Are you struggling with sluggish Wi-Fi speeds or, worse, no signal at all? With millions of us continuing to work and study from home, a strong WiFi connection in every room in the home is essential. If you need to run back and forth between rooms to make sure you have enough signal bars to join a video call, Amazon may have the answer. The online retailer has launched a new version of its popular Eero mesh WiFi system.
Basically, if you’re not sure what a mesh WiFi network is, this is the solution found in offices, airports, and train stations around the world. Instead of having a single WiFi router in your hallway like most broadband companies get when you sign up, there are many smaller nodes scattered throughout. Instead of stretching to get the Wi-Fi signal from a single box, your smartphone, laptop, streaming set-top boxes, and more will find the connection that’s closest to them and almost guarantee it full signal bars.
And when you’re walking around your home (just like an airport or an office with an open space), your device will hop back and forth between those nodes so it always has the full signal. Of course, you won’t even know this is happening. Your device always shows it is connected to your home Wi-Fi network, but the clever mesh system intelligently moves your gadget to the best available signal (either the closest or the one with the least number of devices already connected) to your Increase internet speed. It’s just like joining a Wi-Fi network in a sprawling train station, but your iPhone gives off a strong signal as you move between platforms, shop, and so much more.
And you don’t have to live in a Beverly Hills-style mansion to benefit from a mesh network. It can also be useful if you have a lot of devices – from smart thermostats to Sonos speakers to Wi-Fi enabled lightbulbs – or if you live in an older building with thick brick walls that block most radio signals.
The latest version of Amazon eero supports Wi-Fi 6 – a first for the line of products that deliver faster speeds, more reliable performance, and better coverage throughout the home. According to Amazon, you can still enjoy these performance gains even if you have dozens of smart lightbulbs, plugged-in speakers in every room, tablets, laptops, and streaming dongles around the house. This is because the latest version of the Eero mesh kit, called the Eero 6, can bring next-generation Wi-Fi 6 speeds to 75 devices at the same time.
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If you already have an eero at home, the eero 6 is fully backwards compatible, so you can add a new mode or two to your existing setup to extend the range of your Wi-Fi signal. If you have few Wi-Fi 6 enabled devices in your home, this can be a great way to get the best performance from those devices without tearing apart and replacing your entire Wi-Fi network in one fell swoop.
And if you haven’t already added smart lightbulbs to your home, the eero 6 is a handy addition if you do. The latest mesh system from Amazon has an integrated ZigBee smart home hub. This means that you don’t have to connect a separate box to your router to mount your Philips Hue lamps, the smart kit from IKEA and Bosch and the thermostats connected to HIVE, among other things. Amazon is already equipping some of its Echo smart speakers with the same ZigBee hub technology, so the different brands of smart home kit in your house doesn’t require spaghetti with wires from your router.
Each eero 6 hub is equipped with two Ethernet ports. So if you have one of these signals in your living room, you can also connect it to your smart TV or game console.
“Today more than ever, customers need reliable WLAN at home. Many of us work from home, help children learn online, keep in touch with friends and family, and stream 4K content and games – often at the same time, “said Eric Saarnio, Vice President, Amazon Devices EU. “Eero 6 brings customers the speed and reliability of Wi-Fi 6 at an affordable price.”
The latest kit costs 139 euros for a single Eero 6 node – perfect if you already have a couple of previous generation Eero and want to bring the Wi-Fi 6 performance to your home. For those starting from scratch, the three-pack Eero 6 costs £ 279. Of course, both options are available on Amazon as well as a few other stores.
According to Amazon, a single Eero 6 can cover an area of around 140 m². Now an Eero 6 pack of three, which offers a range of up to 460 m².
Like most mesh Wi-Fi kits, the eero works constantly in the background to keep your network secure. While your regular broadband company’s router has to proactively check for security updates, download and install them. Eero software updates provide the latest security patches, bug fixes, and feature upgrades.
There’s also the optional eero Secure subscription service, which adds an extra layer of security to WiFi at home, with strict parental controls for safe search to block inappropriate search results, and content filters for social media, gaming, streaming, and adult violence. illegal or criminal content. Advanced security features prevent access to websites that are marked as malicious, including malware, spyware, botnets, and phishing websites. Blocking ads makes surfing faster and prevents a multitude of trackers on the internet.
Anyone with an Eero can use the accompanying smartphone and tablet app to keep track of internet speed over time – handy if your provider offers a speed guarantee – and usage on any device. You can also use devices from some family members, such as E.g. younger children, restrict or turn off the internet completely overnight to avoid Fortnite games in their room at midnight.
Eero 6 is available now. Express.co.uk has tested the previous generation of this mesh WiFi system. Stay tuned for our verdict on whether upgrading to the latest kit is worth some of your hard-earned money.
