An ode to my now-dead original Google Wi-Fi

It was bound to happen one day, I suppose, but it turns out the final day of delivering the internet wirelessly to our home is today for my beloved, original Google Wi-Fi. Bought right as soon as it became commercially available, I’ve had this single Google Wi-Fi unit in our home for about 7 and a half years at this point and have had no real complaints the entire time.

Sure, as Wi-Fi 6 became available in the past couple years, I’ve thought of replacing our aging router, but for our home it has been rock solid all these years. Why mess with a good thing, right? While the number of connected devices in our home grew to its largest ever point a few years back, the slowdown in the smart home space has curbed that growth quite a bit and our little Google Wi-Fi has managed to never really be an issue all these years later.

Why the original Google Wi-Fi was so important

I guess I’m especially nostalgic about this device because it represents a few key things to me in the personal internet space. First, it runs a forked, specialized version of ChromeOS. Yep, ChromeOS is under the hood on the original Google Wi-Fi and though it has absolutely no bearing on how I interact with it on a daily basis, I always loved knowing that little fact.

Second, this router redefined what it meant to deploy wireless internet in the home by regular users. With the Google Wi-Fi app and a few minutes, you could get this router set up and ready with easy to follow instructions that made installation a breeze and upkeep just as pain free. I loved that perhaps more than anything about it, and it became the absolute de facto recommendation from me for years when someone wanted a fast, simple, no-hassle router.

Finally, I loved that this device came out around the same time as we really got our start at Chrome Unboxed. While I was making videos years before, we still mark 2016 as the point where we decided to really start pushing with all of our efforts, and an early video about the Google Wi-Fi was one of those first videos that were made with Joe as a part of the team. That’s some serious nostalgia, there.

Moving on to a non-Google router

So, when my router up and died today, I needed a quick replacement. I initially thought to go with the latest Google Nest Wi-Fi Pro, but thought better of it when it was time to check out. I wanted a Wi-Fi 6 router for sure, but there are a few to choose from now, and the ripple effect of what Google did in this space has been apparent for quite some time.

It’s nothing to see mesh routers with simple user setup and maintenance apps these days, and the brands that have been around for years now make great hardware and solid software, too. It’s something great that Google did to shake up the router industry, and it all started with the original Google Wi-Fi. Though I doubt I’ll have any issues whatsoever with the $100 Linksys router I bought to replace it, this Google Wi-Fi unit will stay on my shelf as a reminder of how far we’ve come in the personal router space, and how important this particular model was in making all that happen. Rest in peace, buddy.