Eero Pro 6 Review

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The Eero Pro 6 is Amazon’s flagship mesh Wi-Fi machine, providing Wi-Fi 6 and sensible hubs in every of its nodes.

However, the primary reason why the devices (which might be all equivalent) are costlier than the usual Eero 6 is as a result of that is an ‘AX4200’ machine, versus ‘AX1800’ for the Eero 6.

That approach theoretical speeds of 2402Mbps at the 4×4 5GHz band, 1201Mbps at the 2×2 5GHz band and 574Mbps at the 2×2 2.4GHz band. That approach there are two 5GHz bands. Unlike different programs, the Eero will use both of those for verbal exchange between nodes reasonably than having a devoted ‘backhaul’ channel.

The 4×4 section approach 4 transmitters and receivers as a substitute of 2, this means that there can also be 4 simultaneous streams of knowledge, providing two times the whole velocity.

Fortunately for technophobes, Eero helps to keep all that technical knowledge at the back of the scenes and gifts a machine that’s amazingly simple to arrange and use. You don’t want any technical wisdom: you’ll simply experience the advantages of Wi-Fi during your house without a useless zones.

That’s the idea, anyway. Let’s in finding out what the truth of lifestyles with an Eero Pro 6 is like.

Features & design

  • 1-pack and 3-packs to be had
  • 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports consistent with node
  • Built-in Zigbee hub in every node

I wouldn’t normally point out a product’s packaging in a evaluate, however the Eero’s is particular sufficient to make you are feeling moderately justified in spending the large amount of cash it prices. The lid flips open and the 3 glossy white routers greet you.

As they’re equivalent – they measure 135 x 135 x 53mm and weigh a hefty 676g – you’ll pick out any of them to plug in first and get started getting arrange.

Their USB-C energy connector sits between the pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports (there’s no 2.5G right here, however 1000Mbps must fulfill the general public) and the cable is a slightly quick, particularly for those who sought after to position the router on a shelf rather top up within the room. You may purchase a USB-C extension cable, even though.

Eero Pro 6 review

As with all Eero mesh programs, this one makes use of the Eero app. If you will have an Amazon account, you’ll log in with that as a substitute of constructing a brand new Eero one.

In maximum circumstances, you’ll attach the primary ‘node’ in your current router or modem: they’re designed basically to switch your router’s Wi-Fi.

The app walks you throughout the means of hanging it clear of steel items and digital units, in addition to out within the open, now not buried at the flooring at the back of your settee.

Once that’s finished and there’s a operating web connection, you’ll briefly and simply upload different routers from the pack, except you simply purchased the 1-pack.

Each of them claims to supply as much as 190 m² of Wi-Fi protection (round 2000 ft²), however that is in very best prerequisites: in a genuine house with partitions, flooring and interference, it’s a lot not up to that.

If you will have an overly huge house or one so sturdily constructed that Wi-Fi indicators don’t cross simply from room to room you’ll use Ethernet cables to attach the routers (this is named Ethernet backhaul).

A unmarried LED on every node tells you its standing: a forged white approach the entirety is okay.

Eero Pro 6 review

With a Zigbee hub constructed into every Eero Pro 6 router, you’ll simply attach Zigbee units to Alexa. That permits you to keep watch over suitable lighting, plugs, switches and different devices within the Alexa app and by way of chatting with Alexa.

Effectively, there’s the similar instrument beef up as you get with the sensible hub constructed into sure Amazon Echo and Echo Show units.

There’s additionally beef up for Thread units, reminiscent of sensible locks, fanatics, thermostats and others, however that is disabled by way of default. You can use Thread and Zigbee concurrently, even though. Thread beef up will most probably come into its personal when merchandise the usage of the brand new Matter sensible house usual turn out to be common.

With Eero being an Amazon corporate and there being integration with Alexa, if you’ve enabled the Eero talent within the Alexa app you’ll ask Alexa (for your phone or Echo speaker) to show the visitor Wi-Fi community off and on, pause Wi-Fi on explicit units (calls for Eero Secure) and in addition in finding issues, reminiscent of telephones. You want to first give permission within the Alexa app for every instrument that may be managed on this means.

Eero app

The app has some of the cleanest interfaces for any mesh Wi-Fi machine. You can see the community title and standing on the best, the standing of every node underneath that (in a collapsible menu) and the hooked up units – break up into classes – underneath that.

Eero Pro 6 review

Depending upon the instrument, pleasant names are proven reminiscent of Google Home, LIFX Color 1000 and Honor 20 Lite.

But it actually is determined by the producer: you’ll additionally extra generic names – even for Amazon tools reminiscent of Echo units and Fire Tablets (which might be known as, variously, Android-1, Android-2, Unnamed instrument). It’s now not the Eero’s fault: each and every mesh Wi-Fi machine I’ve examined has the similar downside.

Eero Pro 6 review

If you need to, you’ll faucet on a tool and rename it (as proven above), however you’ll want to first determine it by the use of its IP cope with or MAC cope with (the instrument main points display this knowledge in conjunction with different main points such because the producer).

You too can see the energy of its connection and which Eero node it’s hooked up to.

A pause button means that you can forestall web get right of entry to to that instrument, which might be to hand when pronouncing “it’s time to forestall the usage of TikTok” doesn’t have the specified impact.

Eero Secure

There are different options – even though strangely now not very many taking into consideration it is a ‘Pro’ machine. For instance, there’s no method to break up the two.4GHz and 5GHz bands into separate networks.

For many of us (and units), that’s positive because the default environment, however because the Pro type, it’s a wonder that this elementary characteristic is lacking and a few other people wish to have separate networks so they are able to drive their phone, say, to simply use the speedier 5GHz band.

There’s additionally no QoS. This stands for Quality of Service and prioritises sure units or sure actions reminiscent of gaming, streaming and video calls. In reality, this does exist, but it surely’s within the ‘beta’ phase of the Discover tab within the app and is disabled by way of default, so a number of customers gained’t in finding it and take pleasure in it.

WPA3 beef up may be in the similar position, however you’ll in finding within the common settings choices for a visitor community and a couple of complex community choices (reminiscent of port forwarding and static IP addresses) however sadly a large number of different options are best to be had for those who subscribe to Eero Secure.

Eero Pro 6 review

They come with parental controls, advert blockading and content material filtering.

Parental controls grant the power to create profiles for members of the family, set which units are theirs and when they are able to have web get right of entry to on the ones units.

You can then permit particular content material filters (for web pages) and block apps. Blocking is completed by way of fighting get right of entry to to all identified domain names (internet products and services and internet sites) which are related to that app. It’s inferior to the usage of Qustodio or Apple Screen time to dam apps at the units themselves, and it doesn’t can help you block apps at sure instances: you both block them for a selected profile or don’t.

When the usage of internet filtering, there are 4 classes: Pre-school, Pre-teen, Teenager and Adult. But there also are separate Blocked and Allowed lists the place you’ll manually grant and deny get right of entry to to express web pages.

Ad blockading may also be enabled universally for all hooked up units, now not simply your youngsters’, and Eero Secure additionally comprises router-level safety to lend a hand save you malware infecting any hooked up instrument by way of blockading get right of entry to to bad web pages, ancient utilization knowledge, so you’ll see how a lot knowledge has been downloaded, what number of threats had been blocked, what number of scans carried out and what number of content material filters carried out.

Eero Pro 6 review

But you don’t actually get any knowledge past the beautiful graphs – no main points on what the threats have been, so that they’re now not in truth helpful.

Ultimately, it’s only a disgrace it’s important to pay at involved in parental controls and filtering: those are options which are unfastened to make use of on different mesh programs. You get a 30-day unfastened trial whilst you first arrange your Eero machine so you’ll a minimum of see if there’s sufficient there to warrant paying when the trial ends.

It prices £2.99 / US$2.99 per 30 days, or £29/$29 consistent with yr.

You will pay extra ­ – £9.99/$9.99 per 30 days or £99/$99 consistent with yr for Secure+. This provides much more options together with separate apps: 1password (a password supervisor), Encrypt.me (a VPN carrier), Malwarebytes (antivirus) and DDNS (letting you remotely keep watch over your Eero machine when clear of house.

Both subscriptions provide you with get right of entry to to precedence beef up.

Performance

You’d rightly be expecting nice efficiency at this worth, and in many ways you get it. The Eero Pro 6 is probably not absolutely the quickest Wi-Fi 6 mesh machine, but it surely’ll really feel like a big improve for those who’re coming from a unmarried ISP router and even an older Wi-Fi 5 dual-band mesh machine.

For checking out, I arrange the primary node within the nook of my house, plugged right into a BT Smart Hub 2 router. The 2d node was once positioned kind of in the course of the home, and the 3rd in a nook room upstairs that I take advantage of as a house administrative center.

Mesh Wi-Fi programs have a tendency to battle on account of quite a lot of steel beams in the home, however the Eero 6 Pros did higher than maximum. After putting in the machine, the sign icons to begin with confirmed as rather low within the app, however since then have reported complete energy. Again, no main points are to be had past the graphics.

Below is a protection map, created with the NetSpot Android app, then imported into NetSpot Pro on Windows. A scale of yellow/inexperienced displays excellent sign energy working to darkish blue which represents a vulnerable sign. The markers point out the take a look at positions, and the sign energy at every.

Tech Advisor readers can get a seven-day trial of NetSpot Pro, so you’ll take a look at your individual Wi-Fi protection.

(*6*)

As ever, this isn’t a systematic take a look at: it’s a real-world take a look at performed in a genuine house. So whilst you’ll see other speeds, I used to be inspired with efficiency in comparison to an older Linksys Wi-Fi 5 mesh machine.

With that, I used to be in a position to get round part my web velocity (of 70Mbps) within the administrative center, the Eeero Pro 6 delivered the whole 70Mbps.

The downside, even though, is in case you have a miles sooner web connection. This package is advertised as providing Gigabit speeds, so must be very best for those who’re fortunate sufficient to have Gigabit broadband.

But in my checking out, speeds weren’t slightly that excellent. The absolute best velocity recorded was once 732Mbps at a distance of 1m from any of the nodes.

Moving additional away, as an example, a room upstairs without delay above a node, noticed that drop to round 500Mbps.

In the again room. roughly 6m clear of the center node, speeds have been slightly above my web obtain velocity at 70Mbps. That’s most probably brought about by way of a large number of steel – RSJs and copper pipes.

Standing simply outdoor the storage, the place a safety digicam is fastened – round 12m from the closest node – noticed reasonable speeds drop to 45Mbps, however the sign was once additionally vulnerable sufficient that the iPhone 12 Pro I used to check with was once reporting no Wi-Fi connection in any respect.

The safety digicam –  a Nest Outdoor, infamous for requiring a powerful Wi-Fi sign – fastened at the storage would every so often disconnect however most commonly labored good enough, however every other digicam fastened on a shed within the nook of the lawn (virtually 20m from the home) couldn’t get a powerful sufficient sign to permit are living viewing.

A unique downside, which was once most probably all the way down to my checking out coinciding with a specifically buggy firmware liberate (6.5.1), was once some LIFX lighting refusing to hook up with the Eero’s Wi-Fi in spite of the usage of the similar SSID and password as the former router they have been hooked up to.

When I contacted tech beef up by the use of e mail, a answer an afternoon or so later instructed me to first restart all 3 nodes, then use the Troubleshooting phase within the app to briefly pause 5GHz Wi-Fi as a result of “broadcasting two networks concurrently confuses [the lights]”.

This didn’t resolve the problem. Only a reset of the lighting in query and an replace to v6.6 noticed the entirety operating correctly.

Price & availability

The Eero Pro 6 three-pack as reviewed right here prices £599 / US$599. Alternatively you’ll purchase a unmarried router for £229 / $229. In america, there’s additionally the choice of a 2-pack for $399 which isn’t bought in the United Kingdom.

If that sounds pricey, it’s kind of on par with different tri-band Wi-Fi 6 programs, reminiscent of Linksys’ Velop AX5300 and Asus’ ZenWiFi XT8, even though this has best two nodes.

You should buy less expensive kits, however they generally supply much less protection and slower speeds as a result of having 4×4 Wi-Fi 6 prices extra money than, say, 2×2 Wi-Fi 5.

For possible choices, see our roundup of the most efficient mesh Wi-Fi programs.

Verdict

At this worth, a lot is predicted of a mesh Wi-Fi machine and it’s arduous to not be quite disenchanted by way of the Eero Pro 6. Speeds are fast – undoubtedly – however now not slightly as instant as anticipated and the options aren’t specifically complete. This is exacerbated for those who don’t wish to pay for an Eero Secure subscription, as that wipes out the parental controls, amongst different issues.

Overall reliability – a minimum of all over my few weeks of checking out – was once excellent, but it surely was once once more disappointing to seek out that some units (which had labored positive on different mesh programs) refused to attach mechanically to the Eero as soon as it was once arrange with my same old SSID and password.

And in case your broadband speeds aren’t that instant, you’d be at an advantage choosing a less expensive mesh Wi-Fi machine anyway: there’s little level in having speeds this instant if you’ll’t actually make the most of them.

But for those who do have super-fast fibre and both don’t thoughts paying for Eero Secure or don’t have youngsters, the Eero Pro 6 is a good mesh Wi-Fi machine. Just glance out for Amazon’s common gross sales that deliver its worth all the way down to extra reasonably priced ranges.



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