even when connecting via cable; the Nest Wifi IP (192.168.86.1) displays this screen:

In contrast, when I connected Google Nest Wifi to my router (whoever dialed it), the connection was super easy via Google Home (available to Android e iOS). In a few steps everything was working, just follow the screens that appear.

What is it like to have a personal assistant on a router?

It's perfect! Instead of having 1 router + 2 access points + 2 smart speakers (totaling 5 devices) I only have 3. To improve, only if it had induction charging, like the Samsung made SmartThings Station hub for connected home.

I'm a staunch advocate of products that bundle functions and become useful in more ways. Why have 2 different products if I can have one that integrates 2 things? Even better if it integrates more. Cell phones are so popular today precisely because of this, you have your cell phone, camera, GPS, computer, a multitude of things in a single device in your pocket.

Compatibility with Google routers

The router family Google It has 3 models: Google Wifi (2016), Nest Wifi (2019) and Nest Wifi Pro (2022). However, not all of them talk to each other. You can connect Google Wifi to Nest Wifi but Nest Wifi Pro only connect with Nest Wifi Pro as among the 3 models it is the only one that supports Wi-Fi 6. So if you plan to buy Nest Wifi to increase your Google Wifi network, you can rest assured that they are compatible.

Price

Everything has its price and it's not low here. O Google I haven't brought it to Brazil yet, and if what happened to the first generation that only landed here 5 years after the official launch in the USA happens, we will only have Nest Wifi in 2024. Outside the Kit similar to the one I have is sold for USD 200, something around R$ 1.020,00 in direct conversion and without taxes and fees. With that amount, you can buy devices here with Wi-Fi 6, like the TP-Link Deco X50, or others with Wi-Fi 6E. But it must be considered that we will not have Google Assistant.

Conclusion

It's a wild card product and virtually no competitors that do the same things. O Google managed to add an extra function to the device which, despite being one of the main ones in homes today, is always overlooked and is only remembered when we have network problems.

If your home does not have a system mesh If you like personal assistants a lot, the Google Nest Mini Kit is certainly for you. Stable connection on all devices, possibility to create group of speakers together with others smart speakers, all this makes this router useful for a larger number of people.

All in all, Google Nest Wifi is a good choice for anyone looking for a strong, stable Wi-Fi connection throughout the home, as well as additional features like voice control and smart device integration. However, it can be a little more expensive than other routers. mesh and has a limited number of Ethernet ports, plus it doesn't support Wi-Fi 6.

Google Nest Wifi tech specs

Coverage area	Router: 200 meters Point: 150 meters
Wi-Fi automatic optimization	802.11.k/v client automatic roaming Proactive band steering – direct your devices to the best performing channels transmit beamforming
smart home connectivity	IEEE 802.15.4 Thread (2.4GHz) Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE)
Performance	Router and access point can connect up to 100 devices each Multiple 4K video streams
Safety	WPA3 encryption Automatic security update
Speakers and microphones	360 degree sound with 40mm driver Far Field Microphones for Google Assistant
Sensors	On-the-spot capacitive touch controls
Processor	64GHz quad-core 1,4-bit ARM CPU
Memory	Router: 1GB RAM and 4GB Flash Point: 768 MB RAM and 512 MB Flash
ports and connectors	Router: Dual Gigabit Ethernet ports
Food	15W power adapter
Colors	Snow • Mist • Sand
Dimensions and weight	Router: 110 mm in diameter, 90,4 mm in height, and 380 grams. Point: 102,2 mm in diameter, 87,2 mm in height, and 350 grams.
sustainable materials	Router: Outer shell made from 45% post-consumer recycled plastic Point: Outer shell made from 40% post-consumer recycled plastic
Compatibility	The Nest Wifi router and points are also compatible with previous generation Google Wifi devices

Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim (15 / 05 / 23)