Is Google Wifi, vs other products, a good way to improve connectability throughout my house?
Google Wifi is a mesh wifi network, which can provide much better coverage where house structure or size can restrict a traditional single access point wifi.
However, Google Wifi isn’t the only mesh wifi system, and probably isn’t the cheapest.
And choosing a better single access point (or location) could actually provide good coverage in some circumstances.
When I had wifi issues with a ISP provided outer, I went for a Ubiquiti wifi access point cabled into the center of the house (single level wooden framed construction). It works great. If I had a brick and/or concrete multi-level house, I’d probably select a mesh wifi system.
I’ve been using Google WiFi in my home since they came out, and generally, my experience has been pretty positive. I use 3 of the mesh units (base station, plus two to extend coverage). One at each end of the house and then a third out in my shed to provide wifi for that area. Early on, there were some stability issues, but those have, in my experience, been ironed out. I do miss some of the “nuts and bolts” adjusting and checking I could do with my previous units, but the “set it and forget it” aspect is nice.
Overall, I’d agree that there are somewhat cheaper options out there, but the Google units are a good choice.
As already mentioned, there are several mesh WiFi systems available, like the Eero and Netgear Orbi.
I’ve had a Google WiFi system since January 2017 and been very happy with it. I got the 3-pack, and use all 3, though 2 would probably have been sufficient. It was easy to set up, and works well enough that I never have to think about it. It acts like 1 WiFi network that works everywhere in and around the house. It’s been very reliable - there has only been one instance when one of the devices didn’t resume from a power outage (or was it a network outage?) properly and I had to cycle power on it.
One potential downside is that it doesn’t have a web browser interface like most wifi routers; it’s all controlled from a smartphone app. But I’m OK with it, especially since that app also lets me check the status of my home network when I’m away from home.
I got a 4 pack set from costco. Works nicely, would recommend.