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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

#91

Post by baskethead »

admax88qqq wrote: post #74
gruez wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>and then you upgrade to a faster unit with next-gen wifi or whatever Do people actually need next-gen wifi? My impression is that 99.9+% of people would be well served by a mid-range 802.11ac router (eg. AC1750[1]) from years ago, because the most bandwidth intensive thing they do is watch 4k netflix (~25 Mb/s). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11ac-2013

I'm sure people said the same thing about 802.11ac when everyone was on n, or n when everyone was on g. Faster is always better. New 802.11ax also improves contention between devices.

Faster is not always better.

I upgraded to 10Gbps for my network and I barely use above 1Gbps, what I originally had.

I upgraded my Wi-Fi to wifi6 and I can’t tell any difference at all, despite having around 40 wireless devices on my network. All our phones support it and I literally don’t notice anything.

We may be getting to the point where more speed is not as important.

Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#92

Post by ineedasername »

admax88qqq wrote: post #74
gruez wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>and then you upgrade to a faster unit with next-gen wifi or whatever Do people actually need next-gen wifi? My impression is that 99.9+% of people would be well served by a mid-range 802.11ac router (eg. AC1750[1]) from years ago, because the most bandwidth intensive thing they do is watch 4k netflix (~25 Mb/s). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11ac-2013

I'm sure people said the same thing about 802.11ac when everyone was on n, or n when everyone was on g. Faster is always better. New 802.11ax also improves contention between devices.

I have ~7 year old bog standard wifi router that has more than enough speed to saturate my 200Mbs downlink. Up to 7 or 8 devices online at a time when all family members are home, and there's never a contention issue. I can hog the connection w/ a huge Steam download, and then when they kids start streaming netflix to the TV it's still all shared nicely with me getting a reduced speed as the stream kicks in, everything still working perfectly & taking full advantage of the 200Mbs speed.

That's not meant to refute you: Sure, faster etc. is good. But I'd be pretty angry if I was told it was being bricked by the manufacturer under the conditions that Google is citing when everything still works perfectly well. There's no reason at all that Google has to disable management within the app.

And since I have a new finished basement that doesn't get the WiFi signal very strongly I am considering an upgrade to a modern mesh setup, and was heavily considering Nest Wifi. Now? Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope.

Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#94

Post by gruez »

admax88qqq wrote: post #74
gruez wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>and then you upgrade to a faster unit with next-gen wifi or whatever Do people actually need next-gen wifi? My impression is that 99.9+% of people would be well served by a mid-range 802.11ac router (eg. AC1750[1]) from years ago, because the most bandwidth intensive thing they do is watch 4k netflix (~25 Mb/s). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11ac-2013

I'm sure people said the same thing about 802.11ac when everyone was on n, or n when everyone was on g. Faster is always better. New 802.11ax also improves contention between devices.

>I'm sure people said the same thing about 802.11ac when everyone was on n, or n when everyone was on g.

You'd probably be well served by 802.11n right now. Take a typical setup of 802.11n with 2x2 MIMO: theoretical speeds would be 300Mb/s. Halve that for "real world" performance, and you have speeds of 150Mb/s. That's more than enough for multiple streams of 4k netflix. Looking around it looks like most 802.11n adapters of the day (I checked 2011, the spec was released in 2009) only support 2.4ghz, so spectrum congestion might be an issue in high density areas, if we halve the speed again to account for this, we get 75Mb/s, which might be slower than your internet access, but is still otherwise usable.

Based on this, I'm thinking the prudent strategy is to upgrade every other wifi generation.

Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#95

Post by ineedasername »

qmarchi wrote: post #25

In case anyone wants it, here's how to root a TP-Link OnHub. They're essentially glorified chromebooks, with some magic sauce on them. https://www.exploitee.rs/index.php/Rooting_The_Google_OnHub Dis: Googler, not near Nest/Home

Would rooting allow reconfiguration that Google will now be blocking through the Home app?

Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#97

Post by [deleted] »

bonoboTP wrote: post #88

It's a meme now that Google doesn't support anything long term and breaks compatibility etc. all the time. Why? Because that's what's incentivized for the engineers and managers. You climb the career ladder by releasing new stuff. Supporting old stuff is a dead end careerwise. If that's the culture, this is what you get. On the whole, it does seem to work out well for them!

[deleted]

Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#98

Post by ineedasername »

cube00 wrote: post #83
aagha wrote: post #17

What utter BS! > "After that, your router will still work, but it will not receive any new software features or security updates, and performance cannot be guaranteed. You will not be able to use any Google Home app features to do things like update network settings, add devices, or run speed tests. And Google Assistant commands like “Hey Google, pause my Wi-Fi” will also not be available." [0] It'll work, but you wo…

Speaking of BS > Since OnHub routers were introduced 6 years ago, a lot has changed. In 2022, support for these older devices will end. Given the devices were over spec'ed to allow for future expansion I highly doubt they're outdated already.

My router is about the same age, and with a 200Mbs dl speed and ~20 devices attached (no more than 6-8 actually in active use at the same time) everything still works fine all these years later. No one every complains when a few of us are streaming video and someone starts downloading > 20GB Steam game-- the router adjusts, streams continue, Steam uses whatever is left over, etc.

Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#99

Post by jordanthoms »

gruez wrote: post #71
yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno, I'd have to do a TCO analysis; if they give you 40% off, and you just assume it'll die after X years but be fully supported for that time and then you upgrade to a faster unit with next-gen wifi or whatever, it could still work out to be a good deal. Like... not my cup of tea (TCO is even nicer when the unit's lifespan is indefinite), but it's a plausible tradeoff.

>and then you upgrade to a faster unit with next-gen wifi or whatever Do people actually need next-gen wifi? My impression is that 99.9+% of people would be well served by a mid-range 802.11ac router (eg. AC1750[1]) from years ago, because the most bandwidth intensive thing they do is watch 4k netflix (~25 Mb/s). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11ac-2013

I ran a Asus ac-68u at home at home for years and was generally happy, but the speed bump from upgrading to a ax-86u has actually been very substantial even for ac devices.

BTW I’m using a mikrotik router, but I’m not sold on Ubiquiti for home use even though I’ve deployed plenty of them at our office - my impression is that while the management on them is nice and they may be better for handling large numbers of clients, the more high end home aps have long range external antennas and seem better at providing high speeds to a small number of devices. It’s hard to find many objective tests of that though…

Re: Google to end support for OnHub routers in 2022

#100

Post by harha »

pantalaimon wrote: post #79
zmj wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I probably will. The OnHub has performed substantially better than the other consumer wireless routers I've used, and after 5 years it's due to be replaced anyway. Might as well take the discount.

> after 5 years it's due to be replaced anyway Are people really replacing their home network infrastructure every 5 years?

The best move is to add cables where possible. I’ve got a slightly upper scale consumer mesh network (with Ethernet backhaul) for anything that moves, everything else is connected via cables (have to admit that I only had to draw one cable from the fiber outlet to the other side of the room where an Ethernet outlet was ready) and gigabit switches, both of them at a very low cost. I get almost the same speed and latency at any wired device as I do at the router, even though the cables going to the rooms are 10+ years old.

Unless you’re living out in the wild with no devices to interfere, speed and reliability will be well worth the effort and save a lot on ineffective Wi-Fi gear.

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