![]() ![]() With it out of the way, the main board gets even more interesting than it was before:Īt the bottom, to the left of the daughter card connector, is a Texas Instruments LP55231 nine-channel RGB/white LED driver. Let’s take a closer gander at the comparatively unmemorable daughter board first: Waaa? Ahhh, it’s still attached by a couple of plastic pins:Ī sharp pair of scissors snipped away those remaining impediments: Here’s our first glimpse at the underside of the main board match up ICs with the thermal tape seen in the previous photo (which transfers heat to the aluminum chassis acting as a sink) to figure out which chips run particularly hot:įlip it over, and the two-PCB “sandwich” reappears, unobstructed by any chassis distractions:īut the daughter card still won’t detach. So, I turned my attention to first extracting the entire two-PCB “sandwich,” beginning by detaching the five antenna connectors, along with a separate two-wire connector, and removing six additional screws (one of which was intentionally-or-not different than the other six, along with the prior two): Regardless, my initial attempts to separate it from the main board were thwarted by close-proximity vertical “knobs” in the aluminum chassis that precluded sufficient horizontal PCB movement (along with, it turns out, other impediments that will soon be apparent): My hypothesis is that this approach conceptually allowed for Google to optionally support LAN-only wired connectivity for a mesh hub built on the same base platform, much as Nest Wifi does. One of the first things you’ll likely notice is that the LAN, WAN and power connectors are located on a separate daughter card, although the Ethernet switch is on the main board. Once removed, insert a flat-head screwdriver with tab-proximity discernment, and twist, and you’re inside: That solitary screw you see is the only meaningful barrier to getting inside. Here’s an underside closeup, notating (among other things) the locations of the wired WAN, LAN and power inputs: penny for size comparison purposes (the Google Wifi device is 4.1 in/106.1 mm in diameter, 2.7 in/68.7 mm in height, and weighs 12 oz/340 g): Let’s now focus on the star of the show, the NLS-1304-25, as-usual accompanied by a 0.75″ (19.1 mm) diameter U.S. ![]() Since (I’m assuming) these were refurbs, they included only one single-sided piece of documentation, with amusing instructions ( if initial configuration fails step 1: factory reset and try again, step 2: email us!):Īnd underneath the three units are accompanying “goodie” boxes, one per:Įach contained a power adapter and solitary Ethernet cable (OnHubs had included two): Same model ordering, this time showing the units’ undersides from two different perspectives:īy the way, before continuing, I should show you what else is in the box. The model NLS-1304-25 device was in the center, with AC-1304s straddling it on either side-NLS-1304-25 to the left, AC-1304 to the right: The three-unit set showed up in a Google logo-branded but otherwise plain cardboard box: I may also do a second-generation model teardown in the future, although as we’ll soon see, FCC documentation will likely suffice to discern the differences (albeit not necessarily their causes). Two of the three units in my refurbished set were second-generation AC-1304 models, but the third was a first-generation NLS-1304-25, which I’ll be dissecting today. And more recently, the company quietly released a lower-priced third-generation design, whose only notable evolution (at least on the outside) is the migration from a USB-C connector-based to a barrel connector-based power supply. To date, Google’s actually made three different versions of the Google Wifi device the second-generation model AC-1304 (FCC ID A4RAC-1304) is absent the Zigbee facilities embedded (but, as with its OnHub precursor, never robustly supported) in the original model NLS-1304-25 (FCC ID A4RNLS-1304-25). ![]() That said, however, I still have a compelling use for at least one of the Google Wifi units…as a teardown victim, of course. Turns out I still won’t be migrating to them once my OnHub mesh networking romance ends, however Google’s successor Nest Wifi system is AC2200 4×4:4 MU-MIMO (for the router, at least Nest Wifi hubs are Google Wifi-reminiscent in their specs and also drop the wired backhaul interface option, which is why I’d instead assemble an all-router-based mesh):Īnd I’ve also firmware-hacked a bunch of T-Mobile TM-AC1900 routers to transform them into mesh-capable ASUS RT-AC68U units, if I decide to drop the Google-centric ecosystem approach: Well, in mid-2020, after hearing initial rumor rumbles of OnHub’s looming demise, I reversed course and picked up another three-device Google Wifi set, this time refurbished from Woot for $174.99 plus tax. ![]()
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