Google will stop updating its OnHub Wi-Fi routers soon

Google’s first attempt at a Wi-Fi router was the Google OnHub in 2015, which was manufactured by TP-Link and Asus. It was a moderate success, and the next year, it was replaced by the Google Wifi mesh router system (which became the Nest Wifi in 2019). Even though all Google Wifi and Nest Wifi products are still fully supported, Google will start turning the lights off for OnHub within the next year.

Google is sending an email to OnHub users informing them of upcoming changes (via Android Police). The message reads, “support for OnHub devices will end on December 19, 2022. 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.”

Put simply, OnHub routers will continue to provide an internet connection to your home beyond December 2022, but you won’t be able to change any settings or use many of the currently-available features. That’s definitely not great for a high-end router system that is less than 10 years old and was sold by Google as recently as 2017. You can still buy leftover OnHub routers from third-party sellers on Newegg and other sites (but you shouldn’t).

Google is offering one small glimmer of good news, though: the email sent to OnHub owners contains a 40% discount code that can be applied with Nest Wifi hardware. OnHub wasn’t a mesh network system, so buying the equivalent one-unit Nest Wifi would be $101 at the most with the discount. It’s not clear if the discount stacks with the Google Store’s sale on Nest hardware, which would bring the total down to $89 (at least until the sale ends). The regular Google Wifi is also still available for purchase from Google at lower prices, but the company isn’t giving special discounts on those.

The post Google will stop updating its OnHub Wi-Fi routers soon appeared first on xda-developers.

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