What you need to know
- Google WiFi owners are being warned that the legacy app is being shut down next month.
- Users are being told to migrate their network to the Google Home app, which will include several benefits.
- The shutdown will occur on May 25th, and the app will be removed from the Play Store shortly after.
Steps are finally being taken to migrate all Google WiFi users over to Google Home. In an email sent out to Google WiFi users (via SlashGear), the company is informing that it will shut off the legacy app used to control and monitor Google WiFi networks next month. Users are thus encouraged to migrate their networks to the Google Home app, similar to Nest Wifi owners.
The company states that the move will bring added benefits to Google WiFi customers, with the ability to automatically prioritize bandwidth to certain functions:
In the past year, we've focused on addressing real customer requests for Wi-Fi at home. When you migrate, you'll get features like improved video conferencing on Google Meet and Zoom. Better insights on your network, whether it's a notification when a new device joins your network or detailed insights for troubleshooting a slow/bad internet connection.
The change is hardly unexpected. Nest WiFi was launched in 2019 to more or less replace Google WiFi and has since become one of the best mesh WiFi routers. Owners of the newer mesh system configure their networks using the Google Home app instead of using the legacy WiFi app. Since then, Google has essentially been running two apps simultaneously for its WiFi users, something that the company it known to do now and again when it rolls out a new service to replace an older one. After the May 25th shutdown, Google WiFi users can only view the network status and connected devices.
Google includes steps to migrate the network to the Google Home app, but it's important to keep in mind that WiFi devices will have to be renamed and admin privileges will be reset, so you'll have to add those back in.
