[ikornaselur]

So it's a $40 piece of wood with a NFC sticker in it? Feels like it would be cheaper to just print out a QR code and get people to point their camera at it to connect. Could even order a super cheap NFC sticker and stick it to the back of the QR code.

[jgaudette]

Hi there! At a basic level yes you are absolutely right. The wood however has to be rough cut, assembled with the NFC tag, precision cut, routed multiple times, sanded, laser engraved, and then have multiple coats of acrylic sealant applied to it. Not bad for only $40?

We hope that others will find a custom designed Wifi Block sitting on their shelf a lot more appealing than a printed QR code with a sticker on it, but only time will tell!

[ikornaselur]

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's a quality product that you provide (I'm assuming you're affiliated with this). I just don't remember the last time I had to give anyone access to my WiFi (everyone's just on mobile these days), and when it has been required it's usually for laptops (which couldn't use this.. Nor a QR code for that matter)

Maybe other people would find better use for this, but for the past years I've just set my WiFi password to something I remember and in the rare cases people want to connect, I just tell them the password.

The WiFi block looks nice though!

[jgaudette]

Thanks!!!

The most cases we find that the average people run into issues with mobile is in bad connection areas or when staying at one place for a while (staying over with friends or family, or at a party, etc).

A big use case as well is airbnb's and home rentals. One of the first things that you want when entering a rental is free wifi!

Thanks again for the feedback!

[macNchz]

Yeah I'd love if airbnbs had these. I tend to rent places in mountainy areas with bad cell service. It feels like 90% of the time we arrive bleary-eyed from a long drive, needing to look up a place to get dinner, only to find the welcome packet which has a handwritten password like "FJ#)@Jkfsf2JBbnNVnIOfQPOWre230F(&J%^". Minor annoyance, but a bother all the same. I always type it out in the Notes app first to make it easier to fix typos.

[prepend]

I’ve rented many an Airbnb where that long password is scratched out and it looks like a previous guest has written in “torpedo” or something much easier to type.

I guess the upside of default router passwords is that it allows friendly “hackers” to help.

[ta17711771]

Friendly hackers should know better than to leave a trivially crackable passphrase for an easily captured network.

[bb88]

So, how about a $4 or $5 version which is the size of a coaster and only has the wifi symbol on it? You could have them manufactured in china by the thousands for a few pennies apiece.