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Show HN: The Wifi Block – Let your guests connect to WiFi with just a tap

thewifiblock.com

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Re: Show HN: The Wifi Block – Let your guests connect to WiFi with just a tap

#3

Post by ikornaselur »

So it's a $40 piece of wood with a NFC sticker in it? Feels like it would be cheaper to just print out a QR code and get people to point their camera at it to connect. Could even order a super cheap NFC sticker and stick it to the back of the QR code.

Re: Show HN: The Wifi Block – Let your guests connect to WiFi with just a tap

#5

Post by jgaudette »

floatinglotus wrote: post #2

What does “widely supported” actually mean? What an odd thing to write on a tech product page.

Thank you for the feedback! Widely supported is clarified more on the footer of that section, and also in the FAQ. We'll take a look at making it more explicit though, I appreciate you bringing it to our attention. While being a technology product, our main customer focus is not to technical people, and therefore need to strike a balance between too heavy technical terms and details and getting our value proposition across.

iPhone's from iPhone 7 and up are supported in setting up the Wifi block, and iPhone X's and above support the guest functionality of tapping to connect to Wifi.

Most Android devices created from 2018 and after are supported. A good way to know if your device would be supported or not is whether or not you use Android or Apple pay.

Thanks again for taking a look and your feedback!

Re: Show HN: The Wifi Block – Let your guests connect to WiFi with just a tap

#6

Post by jgaudette »

ikornaselur wrote: post #3

So it's a $40 piece of wood with a NFC sticker in it? Feels like it would be cheaper to just print out a QR code and get people to point their camera at it to connect. Could even order a super cheap NFC sticker and stick it to the back of the QR code.

Hi there! At a basic level yes you are absolutely right. The wood however has to be rough cut, assembled with the NFC tag, precision cut, routed multiple times, sanded, laser engraved, and then have multiple coats of acrylic sealant applied to it. Not bad for only $40?

We hope that others will find a custom designed Wifi Block sitting on their shelf a lot more appealing than a printed QR code with a sticker on it, but only time will tell!

Re: Show HN: The Wifi Block – Let your guests connect to WiFi with just a tap

#7

Post by ikornaselur »

jgaudette wrote: post #6
ikornaselur wrote: post #3

So it's a $40 piece of wood with a NFC sticker in it? Feels like it would be cheaper to just print out a QR code and get people to point their camera at it to connect. Could even order a super cheap NFC sticker and stick it to the back of the QR code.

Hi there! At a basic level yes you are absolutely right. The wood however has to be rough cut, assembled with the NFC tag, precision cut, routed multiple times, sanded, laser engraved, and then have multiple coats of acrylic sealant applied to it. Not bad for only $40? We hope that others will find a custom designed Wifi Block sitting on their shelf a lot more appealing than a printed QR code with a sticker on it, bu…

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's a quality product that you provide (I'm assuming you're affiliated with this). I just don't remember the last time I had to give anyone access to my WiFi (everyone's just on mobile these days), and when it has been required it's usually for laptops (which couldn't use this.. Nor a QR code for that matter)

Maybe other people would find better use for this, but for the past years I've just set my WiFi password to something I remember and in the rare cases people want to connect, I just tell them the password.

The WiFi block looks nice though!

Re: Show HN: The Wifi Block – Let your guests connect to WiFi with just a tap

#9

Post by jgaudette »

ikornaselur wrote: post #7
jgaudette wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi there! At a basic level yes you are absolutely right. The wood however has to be rough cut, assembled with the NFC tag, precision cut, routed multiple times, sanded, laser engraved, and then have multiple coats of acrylic sealant applied to it. Not bad for only $40? We hope that others will find a custom designed Wifi Block sitting on their shelf a lot more appealing than a printed QR code with a sticker on it, bu…

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's a quality product that you provide (I'm assuming you're affiliated with this). I just don't remember the last time I had to give anyone access to my WiFi (everyone's just on mobile these days), and when it has been required it's usually for laptops (which couldn't use this.. Nor a QR code for that matter) Maybe other people would find better use for this, but for the past yea…

Thanks!!!

The most cases we find that the average people run into issues with mobile is in bad connection areas or when staying at one place for a while (staying over with friends or family, or at a party, etc).

A big use case as well is airbnb's and home rentals. One of the first things that you want when entering a rental is free wifi!

Thanks again for the feedback!

Re: Show HN: The Wifi Block – Let your guests connect to WiFi with just a tap

#10

Post by jgaudette »

gryn wrote: post #8

Why not just use the WPS WiFi button ? most internet routers have it nowadays.

Absolutely an option! Unfortunately for a lot of people the router is hidden away. For those renting their house on airbnb or similar, the last thing you want your guest to have to do is hunt for the router. We hope having a customized Wifi block next to your entrance would make the experience awesome!
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