The one thing that irritates me about the WiFi connection in my home is that it isn’t always reliable. If I wander into one room or another, the connection might drop.

This irritation has led me to look into building a stronger WiFi connection, which has led me to a device that Google recently built. Google WiFi builds a stronger WiFi connection and it’s relatively inexpensive at $300, but there are some drawbacks.

Google WiFi - A Good Idea?

The Google WiFi device looks like a small speaker. It’s white and small and will probably blend into your home just fine if you put it on a shelf. The aim of this device is to make WiFi inside of your home fast and strong no matter where you are in your house. It does this two ways.

First, you have to have an Internet-connected device like a tablet or an iPhone. Second, you need to have a Google account (that’s free). Why do you need these two things? The Google WiFi device is not wired, so it runs through your current Google account.

If you do anything in tech (or are just skeptical by nature, which you should be), you might start seeing some red flags - Google wants to run your home WiFi through a Google account that’s connected to your wireless device?

Not Spying

Google has stated time and again that the Google WiFi system does not track the websites that you visit, so you really don’t need to worry about that. What might be collected is hardware and WiFi system information (this happens by default, really, and it’s the only way that the Google WiFi device works. But, you shouldn’t worry too, too, much about Google collecting your hardware information or WiFi details.

Still, for most people, knowing that Google has access to your browsing habits and hardware is enough to deter the purchase of this device. That said, if you are comfortable with the way that Google WiFi works, this little device is a good and cheap and easy way to boost the WiFi inside of your home. There’s also a privacy option that you can access to make your privacy even harder to hack.

Would I be concerned about Google’s constant connect? Not at all. Plus, this device tends to be helpful and useful.

The Benefits

I can’t walk across my house without a signal disruption. It takes a few moments for one connection to catch up with the other one. Google WiFi prevent this from happening. When this system is set up, you can move across your home seamlessly, transfer files without slowdown, watch things on Netflix while your computers and tablets and other things are running without waiting or disconnecting, and you can easily set up and run the devices.

Plus, you can purchase Google WiFi for $129, or you can buy three of them (recommended for a bigger home and stronger signal) for around $300. Even at $300, this is cheaper than competitor options.

In this writer’s opinion, it’s worth looking into a WiFi booster if your WiFi isn’t that strong at home (and you are continuously frustrated). If you can get over the fact that you have to be connected to Google at all times with Google WiFi, this is a good option for faster internet at home.