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Google TV Streamer: Unboxing and Honest First Setup

2024 · From the Tech with Asher channel · Watch below or read on

My expectation for the new Google TV Streamer was simple: this has to be better than Apple TV, because it can control smart home devices too. That promise is real, but first you have to get through the setup, and I want you to know exactly what that looks like before you start, because it took longer than I expected.

What is in the box, and what is not

Inside: the streamer itself, a voice remote, a USB-C to USB-A cable, and a power adapter. Not inside: an HDMI cable. Have one ready or the evening ends early. On the device you get an LED, a find-my-remote button (press it and the remote chirps from inside the couch; you can also ask Google or use the Home app), a USB-C power port, an Ethernet jack, and HDMI.

Use the Ethernet port. Seriously.

This 2024 streamer ships with Wi-Fi 5, which is two generations behind the routers being sold next to it. Streaming 4K over old Wi-Fi in a busy house is asking for buffering. The Ethernet jack fixes it completely, so if there is any way to run a cable to your TV shelf, do it.

The setup, step by step

• Pair the remote: hold the home and back buttons together until the bottom light blinks, and it pairs in seconds. This part is easy.
• Google Home app: Devices, Add, Google Nest device, then scan the QR code on the TV with your phone. Pick the room, agree to the prompts.
• Then the waiting begins: a system update, app selection, subscription choices, screen saver decisions, more prompts, another personalization pass. I sat through it thinking of installing Windows 95. Budget twenty minutes and let it run.

The payoff at the end

When the home screen finally appeared, I pressed the mic button on the remote and said turn off the bar light. The purple light behind me went dark. That is the moment this device makes its case: your TV remote now runs your house. Skip the extra sign-ups it offers along the way (you can say not now to almost everything), and get to that moment sooner.

Full impressions after a day of real use are in the companion review, including the things I genuinely like and the two decisions I do not.