Routers suck.
And I'm not just talking about the setup process, which can feel like you need a computer science degree to get right.
There's also all the confusion after you set it up. Did my internet go out or is my router on the fritz? Am I on the right frequency? What the heck is 5 GHz anyway? What's the password? Is that all one word? Lowercase?
You know exactly what I'm talking about.
The truth is this: Our gadgets have only gotten easier to use over the years, but the one thing that connects them all is still painfully difficult to manage.
So who's trying to fix it?
It's not the big companies you'd expect. Instead, small startups like Starry, which launches its new Starry Station router this week, think they've cracked it. The Starry Station is also one part of Starry's ambitious plan to deliver high-speed wireless internet to your home. That service launches in beta in Boston this summer, and you'll get a Starry Station for free if you sign up. But anyone can use the Starry Station with their current cable modem.
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I've been testing the $300 Starry Station for a little over a week. It hasn't fundamentally changed anything about the way I use WiFi, but it is much easier to use than any other router I've owned before.
How it works
The Starry Station is packed with all the high-end networking gadgetry you'd expect from a premium router, but the real story is how friendly it is to use. It runs a heavily modified version of Android on a small touchscreen on the front for setup, retrieving your password and managing the devices connected to your network. It also gives your network a "health score" based on the strength of your connection and how much bandwidth the devices in your home are using up.
It can also test the speed of your connection (ever wonder if your provider is actually giving you the speeds you pay for?), help you troubleshoot problems when your internet goes down, and suggest which frequency to use based on how much data your device needs.
What it's like
The Starry Station worked perfectly for me over the last several days. I live alone, but I still have a ton of gadgets connected to my network: a laptop, phone, Apple TV, PlayStation 4, Wii U, and Sonos. I can only imagine what it's like in a household with a family of four or more.
The setup was the best part. After plugging the Starry Station into power and a modem, the touchscreen walks you through the setup process, even suggesting cute names and randomly generated passwords for your network. (Of course, you can use any custom network name or password you want.) The Starry Station was designed for humans, not tech geeks, and I had my router up and running within minutes.
After the setup, the Station calculates a health score based on your connection speed and strength and how much data your devices are using. Luckily, my connection is pretty good, and I've been hovering around 95% most of the time. I did have one moment of panic when my internet blipped out while I was trying to stream "Game of Thrones" the other day, but the Starry Station was able to automatically detect the problem and reset itself. I didn't even have to get up from the couch.
The Station's touchscreen gives you a snapshot of all your devices and lets you know which ones are currently online and using data. If one device needs a lot of bandwidth, say an Apple TV streaming Netflix, it'll suggest switching to a higher frequency band, while keeping your other gadgets on the lower bands. That always makes sure your connection is optimized for all your devices for what you need at any moment. I even got a notification to switch to a different band on my iPhone because I was too close to the router. Pretty cool.
The screen represents your connected devices as bubbles floating around the main screen, and you can tap and swipe around to get stats on each one, test your connection, and set parental controls. There's also an iPhone and Android app that you can use to manage everything remotely. You can get details for each device and see how much data each one used throughout the day. Since most home internet providers give you unlimited data, I doubt many people will care how much they're using, but it is nice to finally have all that information easily available.
The Starry Station also looks good. It's a triangular prism in a white plastic shell, which is refreshing since most high-end routers look like frightening robots out of a sci-fi movie. According to Starry, the idea with the design was to encourage users to place their router where it can be seen and broadcast the best signal to your devices. Too many people hide their ugly routers behind computers or entertainment centers, which can interfere with your connection.
It ain't cheap
The only downside with the Starry Station is its cost. $300 is a lot to swallow for a router, considering you can get one that's just as good for hundreds less. I own a router from TP-Link that costs just $96, and it has pretty much the same connection specs as the Starry Station. It was a pain to set up, and I have to restart it from time to time when my internet goes down, but for that's a minor annoyance for me if it means saving $250.
The real shame is that if you want a user-friendly router you have to pay hundreds extra for it. It's not just the Starry Station either. Eero, which is made by another hardware startup, makes an excellent user-friendly router that starts at $199. And you have to pay $499 if you want the kit that extends your WiFi coverage to adequately blanket your entire house. We live in an era where we can call a cab with a few taps on an app, but if you want that same simplified experience to connect to WiFi, you have to pay out the nose for it. I'm sure cost will go down as these kind of devices become more common, but it's a lot to swallow for now.
Is it worth it?
If you need a new router and don't mind spending a lot, the Starry Station is a delight to use. I bet it's even better in a home with multiple people using multiple devices. (And parents will probably love being able to manage their kids' usage by literally blocking their WiFi connection during certain times.)
But for a lot of people, $300 is going to be too much. It's not a dealbreaker, but it's definitely worth asking yourself if you want to pay that much to get the router of the future today.
