eero - eero 7

I'm not an expert in this but my experience with the Eero 7 has been pretty good. I believe one E7 will be better than multiple E6s. I have a larger home and went from 3 E6 units to 2 E7 units. I suspect that each extender impacts your overall bandwidth so fewer units is going to have better performance. I have 500M bandwidth. With 3 E6's, I was getting about 200M by the time the signal got from the basement (where the utilities come in) to the top floor ( my office). With 2 E7s, I'm getting 400M upstairs, so I'm a much happier camper. That said, these things are not cheap. I bought mine on Cyber Monday. If you can, wait for a sale.

The Eero 7 3pack is cheaper than the 6E 3 pack, why wouldn't I just get that? 2k sq. foot house with lots of interference, 2 daughters and a wife that heavily cnsume games and internet and video apps, tv's in many rooms... probably 20 active devices. and when their friends come over, BAM! Peakout!

My Google wifi got stuck at about 20-30 mbps on a 500 mbps connection. Tossed it and replaced with Eeros 7 and it's amazing! Easy to set up, awesome interface and fast! Only downside was having to use their app and create an account (feee), not a big deal to me.

I would absolutely agree with you there, budget allowing. Currently I run two eero 6+ devices (going back in a few days; they belong to my ISP and I'm leaving their area) along with two eero Pro 6 devices (mine, purchased before I switched to my current ISP, which provided the 6+ eeros at no monthly charge). They've all been great devices to run. However, if I were buying today (whether for replacement or just supplementing), I would only look at the various eero 7 options. I probably should have mentioned that, even though it sounded like OP might be looking to spend less!

It should help a lot, if they're positioned right! If you keep the existing eero at one end of your home and put the new one at the other end, you won't get good results, though; just a heads up! Your additional eero needs to be placed in a spot where you still have strong WiFi or it'll be seriously hobbled. So space them out roughly equally if you can. But play around with it as needed. They might need to be closer together, depending on your situation (area, interior wall construction, other sources of interference, etc.). You might also consider going with an eero 7 device of some sort instead (as u/opticspipe said) if budget isn't a huge concern. Probably something you'll be glad you spent the extra money on down the road.

Some initial thoughts based on what I'm seeing here: **eero 7** * Wi-Fi 7 for the masses. The small form factor and design that blends into a room rather than sticking out like a sore thumb with spider leg antennas (looking at you, Asus...). * $250 Canadian makes this a no-brainer for anyone not described as a power user. A two-pack for $350 is even better. Slots in as basically the cheapest Wi-Fi 7 offering I've seen yet. * No 6GHz is...ehh. I personally don't like it, but it's what the market is doing at these lower price points. I think for most people this is probably okay, as Wi-Fi 7's biggest improvements do positively impact 5GHz as well, but for dense environments like apartments where you could be in radio range of dozens of APs having that additional frequency and channel spectrum can be a difference maker. * 2.5GbE is very nice at this price point and makes this perfectly viable for most consumer internet plans. * MLO at this price point is a unicorn, I'm pretty sure. I've only ever seen it advertised on the high-end, so I appreciate eero making this universal across the board. * Verdict: thumbs up - this is core eero: solid, reliable Wi-Fi at a price point that doesn't break the bank. I'd probably recommend this to most people. **eero Pro 7** * I like that it uses the proven Max 7 design - the Max 7 handles thermals well in a fanless design (which isn't always true with other Wi-Fi 7 products). * But...this makes far less sense to me as a product. * 2x2 5GHz radio is a step back from the Pro 6. Yes, the Pro 6E also had 2x2 radios but the Pro 6E was also made at the height of the chip shortage with significant compromises made so it could be sold at its price point with enough chip quantity available to manufacture it. * At least there's 6GHz! Just...it's also 2x2. Presumably not to step on the toes of the Max 7. * 5GbE is INSANE. What were they thinking? It's rare, the rarity makes it expensive, 5GbE switches and devices are virtually non-existent and because of its rarity trying to use it in a 10GbE switch (for example) doesn't always work the way you hope it would. This reeks of "10GbE makes it too close to the Max 7". Hope your ISP bothered to test 5GbE LAN on their ONT/modem's 10GbE ports. * Verdict: thumbs down - I don't think this should exist as a product. There's a better product portfolio to be had here - put the 6GHz radio in the eero 7 and make that the choice for everyday users, leave the Max 7 for power users/enthusiasts, Outdoor 7 to handle that need and a PoE 7 to pair nicely with the PoE Gateway.

I just got a set of 6e's a couple of weeks ago. Should I return them and get the 7s?

I’m a bit conflicted. The 6e is triband and supports 6hz. The 7 does not. The 7 pro is out of budget so I’m not considering that. Do the improvements in WiFi 7 outweigh the lack of 6ghz band?

Look at Eero 7s. They’re quite easy to set up. Had google/nest wifi for a while. They mostly worked long as we restarted the network a few times a week. Recently replaced them with Eero 7s after the main point started smelling like it was burning. Even google rep was confused. And the rep at Best Buy where the warranty was based couldn’t find any in stock in any stores in the area so gave us a credit for something else. Eero’s were in stock so got a 3 pack. Been smooth since.

Sure. The Deco does not have nearly as much engineering put into it as the Eero does. Eero has a bunch of unique (patented) technologies that make it work better in certain environments.

Great reply. I agree with all points. The only suggestion I would make is to buy a better Eero for the gateway (7 class product) and use the 6+ as an extender. You might find that you don't even need the extender with the better gateway.

I was contemplating switching to pro 6e’s when I saw the email for the new 7’s at same price point, I have the ring/eero gateway with 3 eero pros (mostly due to trying to get coverage indoors and out), all are wired backhaul so I don’t care about the wireless backhaul as much, I am working on a way to put one in my shed using a solar setup to provide WiFi further on my 20 acre property but with only 50mb down/10 up I don’t know that I will see much benefit from upgrading my in house units to 2 pro 6e or the 7 nodes and putting one of the pros out in the shed enough to spend the money. When building the house I planned ubiquity until we found out spectrum lied about providing service to our house so didn’t run lines to ceiling for POE access points, until we get faster fiber options.

I had 3-Pro6 E's (wired) that did an OK job with my 2500sf 4 Level house and 1.2 GB fiber. Speeds really seemed to drop off quickly though and I could only get GB speeds standing right in front of the Eeros. Replaced them with 3-7's. The noice level really dropped on Eero + and now GB speeds throughout the house. Need to figure out how/who to sell my Pro 6 E's to.

For me they were pretty stable but definitely get better coverage with the 7.

I just swapped from TP-Link BE11000 to the Eero Max 7. Which Eero are you using? My entire network is ethernet backhauled. My trouble was compatibility outdoor Deco units and the BE11000 ethernet backhaul bugs. I had engineering tickets and night sessions with them via TeamViewer where they were reviewing the network for 4 months. I’ve probably given them 10-12 hours at least if my time. They acknowledged that the system had issues with stopping the wireless backhaul all the time and would cause jumps between wireless to wired if both were options. The most recent firmware was part of the betas that I was working with them on. Still had issues with clients being online in Deco without IPs, without MACs, or showing online and not being able to connect. Eero 7s just had a deal at Best Buy for buy 3 get 1 free for 1200. Worked flawlessly from setup and haven’t had to tweak the system at all. There’s still multiple bugs across Deco devices that I think they spread themselves too thin. Their backend architecture isn’t that strong. What’s the performance you’re seeing? iPhone 14 chips are missing 6GHz but otherwise should function pretty well on the Eero 6 and above. How do your channels look on the busyness and background noise? Ethernet are you getting full speed on the nodes?

I just created an entirely new eero 7 ecosystem and it sucks

I am very happy with my eero 7.

Eero 7 is best around

Same.

I dunno about that take to be honest. For those who have gigabit home fiber like myself, the Pro 6 units are rock solid and have never experienced downtime while running a household of 6 users with over 50 devices. The Pro 6E for sure had its issues and like others have stated, the single 2.5Gbps port was a head scratcher. The newly released 7 is good on price point but will not make me jump at it and abandon my Pro6 which has the 4x4 @5.8 GHz. The Pro 7 is nice but at $300 per unit, I am happy with what I have and have no issues with gigabit service to my home.

Probably should just get a new eero or two. While having a million eeros around can be counter productive - more is generally better and they are backwards compatible. Not sure the latest eero vs Google WiFi head to head results but in most cases your dollar and performance will go further upgrading the mesh you have. Re: living room - I wonder if the eeros are a little too close.

Yup. And system can mean just one. In fact I'd recommend getting the best one you can afford (new eero 7 might be overkill but 6e should work) vs a bundle of cheaper ones unless the bundle is insanely cheap. It's less that the eero is too close to the computer and more them being being close to each other. There's some direct interference but moreso your computer and eeros (which try to help find the best connection) are probably is getting confused what to best connect to. Obviously you don't want them a mile apart either. Think of it this way - your eeros have some tricks up their sleeves to connect to each other but it's rare that main eero talking to repeater then talking to your computer is going to be better for stability than main eero talking directly to your computer (when repeater and comp are in same spot).

so if i have the pro 6E right now which has support for 6ghz for my MacBook and iPhone, the new eero 7 wont support the ghz band? so would my devices just use 5ghz? I'm confused

so it doesnt support the 6ghz band that my MacBook and iPhone use? would it just use the normal old 5ghz band? because a new 3 pack of eero 7's is cheaper then my current 3 pack of pro 6e's I have now, so something isn't making sense

No 6ghz... No thanks. My macs and iphones are all wifi 6

no 6ghz band which the latest iphone and macs use

Ya i meant the eero 7 not the pro

Same question here. No 6ghz band is whack..

If you have ethernet cabling between floors, use that as much as possible. If not, then it is mesh. One of the best mesh systems on the market is Eero. Solid and super easy to setup and use. That's what I use. You can start with one and only add more devices as you need them. But don't oversaturate your wifi. That creates wifi interference which leads to performance issues.

This is a good recommendation. Eero for simple, plug and play with probably one of the best mesh networks in market today. Ubiquiti if you want more configuration capabilities and have more network know-how.

I think folks that have commented already missed the point that you're not tech-savvy and do not way to deal with complicated setup/ troubleshooting. I would avoid Ubiquiti. It's a great product and I use it. But it requires network know-how the set it up and maintain it. I would recommend Eero. It's a solid performer and designed for the person that isn't tech-savvy and does not want to tinker with the network. Eero has probably the best mesh products on the market today. Depending on your layout/ needs, you could go PoE Gateway + PoE 6 APs. Great for ceiling AP locations. I also use this setup. Alternatively, you can use Max 7 or Pro 6E. Avoid 6/6+ models from Eero.

Just keep in mind a couple of things. 1. You have a 1Gbps connection. So, unless you're planning to upgrade that or have local network devices that you're communicating with >1Gbps, then the network speed >1Gbps will minimal if not detectable. 2. Most residential use cases will never fully tap 1Gbps. 4K streaming, video game playing, video conferencing, etc doesn't actually use that much bandwidth even if you have several people doing it at the same time. I'm not suggesting that your thinking of going wifi 7 isn't wrong. Just setting expectations depending on your needs/ uses. The 6E (and Pro 6 before that) is plenty of capability for the vast majority of users. If you do go wifi 7, then avoid the Eero 7 and focus on the Pro 7 and Max 7 to get the 6Ghz radio.

The eero 7 is what the 6e should have been with 2! 2.5 ports….

I’ll go with eero 7, not super configurable. But reliable and easily can handle the 100 devices

I’d Go Eero 7, snag a refurbished model on ebay for ~$300 Stay away from 6e Dong is very anti eero for whatever reason, and i hear your frustration on the eero + paywall. If those are a deal breakers id look elsewhere…but in terms of the most reliable, consistent, stable, mesh routers nothing beats the Eero Max 7.

The eero 7 has been very impressive in my beta testing. But I’ll say that they won’t replace my Max 7s lol.

They allow testers. I was one for eero 7. Very solid. I got 1100 mbps down on 5ghz at times. And my iPhone is WiFi 6.

Yeah, not true haha. New Eero and Orbi's for example don't support this.

Another great experience with eero + HomeKit here. I have used them together for years and I have nothing but reliable service to report.

No. Nest sucks. Deco or Eero if you want mesh.

I can’t get my speed up on these routers! I have 2.5gbs symmetric att fiber, eero app never reports more than 800mbs down and 95mbs up. WiFi speeds never faster than 500-600mbs down even when using WiFi 7 devices. Att router is in pass through and always reports full speed directly. I’m also getting no help from eeros tech support or Reddit.

This approach works for most people: start with 1 Eero (or Google Wi-Fi, or …), placed in the center of your home. You may be surprised by how well everything works with just 1 router, even with a lot of solid walls. But if you have a dead spot, place a 2nd Eero half way between the first Eero and the dead spot. Repeat until no more dead spots.

100% spend the $ to get it ethernet done to each wifi point. I am a big fan of Eero wifi units if going wireless or Google if going wired btw. Google wifi uses the 6e wifi as wireless backhaul witch seems to have issues over 2 floors

Same. I really like the eero. The app is great too

Get eero or Tplink, you'll be fine. I went through 2 Google mesh systems and now leave them alone. BTW you don't need the wifi 7 or even 6E. Save some money unless you have Gigabit internet, then go crazy.

Best? I dunno. But I've used Eero's for a few years and they've been quite reliable. I wiped them clean and started fresh when I recently moved, and they've been fine here at the new place too. Great coverage, and I have a leftover one that we're going to put in a "she shed" in the backyard to provide coverage to the whole property. I probably don't *have* to, but I'm going to wire that one as well since we're already having electricity run out there

I had Eero at my last place and all was well. Now, same hardware at the new place and I get the same thing on my Google Home (although the Minis seem to stay connected).

I was amazed how bad the eero config options are. An ISP router is way more configurable. Also, with eero, if there is an option, it's probably behind a subscription. Can't really compare it to unifi. Unifi is enterprise and eero is for getting the wifi to work in the bathroom.

Working 100% fine on my Eero mesh network.

Well you failed at that. Your post wasn't informative, it comes across smug, condescending, and with no real information on how to do it correctly. See I put mine in the locations where it was weakest, I bought eeros because that can do wired backhaul. I ran hardwired lines to them, my wifi is fantastic. I've also been doing this for 27 years and try to educate people. If you want your mesh to work wirelessly and extend the range, the nodes have to close enough to each other to get really solid signal strength and radiate our from there, extending coverage. For best performance regardless, and for truly filling in dead spots, they should support and use a wired backhaul. For those that don't know what that means, a backhaul is the channel the mesh uses to communicate and relay traffic. Having that traffic on a wire instead of Wi-Fi frees up space for Wi-Fi traffic, and gives better performance, it is preferred in every way. It gives you more flexibility and it does a better job of filling in dead zones, but running the lines can be a barrier in effort and cost.

I’ve installed upwards of 20 eero networks in my two homes and 18 clients’ homes. Eero has a spotty reputation with some people and I’m not here to engage with those folks. But I’m a Cisco network tech and I can report no problems in my implementations and to boot, I’ve only bought all of these devices secondhand which meant it cost very little for this very successful undertaking.

Eero is pretty dum dum proof

What I liked about the eero vs my older Google WiFi was that I could force 2.4 in the garage so I got better coverage. I’m usually just streaming music but it can then reach the backyard.

If you have to wireless mesh, eero is really good in my experience. Setup is painless and it just works, I’ve only had to reset my network maybe once or twice in the last few years. As others mentioned, if you can do wired backhaul then that’d be ideal.

I would recommend a wireless mesh system. I had Orbi in a 2400 sq ft 3 level home (1 router, 2 satellite units) and Eero in a 2 story 3100 sq ft home (1 router, 1 satellite unit).

Eero for the remote accessibility.

I am genuinely disappointed by how many people suggest Eero over more scalable solutions - especially over UniFi products. I guess Eero does fit the bill for the non-technical user, so it makes sense. Their router and AP’s configuration options are woefully lacking, but again, probably suitable for a non-technical user.

I want that as well, with minimal latency for wired gaming via QoS, which was definitely not an option on Eero.

Yeah my gaming devices are wired, but I still want at least fq_codel going on, and that shouldn’t be a big ask at this day and age. I speculate the specs on the Eero devices might not be beefy enough to handle the QoS while simultaneously maintaining high bandwidth speeds, though. In the very least, I at least know to steer away from Google Home Wi-Fi 😂 appreciate ya for that.

Yeah, I tried them a few years back, looks like the 6/6E models and newer are the only ones to support QoS.

This is anecdata, but I for one have an Eero mesh wifi system, and a number of Sonos speakers, and things have been pretty stable for me over the past year. The app has had problems, to be sure, but “can't detect the speakers” and such hasn’t been a problem here, though I know it has affected lots of other folks. From skimming posts here, there seems to be a pattern that things have generally been stable for other Eero users, too, though I’m sure exceptions to that must exist.

Eero can do a decent job if you are absolutely against wiring in access points. Just temper your expectations. The access points that are furthest away from the gateway will have slower speeds than the access points that are closer to the gateway. Your house’s type of construction will also play role in performance.

Option A. For a similar size space- I have a MT router with WiFi in my main area. 2 decos top floor. Mesh 2nd floor 1 Deco( area isn’t used much) Lowest floor 2 Decos. Option B. Eeros same layout Option C. If you have hard wired runs then an ubiquitous system. Depending on budget Omada would be low end, ubiquity mid range and upper range Ruckus, Juniper, cambium, etc. I’m a Ruckus fan myself. If speed isn’t a concern you can get older AC R510 or 610 with max speed close to a Gig from these, for a good price from eBay. Set them with unleashed firmware and you are good to go. Remember mesh hops create a power loss of 50% each. So if you have 100 at the main floor, the 4th floor will be 12.5. Hope this helps.

Eero works great.

I played around with several router setups until I got tired of fiddling and bought an Eero. Easy to configure and use with the app. There is a great GitHub project you can add to HA that allows you to add a ton of entities including uptime and profile switching. I am building for my kids a pair of mutually assured destruction boxes. They each can turn the other's wifi off for an hour. I used a giant red button connected to an Esp32. This way they can make that threat anytime one picks on the other. Which will in turn induce the other to hit the button and both have to live like dad did when I was their age.

That's the one thing I whoosh it supported better but for a consumer home based device it does more than most, and it auto updates.

Yeah fair enough, i had trouble with them at a previous apartment, i think it was actually tripping my circuit breaker. I currently have Eero mesh and I've had some reliability issues with them (some random disconnects, every new update is a toss up for introducing instability). My PC is plugged directly into my router, but my ping 1 hop away over wifi is only 7ms.

Eero saved my network setup, very reliable

i have the same issue. mesh wifi with ethernet backhaul is the only solution. everyone's fave router is Eero. has both 2.4 and 5 ghz. mesh networking so you get super strong signal everywhere. including the bathrooms lol. easy to set up as seen here [https://youtu.be/ooGnTxTXmRg](https://youtu.be/ooGnTxTXmRg) if you have coax cable, you can easily use those so no need to run CAT6 cables all over the house

you need mesh. everyone's fave router is Eero. has both 2.4 and 5 ghz. mesh networking so you get super strong signal everywhere. including the bathrooms lol. easy to set up as seen here https://youtu.be/ooGnTxTXmRg

everyone's fave router is Eero. has both 2.4 and 5 ghz. mesh networking so you get super strong signal everywhere. including the bathrooms lol. easy to set up as seen here [https://youtu.be/ooGnTxTXmRg](https://youtu.be/ooGnTxTXmRg)

Using Eero for the past 8 years.

If I had an Eero system with a wired gateway, a wired node, and two wireless nodes, what would that be classified as? I was under the impression that was considered a mesh network, but after reading your explanation, I am second guessing myself.

I had google, but it was constantly giving me issues. I eventually dropped it (and all of my other google smart home devices) and went with eero and have not had any problems with it at all. The eero app is also pretty good too. Edit: I think the best WiFi router system is the one you don’t have to think or worry about.

Right that makes sense. For non IoT devices like phones, laptops, etc, I know with mesh they advertise move freely around the house with seemless switching to best connection. With my eeros and tplink I have noticed this doesn’t actually work when running from one side of the house to the other while on a Teams call. All that to say with a wired backhaul going back to a traditional one router with multiple WAP seems to be the right move. My only question is do devices switch to the best connection automatically. Maybe not seemless like mesh is advertised but will they at least switch if I go from side A to side B of my house?

Would recommend to check out alternates like tplink xe70 /xe75 pro or the eero products. Was recently looking for a good deal and found the tplink xe70pro for around 230 USD on prime day sales. Setting it up was a breeze and am getting around 2G on WiFi on the WiFi 6e devices I have.

I had good luck with Eero, but the problem with Eero is that unless you’re looking to spend serious $ on a Max 7 set, the ports are somewhat limited. The Pro 6E, for instance, has one 2.5gb and one 1gb port. You need to choose between more internal bandwidth or handling up to 2.5gb internet bandwidth but limiting your internal wired devices to 1gb.  I went with the Netgear Orbi 770 last year since every port is 2.5gb. It has been great. 

Eero. You'll never think about wifi again.

I switched to Eero a few years ago. Was having lots of drops and such with my other system. The Eero was a great choice have had nothing but smooth sailing since. Works well all the time.

I’m glad I came across this information. I have been looking at WIFI 7 mesh routers and been thinking about getting the Deco models I have seen on Amazon and at Costco because of their lower prices. I’ll stick with Eero cause they work flawlessly for me.

Eero sucks from a management perspective and interferes with My zigbee network on a similar sized house. Can’t disable the 2.4ghz network either

Eero. I have installed lots of Eero systems over the past 2 years when the customer doesn’t want or need something more substantial like UniFi. I’ve had 0 callbacks. Follow the app and install it properly from the get-go and you’ll be fine.

Eero mesh. Is a router so you’ll save money from ISP. Can mesh as many as you need with other eero APs with Ethernet ports. No more extender BS.

I wish we build the firewalla ap :) but before that, I personally like Eero, they are the most reliable.

They will need to be in "bridge" mode. (AP/bridge are pretty much the same)

EERO works great .

I think that Eeros work very well and would meet your needs. A lot of networking enthusiasts don't love them because they're not as configurable. But they tend to be pretty reliable if you have wired backhaul and don't have any exotic needs.

Basically you have a main eero (which acts as a router)One port on that connects to the ONT/modem and you can connect the other port to a switch and wire the satellitle devices to that. This is how I'm set up more or less. You can daisy chain them too if you prefer, but most people will attach a switch because they want more Ethernet ports.

I'll add that you really shouldn't have your router in a metal cabinet since it kills the wireless signal.

I'm not really sure. One problem would be that if #2 breaks or flakes out somehow it'll screw up #3.

I’ve tried Orbi and Linksys mesh systems and wouldn’t buy them again. Orbi was the absolute worst. Firmware updates would regularly break HomeKit. Linksys was better but still not great. Eero is largely reported as reliable but has almost no customization or configuration. Maybe that doesn’t matter to you but lots of people complain about not being able to change channels and many other basic settings. Synology gets no love because everyone looks at their NAS but overlooks their networking gear. SRM is very easy to use and offers a lot of more advanced features without the mess that is Ubiquity. You can mix and match the units as needed but are very solid.

I have Firewalla Gold in router mode and Eero’s in bridge mode . 100 percent reliable and stable

Eero , built in Zigbee and thread , been using it for 2 years without problems . 4 satellites , can daisy chain or use an Ethernet switch

Eero works great.

I think it’s overkill. Eeros have been pretty solid. I bet if you just wired the nodes together it would be fine.

Eero. Got it during Covid as both Wife and I were on zooms. Have a 3 floor house. Absolutely improved quality of WIFI. Highly recommend

Can also add that i’ve had no issues with eero the last few years

I have two eeros with wireless backhaul, which is suboptimal, and there is a noticeable moment as I go down the stairs and switch APs when the connection drops. For example Plex playback (on the new app) pauses for a couple of seconds, facetime calls drop for a second, wifi icon on phone shows connection strength to AP 1 falling and then improving with AP 2.

Great feedback I work for Spectrum and I myself use eero mesh

Second this. I have one Eero connected to my modem and use my Echo dots as mesh extenders. I have the dots in almost every room since I could buy them so cheap during sales

I can confirm your experience with Eero, only works correctly with very small networks

I’ve used Eero and Deco both in bridge mode with my Firewalla and have had no issues.

I use Eero in bridge mode

Am on Eero with 73 devices in bridge mode, zero issues

Eeros are great and very easy to set up. They don’t do a thing “advanced” which may not be something you’re interested in or need anyway. One note though…. It’s almost always better to buy your own router than rent it from your isp. Even if you go to Best Buy or Facebook marketplace and get the exact same system, I’d rather own it than rent it.

My eero system is very solid and no HomeKit issues. I don’t even know what is behind their paywall cuz I don’t use it and am not missing anything.

https://preview.redd.it/xusd0ulugl2e1.jpeg?width=1206&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dcffbad4610ff3b69c449331ad05a576c41f50ac Screenshot of my eero. Works great.

That's really the point of mesh routers to expand the wifi to far areas of the house without running cables. Yes everything would be faster wired, but they work perfectly fine wireless. I have Eero mesh and it's been great for years.

I agree with this. I have setup three Eero mesh systems for family members. They are super easy to setup and maintain. It has been set it and forget it for over three years now. These are installed in houses with users who are 65+.

My "for the Grandparents" (parents your case) recommendation for mesh is eero mesh. They go on sale very often, are dead easy to set up, offer good coverage with way more bandwidth than older people ever use, and both you and your parents can monitor and administer them using a phone App. You do not need to subscribe to any of the eero subscription services, your parents won't need them. Even the cheap eero 6 base model can give enough bandwidth to stream 4k TV everywhere if positioned right. You'll need to put the eeros in "Bridge Mode" if you want to continue to use your ISPs gateway, that too is just a button on the App.

Wireless MESH are great now. I do all of the same stuff you do and EERO works just fine.

I have the EERO mesh network, it works good and the app is good, but I don't like having features paywalled behind a subscription. Wouldn't recommend.

Eero is fine. “Mixed reviews” are often by people who are unaware that they need to be placed logically, or people who have expectations that are inconsistent with modern WiFi networking. The limitation of consumer Mesh product almost always comes down to the balance between “ease of use” and “configuration flexibility”

Eero is really easy to set up for non-techie people. The app walks you through the setup well.

Exactly. I set up a Eero mesh at my in-laws. Removed a single wired Unifi AP and replaced it with 3 wireless mesh units. Much faster overall speeds all over the house and its easy and simple enough for them to manage on their own now using the app. They couldn't care less about QoS or tweaking settings to optimize performance. For roughly the same price as I paid for the AC-LR back in the day. At my office, I use Unifi Edge router with Unifi AP's. Different network with different requirements.

I have the Eero system and PS5 is hard wired it runs great but I’d be curious if it would run better on an $800 setup too.

I’m finding eero mesh works well with HomeKit. Actually they work better than HomeKit.

Don’t. Fuck netgear. I had a nighthawk that gave me nothing but issues. Finally switched to Eero and love it.

Be aware. I like my eero mesh. But it's a whiplash going from a router that has a management console I can access internally without Internet and have logs and history data to eero. Without Internet you cannot access the management of your network , you can only access via phone app with account no IP or web page. And some features are blocked behind a paywall like for example going to a list of which devices consume more data on a day and so on. I might change from eero to another brand in the future based on it but for a no frills, turn on and forget eero might be your better choice.

I just replaced my eero because it couldn't route certain IPs through a VPN and I didn't see a way to create a separate, gardened off, network for IoT devices.

It does ‘just work’ for the most part, which absolutely has value. However, lacking basic features like prioritising certain devices or splitting the 5 & 2.4Ghz bands removes standard quick-fixes for some common problems/scenarios. The completely tech-illiterate aren’t affected by this, as they’d never look at the settings. Tech/networking-enthusiasts would never buy this product. It’s everyone in the middle that suffers.

Eero is fine if you like it. I found the routing lacking so I have something else doing that, but my wifi is mostly wired Eero Pro 6

I had Eero for years but it kept causing problems, and amazon never seems to fix them, I replaced it with TP-link Deco XE75 and they have worked flawlessly for years. Use ethernet backhaul if you can, and placement becomes less important. The wifi 6 backhaul is also pretty good, but my experience is you need more units to maintain good speeds - I have 4 for indoor, and is going to add another 3 for outdoor coverage.

I like it. Easy and effective unless you’re a tinkerer.

Ya. It’s just a weird layout. Eero is actually working pretty well for me right now though.

Hubby and I live in a 1953 ranch house in a subdivision that dates to that time period. Cell reception stinks tho internet options are plentiful. I tried wireless, but the walls were a mix of drywall and plaster. There was very old coax running through the house that was useless. I first tried the eero mesh system, but after a while, it had to be reset every night. I then ended up with a Linksys 6 system, but it started having problems after awhile. I broke down about 8 years ago and had a fiber network installed while I still had Verizon Fios. I really thought about it - where the drops should go and why they were going in those locations. Verizon was fond of coax cable at the time. Their bills became outrageous and I switched to a different provider that worked with fiber. Bless that company’s heart. (RCN/Astound). No difficulties at all and the bills remain under $100/month. It is worth it to install the fiber network. Look on Thumbtack or Angie’s list or wherever. Have a plan first. Consider getting the highest level fiber you can get so when higher speed internet becomes available you are capable of managing it. Or you can run your own fiber and use unmanaged switches. The original mistake I made was putting in cat 5 fiber. I had to have the fiber replaced for some rooms but not all. I now have a ubiquity network but it is complicated and not easy. I also have smart switches, outlets, smart electric panels, solar panels and some appliances are smart, but smart appliances are over rated, unless they cook or clean for you. I keep wishing for Rosie the Robot or a good android out of the iRobot movie. So my network has over 100 items and always expanding. I had a mesh system but I found it so frustrating. It was a dummy system and if there were latencies I couldn’t tell where they were - service provider or in-network. I was constantly tinkering with the apps, which could tell me nothing.

Same. My Orbi just started having random problems out of nowhere. Switched to eero been fine. But the price of Orbi still has me annoyed.

What you need to do is return the Spectrum router and save yourself $10 a month for the router WiFi monthly fee. The modem is free so you can keep that. Now what I would suggest for your WIFI Signal issues is to get something called a “Mesh WiFi system” these are meant for larger homes 3000+ sq ft and are best for coverage/range and speeds ! Eero is the best in my opinion for a mesh WiFi system !

Just did a trial run, take away is you needed to use thier mesh, was incompatable with what I already invested in, eero

Hardwire your house and add a WAP on second floor ceiling. We retrofit lots of houses for hardwire and teach clients to just use WIFI for portable devices, IOT’s and mobile phones. Hardwire all TVs, computers and network devices that can be hardwired. MESH is just a bandaid that has lots of loss when going from one AP to the other. You can use Eero and it will work like a charm.

I use eeros for my mesh wifi and it works great with my OPNSense setup. I just dropped it into bridge mode. I physically segregate my LAN / Home WIFinetwork from my Guest and IoT via a 4 port nic and Firewall rules. My IoT stuff runns off a Nighthawk and the Guest also runs off another Nighthawk. BOth running OpenWRT firmware since stock is garbage and insecure.

I use a eero mesh system. Easy to use and administer

Same, eero for 4 years zero issues, HomeKit zero issues. 2 hardwired and 2 WiFi, no problems.

Orbi is pretty awful all the way around! They have weird speed drop issues and you have to pay for customer service! I almost went with Ubiquiti but I got a free eero. It’s been problem free for 3 years and I got a real person when I called customer service.

Eero

I think this is the plan for me. I had a Eero modem / router and a mesh extender all from TDS. My house is 3600 square feet on three levels.

Yeah. I get it. I’m being cheap. I guess I’m just hyper sensitive about additional costs. I never planned to leave my TDS Eero 1 gigabyte plan but Spectrum just came into our town and the price was too good. $158 per month for one landline number and 1 gig Internet from TDS vs. $65 per month from Spectrum locked cost for two years for the same services. I tried to negotiate a reduction in my monthly fee with TDS, but they couldn’t or wouldn’t. I can add a Pod or Pods and if one or two make my Internet speed and reception better, so be it. Thank you for your input and knowledge.

Most mesh systems take a few days to adjust and will move channels until it finds the best scenario. Netgear orbi’s do this as well as the eero systems. But once there fully optimized they should be set it and forget it and just work. Speed fluctuations are normal but I did find the eero did have less speed than my netgear with identical locations and settings. So I reset the eero from scratch and then the speed was where it needed to be. I believe it has something to do with firmware as I get the feeling the updates don’t always go well with some older firmware lingering after the upgrade. Reset seems to clear it out

For the average consumer, Eero is a much better fit though. Sure, if you like to tinker or have one off use cases, Unifi is the much better option, but Eero does a great job of providing a product that just works without ever really needing to touch it. I've had Asus, Netgear, Linksys, TP-Link, Google WiFi, and Eero, but I've had meshing issues with all except for Eero. My current setup is Unifi with Eero in bridge mode.

I was a happy Orbi owner for a year until one day it after a firmware update all went to hell. This was compounded by DHCP issues with 30+ IoT items trying to connect all at once. I think if I restarted the router, they'd find an active SSID on a satellite, connect, fail DHCP (router is rebooting) and nothing would work. The Orbi is fine, but if Mesh network is the choice, I'd steer to something else (TP Link was my next consideration). I decided to bite the bullet and start punching 2 story holes on columns to send cat 6 everywhere instead. Like others have said OP, both the router (main) and satellites should have the same number of bands (tri-band) to get a decent wireless backhaul. I was able to use moonlight to game stream (single player) over the trip band Orbi equipment, so I know it's fast enough. Many mesh router brands, Netgear included, will sell a "kit" where the satellites are only dual band. I'm not sure why, but they do and it sucks. Don't do that. Edit: I also tried Eero before Orbi, ended up immediately returning it. They had some issues that ONLY blocked Netflix. It was maddening. I'm a tinkerer, so it wasn't due to incompetence on setup or DNS or anything like that. Both Eero support and I were baffled. I figured a $700 Eero system that can't stream Netflix is too offensive to keep messing with. That's why I'd try Asus or TP link next if I hadn't given up on mesh.

EERO is popular because of cost - that is it. I tested them out and they are HORRIBLE in a highly dense area (ie Lots of neighbors with Wifi). UniFi is the best mesh- its what businesses use, but more complex to setup and maintain; not friendly for the consumer market. Depends on your requirements Out of the others I have tested: Orbi - easy to get started; great mesh; CON: Subscription for parental or added security; Not the best speeds (but generally good). Netgear - Same as orbi ASUS ZEN - Fantastic speed; Unbelievable configurability/features; No subscriptions for parental or added security; CON: Milage varies because of quality. Asus notoriously has issues with their firmware and new products. ASUS ROG - Same as ZEN; has more Gimmicks I ended up with the ASUS ZenWiFi BT10 - replaced the Orby Mesh. Very happy . I needed parental and added security; Needed VPN; Needed 10gig / 2.5gig WAN

Eero because it's stupid simple and just works.

Eero is also a bad neighbor, especially on the 2.4ghz band. It sticks with 40Mhz and picks any channel it likes, typically polluting the whole spectrum.

This sounds like a problem that is going to occur regardless of system. Mesh networks are best. Secondly you have to remember these devices perform better and some don't perform at all on a 5Ghtz network. Make sure you're connecting your devices only to the 2.4 band. Lastly you should try changing the channel on your router, you could be getting too much noise. I personally am a huge fan of eero mesh networks. While they are a bit expensive they work absolutely flawlessly and are easy to setup. They also properly seperate out the 2.4/5ghtz networks and allow you to pause 5ghtz for easy smart home device connections.

Eero has worked great for me

I had a similar experience but with Netgear Orbi. They gave me so many problems and their support was absolutely horrible. Once I switched to Eero I was delighted. My only wish is that Eero Plus should be cheaper, half price if that.

It's a "when it works it's great, but when it doesn't, good luck." My eero has been most for the last week. I'm getting gbe to the things but lucky to get 100mbps to devices (where I expect 300 or better). Nothing I can do to troubleshoot.

Eero was pretty easy to set up, if you want a mesh network

I’ve been using an Eero system for 6 years and it has been outstanding. Mine is old and it still works great. My friends and family that got them on my recommendation are also very happy. I tried an Orbi system first and it was horrible! It did not work with the Apple brand devices in the house. Eero is easy to setup and use even if not technically inclined. I have a unRAID server at home with Plex for streaming when on the road and it all works well….

We successfully use an eero with tmhi.

Avoid eero for the sole reason that you can't set the channel manually

Eero. Eero mesh system, with 2.4 in compatibility mode. Works 100% of the time for me.

The complaints are justified. Go get Eero and run for the hills!!

Eero.

Yes it works....but if at all possible, do a wired backhaul. Just so much better.

Eero.

I went from Netgear Nighthawk -> Google Pucks (great) -> Google Pro (mistake!!!!) -> Unifi DMP (meh) -> Eero (never looking back!) I've also learned to trust Amazon more than Google. Google will just drop a product from support. They will limit your ability to fine tune your own system. The Eero has just worked for the last 2 years. It updates itself in the middle of the night, and I've never noticed. It's the first WiFi that I have NEVER had to reboot to fix something. Don't know a lot about TP Link.....but stuff like this: https://www.pcmag.com/news/us-lawmakers-demand-probe-into-tp-link-claiming-spying-risks-from-china

As a former Google and Unifi user.. and current Eero user...I 100% agree with this.

I think Eero would be the most plug and play option. I've used TP-Link and they're decent but unclear political situation / possible ban. Ubiquiti/Unifi if you want to tinker and manage their network remotely (expensive)

Eero does QoS. Just saying…

I've seen people with up to 7 Eero's without issue. If you need to scale beyond that then you're in to enterprise territory. I think that a lot of people in this space treat their home network like a toy, I'm a network engineer by trade and get plenty of configuration opportunity at work, when I get home I just want to walk in and have the wifi working.

Unfortunately I'm old school when it comes to gaming and have everything hardwired there. I believe that Eero does have SQM, but I doubt you have any sort of granular per device control. I will say, though, that Eero at least has a minimum of functions. I had worked with a Google Home Wifi system that you couldn't even adjust DNS settings on or disable the 5GHz band temporarily.

Eero. Came with my router. No problems.

I second the Eero. I had one for years before moving to Ubiquiti. It was rock solid and easy to manage. Coverage was good.

Any type of mesh WiFi systems with 3 pods will work wonderful. Most popular is Eero and you don't even need the latest newest generation. Only thing you need to make sure is the base for the mesh has open wired connection for the one wired work computer or that your cable modem has an extra port or more.

2nd this answer. I love my Eeros. Has been solid with my HomeKit environment

Same, I don't get the hate. Cheap, easy to set up and maintain, good signal throughout my living space It was definitely an upgrade from the more expensive Nest system I was using

i've been through them all. Definately Moca instead of powerline if you have the cable run. used moca with old routers and used 1 as AP and worked great. if you have an older house with older wiring, powerline can have potential problems. I used powerline sucessfully (80's house) then moved to moca for higher speeds before i eventually wired my house with ethernet. currently running 3 eeros all hardwired.

Eeros are great. Again, most of the time it’s because people set the up horribly if they have issues. I have 5+ systems and every time there is an issue, it’s the ISP

This is spot on. Your home network? Have at it… do Ubiquiti. But for most people who come to this sub (or your grandma), eero is great for what it is, easy ui and is set it and forget it. It gets hate, but I have 6 systems installed that have had zero problems. Totally ended the calls about wifi, and when they’re wired backhaul even better!

I use Eero and plug my PS5 into one of the wireless nodes. Works fantastic.

Eero is my only experience, but Homekit has been stable for years on my end. Never an issue.

I have Eero, no issues at all.

I got rid of my Orbi system and switched back to eero. Won’t make the mistake of buying Netgear again. I’ve always regretted.

I love unifi, but if you’re looking for a mesh networking solution that works without a wired backhaul then eero is genuinely better than unifi. It’s infuriating for a network geek because you can’t see how it’s doing it, it optimises itself (Desist! I want to be in charge!), it’s all proprietary and there’s no web interface to geek out in… but my experience is that if you just buy enough eeros and scatter them around then it does generate a really annoyingly good result which is better than even an optimised unifi network trying to use mesh WiFi only.

I vote for Eero as well. I set up 6 of them and covered a 2 acre area including a 4 story house, a 4 car garage, another 2 story house, a 2800 sq foot barn and a tiny house. They are simple, self-updating, secure, easy to set up and they have great support.

I have an eero mesh network throughout my house and it works great. One of them is the main "router" that connects to my modem and the other ones are placed throughout the house, we have pretty much flawless service that way.

Eero is good with wireless backhaul

That is super cool. My eero system suits my use case for now, but I think I’ll go Omada when WiFi 7 is more the norm

My eero work damn good from best buy

What was the perfect position for the Eero is probably not the perfect position for the AP7's. Antenna orientation and power levels are certainly going to be different. If you are only getting -76dB at 8 feet line of sight, it seems likely something else is going on. That said, generally I would expect to have to re-tune the location and power levels when switching brands of access points in order to maximize performance.

Hardest part of Unifi is figuring out where you'll run their controller, which is easier if you plan on having one of their routers. I would recommend not running it yourself unless you want A Project... I've had dumb shit happen too many times (eg. mongodb upgrade issues) for me to do that again. Also, I would plan on having all of their APs hardwired back to the switch. If you want "mesh" I think I would go Eero or another brand that specializes in that.

Eero's some times go on good black Friday sales and is very good mesh for someone with low experience, simple to setup and use