Google is rolling out software updates for its popular Google Wifi routers. The updates allow you to temporarily stop the Wi-Fi signals, responsible for providing wireless internet, at your place for a fixed duration at a regular basis. The “scheduled pause” option, which allows you to save the internet by pausing it for a fixed time during some regular home events like family dinner, or bedtime, after which the router automatically switches on itself, was the idea of Google product manager Edith Chao.
In a blog post, she writes:
While exploring how to best create tools for families, I noticed that I was having trouble falling asleep. I’d check emails and surf the web late into the night. Experimenting with options, I started using a timer on my computer to turn the Internet off at 11 p.m. The first night was a shock, but after a few nights I was ready to shut down earlier. And I was more refreshed and rejuvenated in the morning.
This software update is one of the first few Google has rolled out since the unveiling of the hardware a few months back. The software feature integration with the Google Wifi router were a complete add on to the hardware, and now, with the update of “scheduled pause,” the device has become impeccable. This update is an extension to pause the wi-fi signal for a specific hardware device or all such devices at a given time.
Only last month, Samsung unveiled a mesh network router system, which allows you manage different Internet connected devices like lights, thermostats, televisions, and appliances. Other names in the tech world like Eero and Luma also offer mesh control facility over multiple units.
