Mesh networks are all the rage these days. Thanks to advances in technology, they work better than simple Wi-Fi repeaters and help cover your house or apartment with much-needed Internet access.
The Nest Wifi Pro is a thing of beauty. Its design, size, shape and colours easily fit modern décor.
Its focus on Wi-Fi means minimal cabling around it, as you can get away with the power cable and one ethernet cable from the fibre ONT – unless you need or want a wired connection, in which case you will find it only has one LAN port. In this case, you will need to plan to use a switch.
Few people use wired connections these days. Usually, you would use a wired connection to avoid wireless interference or improve speeds. The Google Nest WiFi Pro handles both with the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard.
Using the Wi-Fi 6E standard means the Google Nest WiFi Pro can now distribute devices into three bands: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz. The higher the band, the shorter the distance it covers but speeds improve.
Internet-connected automation devices generally use the older 2.4 GHz band (light bulbs, older cameras, garage openers, smart speakers). Laptops, tablets, and phones usually support the 2.4 GHz and newer 5 GHz bands, meaning they typically connect at higher speeds and don’t suffer so much from network traffic on the lower band.
The 6 GHz band has only recently become available, so primarily higher-end phones, laptops and tablets can use it.
So how does it work? Installation is straightforward. Just plug in the ethernet and power cables, and you will use the Google Home app on your phone to scan a QR code printed on its base to start configuration.
In my case, the router took a few seconds to connect automatically with my ISP. Thanks to my ISP not requiring a username and password, I didn’t have to enter anything else. If your ISP uses authentication, you might have to enter your username and password, but it’s not complicated.
You can then set up your wireless network name (SSID) and password and enable a guest network, too, if you want. The new router was connected to the Internet in less than five minutes.
My phone supports 6 GHz, so I was happy it worked without a hitch and connected without problems.
Running some speed tests on my ISP server, I saw the phone reporting a speed jump – almost 50% faster on 6 GHz than the same phone connected to my previous router using the 5 GHZ band. And I mean it - the phone was reporting 750 Mbps when connected to the new router.
Google Nest WiFi Pro comes in single-pack, two-unit or three-unit packs. The first device you plug into your fibre ONT will be your router. If you want to extend your wireless network using the Mesh technology, add a second – or more – device that will cover a different area of your home while still connected to the first one. The various nodes are connected using the new 6 GHz Wi-Fi band as backhaul.
Using the 6 GHz for this function is a good idea because it is clear now with most devices connecting to the older 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. However, it also means that the new Nest Wifi Pro won’t be able to have the old Nest router as a node in the mesh since the older model doesn’t support the 6 GHz band. Also, the nodes can’t be too far apart due to the coverage limitations of the higher band.
In the mesh network, all nodes share the same wireless network configuration, which the router manages. You control the settings from the app on your phone.
Each Google Nest Wifi Pro can handle about 100 connected devices, so when planning how many to buy, you must consider the area to cover and the number of devices you need to connect.
Like other routers, the Google Wifi Nest Pro offers some nice features, such as address reservation (to ensure your devices always get the same address when connecting to the network), basic parental controls and a built-in speed test tool.
The specs mention support for Matter, a standard used to connect IoT devices to a central hub, is coming but there’s no mention of it in the app yet.
It is an excellent streamlined router that is easy to use and has outstanding performance. At just under $ 300 for the single-pack, it’s a good option for a home network update.
