Eero 6 is the brand’s first mesh network to support the Zippier Wi-Fi 6 standard (Image: AMAZON • GETTY • EXPRESS-ZEITUNGEN)
When it comes to getting yourself a shiny new device, there are likely some things around the house that you want to update before the humble wireless router. Maybe a new smartphone with a fancy new camera? Maybe one of the newest game consoles? Or how about a new addition to your growing smart home?
While we wouldn’t envy anyone choosing either of these options, your money is probably better off peeking at that nondescript plastic box in your closet.
If you’re paying for a reasonably decent internet connection every month, you don’t want to be let down by the wireless router that your broadband provider sent you when you started your contract two and a half years ago. With more and more internet-enabled devices in your home and new threats from malicious actors every day, it pays to have a good router.
And this is where the Eero 6 comes in.
While it started as an independent company, Amazon bought Eero back in February 2019. From the outside, however, you wouldn’t know. Unlike Google, which with its latest hardware update added a hands-free smart speaker to every Wi-Fi boosting node in its competing mesh system, Eero isn’t trying to smuggle Echo Dot speakers into your home. Eero isn’t even controlled via the Alexa app. Instead, it has its own software for Android and iOS.
For those who are deeply invested in Amazon Echo-compatible smart home gadgets – don’t worry, there are some integrations between the Eero and Alexa if you dig deep enough. But for those not that keen on having Amazon services at home without reading the fine print on the box, you wouldn’t know that Eero was owned by Bezos and Co.
So what is Eero? In short, instead of having a single Wi-Fi router behind a closet that manages the internet connection of every device in your home, Eero is a mesh network. That means you have several smaller knots all over the house.
Although it still looks like a single Wi-Fi network in the Settings app on your phone, behind the scenes these nodes mix devices around as you move around your house so you’re always connected to the node that is closest to you is for the strongest WiFi signal. It also means devices are evenly distributed across the network, so you can connect more devices to the WiFi without sacrificing reliability or speed. Each Eero 6 node can support 128 separate devices, so with a three-pack at home, you’ll have no problem connecting a staggering 384 devices to your home Wi-Fi network.
Unlike your broadband provider’s router, Eero uses multiple nodes in your home (Image: AMAZON)
Unlike the single WiFi router that sits on the side behind your TV or in your closet under the stairs, the Eero 6 system should eliminate all connection blackholes in your home … the garden.
As the name suggests, Eero 6 is compatible with Wi-Fi 6, the latest industry standard for wireless internet. It’s designed to offer faster speeds over Wi-Fi, higher performance, and better support for simultaneous devices. To take advantage of this new technology, you need Wi-Fi 6 compatible devices.
Fortunately, in recent years, manufacturers have been slowly adding the technology to their devices. Since the iPhone 11 series, which hit the market in late 2019, Apple has supported Wi-Fi 6 on its smartphones, while Samsung introduced the standard early and has supported Wi-Fi 6 in its phones since the Galaxy S10 launched in March 2019.
In other words, if you’ve bought a new smartphone or tablet in the past few years, it’s likely Wi-Fi 6 compatible. Fi standard is the router in your closet.
If you haven’t updated your phone in a while, the Eero 6 can still boost the signal in your home and juggle dozens of devices better, but the improvements of Wi-Fi 6 will rest until you start upgrading your technology .
The Eero 6 boxes are pretty neutral and go with any decor (Image: AMAZON)
The Eero 6 is set up and managed through the companion app, which is available on both iOS and Android devices. The app includes handy step-by-step instructions for adding each node and placing it around the house. The Eero app asks how many floors you have at home to help you place the network extenders for maximum coverage.
Compared to the conclusion of a new broadband contract, in which a router arrives in the mail with almost no explanation … you feel in good hands with the Eero app.
Eero says a bunch of three extenders will comfortably cover a 5,000 square foot home with Wi-Fi, with smaller homes requiring fewer units. A single Eero 6 will cover 1,500 square feet of Wi-Fi, so homeowners could possibly get by with one.
If so, however, you won’t be using the mesh portion of that mesh system – you may still want to buy an Eero 6 to take advantage of some of the smart features you don’t get with your bog-standard router from Your ISP.
And if you move to a new location in a couple of years, you’ll have the flexibility to buy an additional node or two to start expanding your Wi-Fi coverage.
The Eero app is an extremely easy way to juggle dozens of devices, test your speed, limit kids internet time, prevent malware, and more (Image: AMAZON)
Juggling your gadgets in the Eero app is a real joy. With the Eero app, you can assign every gadget connected to your WiFi to a profile – for a specific family member, for example. Then Eero lets you schedule any downtime when they can’t connect to the internet, so you can make sure dinner is always phone-free or prevent your kids from logging into Instagram in the early hours of the morning without logging in, you know.
Renaming devices, adding them to new profiles, and connecting new Eero 6 nodes is a breeze. But if you can’t take care of it, don’t worry – the Eero app automatically sorts new devices into categories – so any connected doorbells and lightbulbs are disconnected from your iPad and Pixel 4. A small icon also illustrates each connected device. So even if you’ve never had an evening sorting devices among family members’ profiles, you should be able to easily find what you’re looking for in seconds.
You can track your network speeds over time on a separate activity tab within the app. This is especially useful if you’ve had problems with your service and need to send a screenshot to your ISP to prove how inconsistent your speeds have been over the past few months. In our time at Eero, we didn’t have any issues with the app, which was comforting as changes to your network are dependent on the software.
Eero also sends a weekly report with the latest statistics on your network speed, including the fastest download and upload speeds recorded over the past seven days, the total amount of data downloaded over your network, and more. If you don’t have an unlimited plan – this could save you from a nasty surprise bill at the end of the month.
The optional Eero Secure subscription protects all devices on your network from malware, phishing attacks and more. Since it works at the network level, it stops the threat before it reaches your smartphone, tablet or laptop.
There are also options to block ads, filter searches – handy when you have younger family members at home, and the ability to block individual websites from specific users or devices. Content filtering is divided into three categories: illegal or criminal content, violence, or adult content.
Eero says a single Eero 6 unit will comfortably cover a 5,000 square foot lot with fast WiFi (Image: AMAZON)
Amazon Eero 6 Review: Final Verdict
- advantages: Unleash the potential of all the Wi-Fi 6 gadgets already in your home, a simple app makes managing dozens of devices easy, no more Wi-Fi dead zones
- disadvantage: A separate subscription is required to protect everything on your network from malware
- ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
If you’re looking for an easy-to-use Wi-Fi 6 upgrade for your home network, you’ll struggle to find a better option than Amazon’s Eero 6. If you have Wi-Fi 6 enabled devices you’ll feel the benefits from day one, but if not, Eero remains a fairly affordable way to future proof your home for the latest wireless standard.
The Eero app is a foolproof way to manage devices, restrict internet access to specific household members, create a separate network for guests (or neighbors), and block malware threats and adult content. Daily speed monitoring is also a great way to keep your ISP honest about the speeds you are actually achieving.
