Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsAffordable way to provide seamless Wi-Fi — but...
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2024
I wanted to give 4.5 Stars due to a few (minor) CONs — but first I'll state that I am satisfied with this purchase, and the Eero system. As an I.T. Professional, I'll give you a detailed assessment of the PROs, and CONs of the Eero system. UP FRONT: If you're using the system for home use, you will be happy, and Setup is amazingly simple — even for those who are not tech savvy.
BOTTOM LINE: The Eero is a great, affordable system and will benefit Home users.
PROS: Affordable (especially during Prime Days®)! Great value for the money. Very simple to set up, configure, and expand. NO subscription is required to use Eero — (but I subscribed to the optional $9.99 /month add-on package as I use the extra security features, metrics, and reports). Latest Wi-Fi protocols and security: (the 6+ gives you super-fast speeds and wide bandwidth, and WPA3 is a HUGE improvement in Wi-Fi security over the aging WPA2 encryption. (WPA3 also encrypts the Authentication Header information; making "De-Authentication" Attacks impossible. The mobile App is user-friendly, laid out well, and shows you status of the overall, or individual components of your system. You can see who is connected, organize devices into 'Profiles' (groups) — and even set Schedules, and / or Block device(s) from your network. The Eero 6+ system has useful physical Ethernet Ports on each Node device. Software updates can be set to run automatically at a time of your choosing (like overnight). Software updates typically run quickly. Minor updates don't interrupt your connection; major updates might cause your Wi-Fi to be offline for (5 or so) minutes. Major updates occur infrequently. You can opt to be notified anytime a new / unrecognized device joins your network -- this is a great security feature. You can set 'Schedules' for Profiles; (for instance, group your kids into their own profile, then have Wi-Fi be available during certain hours, etc.)... Signal coverage (dB gain) is quite strong for a home system. Customer Service has been responsive the 2 times I've called them, and I reached a live person! Software Updates often give you new features, which is cool.
CONs: (Most of these won't bother "Home" users; but commercial, or "Enterprise" users may care): MAC-Filtering is not offered: If someone has your PassPhrase, they can join your network. (You'd be notified however when they join; so you could take action and Block them). You cannot suppress (hide) your SSID (Network Name). Some think this is OK though; as hiding your SSID also (ironically) creates other security vulnerabilities, so perhaps this isn't a true "CON"... The GUEST Network (SSID) *cannot* be associated with a "Profile" — and hence cannot be set to turn ON / OFF automatically. (You can, however manually turn the GUEST network on / off anytime via the mobile app...
Perhaps not a true CON, but you can manage your Eero system only via mobile app -- no Web interface exists for Eero system management. ** THIS one could be important: DEVICE-STEERING (in other words, the system that "hands-off" a moving device from one Eero Wi-Fi Node to another at your site — is a little wonky. When I move away from Node 1, and stand (a few feet from) Node 2, sometimes my Wi-Fi session is transferred to Node 2 — and sometimes it remains on Node 1 (which is now a weak signal). Not a problem for devices that don't move (like Ring Doorbells) — but a bit cumbersome for say, a smart phone or tablet that gets moved around the building. This WILL present an issue if you have multiple Nodes, then have a power-failure where some of the Nodes are on battery backup units, and one or more are not. What will happen in this case is that when power is restored, distant devices will connect to {whatever Node(s)} come on-line first. When the closer Nodes are powered back on, those distant devices will remain on the (further away) Node, and you'll have poor coverage unless you detect this, and correct it by power-cycling all Nodes in the correct order. The way around this is to ensure that either all -- or none of your Eero Nodes are on Battery Backup (UPS) units.
Finally, the metadata (name, model#, type of device) of devices that join your network (unless made by Ring®) may, or may not populate with useful data. The fields for 'Manufacturer, Model, and Type of device' are often blank, or null. The MAC Address however and thankfully is always populated. This is needed to properly identify devices, so this is a good thing.
SUMMARY: For Home, or Small Business use, the Eero is an affordable, scale-able, and solid system that will substantially increase the Wi-Fi footprint in your building — especially if you place your Nodes with some forethought, and testing. Most, if not all of the CONs won't affect Home users, and only those needing 'Enterprise-Level' security will care about the detractors I've listed. The above is a lot of detail, I admit — but hopefully my exhaustive testing and report here is helpful.
