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Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

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Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#161

Post by tw04 »

pde3 wrote: post #117
tw04 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would suggest taking a look at synology. The 2600ac is going on 6 years old and about to get the latest feature release (1.3) with no immediate plans to eol it. And unlike Google they have a long history of LTS.

How do you find the RF performance? For me the OnHub was vastly better than other home wifi gear I've used, but would consider more trustworthy replacements if they have comparable performance...

I guess I don’t have a ton to compare it to. Installed for the neighbors and they get signal from the office in the front of the house to the pool out back, so good? Before that they had a cambium router running DD-wrt that didn’t have anywhere near the range.

You can also buy multiple, they do mesh networking either wireless or wired. They also just announced a 6600 that supports WiFi-6e.

Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#162

Post by qmarchi »

zozbot234 wrote: post #48
yegle wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A quick search suggest there's no WRT firmware for the device. That's a pity, OnHub has 1G ram and I can imaging a lot of creative usages if WRT firmware is available.

It's likely expecting to boot from a custom vendor kernel, even after being placed in "developer mode" - which is probably why the "rooting" procedure is so involved. Look, I get that this has a nice amount of RAM and all, but a lot of this random IoT junk is just not worth supporting.

There's some nice bits of hardware in there. Notably, there's a Zigbee radio, so getting OpenWRT and running Home Assistant is totally a possibility.

Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#164

Post by slenk »

robocat wrote: post #115
cube00 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Make sure you check out some of the other "pro-sumer" lines first. I moved from a flaky consumer router which dropped Wifi all the time to a Ubiquiti which has been rock solid. I'm not recommending Ubiquiti specifically given recent events but just using it as an example of a prosumer brand, even a few years old now and it still gets firmware updates, where as my old consumer router would be lucky to get any updates…

> Make sure you check out some of the other "pro-sumer" lines first Unless you enjoy networking as a hobby, I would worry with that strategy that there is a sizeable risk of wasting your time with unreliable devices, with ongoing maintenance work, or having to rework your network in a few years. My current solution is to buy Unifi UAP-AC-LR (~120USD) and configure it as an access point using the “Unifi Network” app f…

That works great if you can run PoE everywhere.

Do they have a unifi version that I can plug in to a wall outlet without having to upgrade everything to PoE too?

Unless you have PoE you can't add a unifi AP for $120 USD. And getting into PoE isn't cheap.

Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#165

Post by boulos »

chias wrote: post #154
whatever1 wrote: post #67

Btw Onhub does not even have a browser accessible interface like every router has. The only way to manage it is through the app (that they will decommission). Reviewers and experts called this out at the time, but Google reassured that onhub will not face any issues since they will commit to long term support of the device. As a testament to that they highlighted the overspecification of the device (it had enormous r…

Same with Google Wifi and Google Home Nest. Also, fun fact, during an internet outage some time ago I learned that your Google Wifi can't even route locally if you don't have a live connection to the internet. That is, my Desktop could not connect to my NAS -- both wired via Ethernet to my Google Wifi network -- because there was no Internet access. This is a "feature", and is working as intended: https://twitter.com…

Disclosure: I used to work for Google and still work for Alphabet.

That response is a little confusing: the management app is Internet only, but it doesn't drop all its routing tables or something just because the uplink is gone. Moreover, the regular DHCP and so on will operate just fine while not connected to the internet.

I don't know what happened in your case and I totally agree that it's a bad experience for troubleshooting (the thing even has some weird API on it [1], so why isn't there some basic web-based management tool), but you can absolutely unplug the uplink and packets flow locally.

[1] https://github.com/olssonm/google-wifi-api

Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#166

Post by altantiprocrast »

slenk wrote: post #164
robocat wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Make sure you check out some of the other "pro-sumer" lines first Unless you enjoy networking as a hobby, I would worry with that strategy that there is a sizeable risk of wasting your time with unreliable devices, with ongoing maintenance work, or having to rework your network in a few years. My current solution is to buy Unifi UAP-AC-LR (~120USD) and configure it as an access point using the “Unifi Network” app f…

That works great if you can run PoE everywhere. Do they have a unifi version that I can plug in to a wall outlet without having to upgrade everything to PoE too? Unless you have PoE you can't add a unifi AP for $120 USD. And getting into PoE isn't cheap.

When you buy a single Unifi AP they include POE injectors (i.e. a power brick that injects power into ethernet).

Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#168

Post by seanp2k2 »

slenk wrote: post #164
robocat wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Make sure you check out some of the other "pro-sumer" lines first Unless you enjoy networking as a hobby, I would worry with that strategy that there is a sizeable risk of wasting your time with unreliable devices, with ongoing maintenance work, or having to rework your network in a few years. My current solution is to buy Unifi UAP-AC-LR (~120USD) and configure it as an access point using the “Unifi Network” app f…

That works great if you can run PoE everywhere. Do they have a unifi version that I can plug in to a wall outlet without having to upgrade everything to PoE too? Unless you have PoE you can't add a unifi AP for $120 USD. And getting into PoE isn't cheap.

Some UniFi APs used to come with PoE injectors. I’m not sure if they still do, but it looks like they still sell them for $8:

https://store.ui.com/products/u-poe-af

If someone is willing to spend a bit more, the 8 port managed GbE switch with 4 PoE ports is $110: https://store.ui.com/products/unifi-switch-8-60w

That said, they’re coming out with a “UniFi Dream Router” for $80 (might be more once it goes GA, it’s in beta now via their Early Access program) that has the wifi, gateway, and management all in one device https://dongknows.com/ubiquitis-wi-fi-6-unifi-dream-router-u...

If someone is interested in going all-in on UniFi, their best solution is coming in the form of the Dream Machine Pro SE that can support their camera platform (Protect) along with Network and includes a 10Gb SFP+, 2.5GbE, and a PoE 8-port switch which should be fine for most houses (e.g. 5 wired PoE cameras + 3 PoE APs).

I’ve been into Ubiquiti ever since the OG EdgeRouter, so my current setup is a bit more complex. I’m not happy that they’ve ended support for UniFi Video that I ran for years on a NUC with Ubuntu that also hosts other small home automation stuff and Jenkins. I finally caved and got a Cloud Key 2+ to run Protect, which only runs on their hardware, even though it’s just 64-but ARM. At least it’s fast, I guess. It would be great if they had any real competition in this space, but all the other DIY and enterprise options really suck for cameras. MikroTik is fine for networking gear, and with the prices I’ve been seeing on some wifi mesh systems and even “gaming” routers, people could be getting Aruba Instant On or Ruckus Unleashed systems that would be infinitely better than the junk that they’re passing off as “gaming” routers these days.

Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#169

Post by toast0 »

qq4 wrote: post #120
zbrozek wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ditto; I only buy wireless hardware that can run openwrt on the day that I buy it. I may not flash it on that day, but I like to know that I can. My router is an x86 machine running opnsense.

What machine do you recommend? I've thought about having a custom router but I have wondered both if it is worth it and what machine I should use.

If you've ever built a computer, just put together something lowend. MicroATX is usually least cost and easy to work with.

Something like https://pcpartpicker.com/list/3MpGmk

Some people don't care for Realtek nics, you can spend more to get Intel if you want. You could put more ram, or storage, or whatever if you're going to do more than routing. Ryzen might be nicer, but they don't have a cheap CPU with integrated graphics right now, and it's not worth paying $100 more to get one for a router, IMHO. If you can find a motherboard with IPMI for cheap, that'd be nice, but I can't, so I just use a spare monitor and keyboard when I need to.

There's small x86 router boards around, and they're cool, but if anything goes wrong, your options are limited. If anything in this fails, you can get the part replaced at your local computer store, even if that's BestBuy.

Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#170

Post by causi »

Google reassured that onhub will not face any issues since they will commit to long term support of the device.

Which is hilarious because of course they didn't. They never do. How many times does Google have to fuck their hardware customers before people wise up? This isn't even the first time Google has done this explicitly to force customers to buy into the Nest ecosystem. Remember when they bought Revolv and then bricked all their $300 smart home hubs to force people to buy Nest hubs instead? Anyone who trusts Google not to drop them the very instant it becomes profitable to do so is a damn fool.

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