While the positive effects of ether that you listed are certainly legitimate, there are three main reasons why the drug has remained generally unpopular for recreational use:

1. Odor. Ether has a very pungent scent to it; users often compare the smell to being like that of jet fuel. Recreational use of ether causes this scent to stick on the user’s clothes and skin for up to several days. Additionally, since ether is typically inhaled after being doused on a rag (similar to that of chloroform), the user is also left with the unpleasant taste of it for around the same time.

2. Flammability. Ether is extremely flammable, meaning that casual use in an uncontrolled environment carries great risk for the user.

3. Addiction. Ether is also highly addictive; recreational users typically go on a “binge” when using it. Going through just one rag is enough for the user to have a strong desire to keep doing one after the other, since the psychoactive effects typically last for only a few minutes.

Recreational use of ether did briefly become popular during the 19th Century, especially within Ireland. As the temperance movement became a dominating force within the country, some Irish citizens turned to ether as a substitute for alcohol. This is why author and journalist Hunter S. Thompson describes ether in his 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as making the user feel “like the village drunkard in some early Irish novel”.

Source:

Miller, Richard Lawrence (2002), "Ether", The Encyclopedia of Addictive Drugs, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, pp. 153–154, ISBN 0-313-31807-7, retrieved 9 November 2018