Google has launched its new router – Google Wifi – in Ireland, with the promise of ending the dreaded reception blackspots found in some people’s homes.

While the average person sticks with the router given to them by their internet service provider (ISP), Google is attempting to bring alternative routers to the mainstream.

Third-party routers have been around for years, but Google’s new device – simply called Google Wifi and now available in Ireland – aims to replicate the success it has had with Google Home.

The router works exactly like your old router across all Irish ISPs but adds some features, such as ensuring that all devices using the network are always connected to the strongest signal, without the need to reconnect.

Through a companion app, users can see which devices are connected and how much bandwidth they’re using, letting you prioritise devices within your network.

It also lets you limit Wi-Fi access to specified devices, such as those operated by your children, pausing signal to their phones or tablets during bedtime or dinnertime, for example.

Quite a mesh

The app will tell you what location in the house would be ideal for the best signal, although you would think that would limit it to where the coaxial cable is coming in.

But, similar to what the search giant did with the Google Home, the idea is that you would get the best service by buying a number of the devices to create a ‘mesh’, as it calls it.

This would rid many homes of the infamous Wi-Fi blackspots where no signal seems to be able to reach.

By connecting one to the main entry point, the other devices placed in other rooms are designed to pick up the signal and bring a steady service across the home.

Pricing for the device starts at €139 each, while a three-pack will set you back around €359, available from a number of major retail stores.

Google advises people that a single unit is good for homes of up to 900 sq ft, while the three-pack is for those with space up to 2,700 sq ft.