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On March 23, 2022, eero, a networking vendor owned by Amazon, released its first Wi-Fi 6E solution, the eero Pro 6E, available as a single router for some $300 or a 3-pack for $700.
There's also a new inconsequential eero 6+ that's basically the same as the eero 6 but now with built-in Zigbee.
Those are crazy prices, but not for reasons you might think! And many of you have asked me when I'd publish my review on it. The quick answer is probably never.
After having evaluated the eero Pro 6 and eero 6 (plus most of the rest of the older variants in my past life), I'll likely take a pass on this one.
What you're reading right now, despite the in-depth analysis, is not what I consider a "review" since there's no real-world hands-on testing involved.
This post offers my quick, no-nonsense take on the new mesh system and explains briefly why I'd not spend time on it.
Dong's note: I have updated this piece since its published date above to clarify the wording on Wi-Fi intricacies without changing my original assessment.
The router might be the vendor's "most advanced ever," but it's unclear who will get the most out of your Wi-Fi. Hint: It's probably not you.
There are many other networking vendors. Compared to their home Wi-Fi 6E routers, the eero Pro 6E's hardware is pathetically mediocre, considering how much it costs and what it has to offer.
eero Pro 6E: Another data mining Wi-Fi machine of low-end hardware
I had a lot of hesitation testing the previous eero variants to tell the truth.
Generally, all variants of a brand of purpose-built mesh Wi-Fi systems—eero, Linksys Velop, Netgear Orbi, TP-Link Deco, etc.—share the same firmware.
Consequently, despite the possible differences in physical sizes and hardware capabilities, they have a common mobile app, user requirements, and feature set.
In other words, they are the same in principle with minor variations in capacities. The article linked below explains the main differences between major brands.
Generally, it's never fun to work with devices designed to collect user data. And among those, the eero is by far the worst, in my opinion, and real-life experience.
Here's eero's privacy policy. Make sure you take some time and really read it!
My testing always includes intensive real-world trials where I use the product extensively in my own home with my family. Consequently, I don't feel comfortable plugging something in that doesn't give me control—at least to some extent—over what it does.
And the eero gives users no control at all—you can't even set it up or make any changes without first going through the vendor. The device won't even initiate without having a live connection to eero—the company.
Privacy is a matter of degree. While many networking vendors use a similar approach to router management, which is always not a good thing, they do so to a certain level. Most importantly, most are networking companies—their interest might be purely technical.
On the other hand, Amazon is a giant data-hungry company that touches many aspects of modern life. And that makes the eero scary. If you don't feel that way, that's because ignorance is bliss.
That expected hype
If not already, you'll soon run into "reviews" on the eero Pro 6E (and eero 6+). Many will sing their praises by practically repeating eero's marketing. And then, you'll often see updated posts on these devices each time their prices hit a new low.
In my experience, eero tends to overwhelm journalists with false but cool-sounding information. Those with limited networking know-how will easily cave in. On top of that, Amazon has lots of influence, and there are generally more incentives for folks to hype it up than otherwise.
If you evaluate the eero's favorably, among other things, your work will be promoted and used by its "fans" as evidence of how wonderful it is across social media—it's a win-win.
So, it's kinda foolish not to do so. But all legit networking pros and reviewers I know do not use the eero for themselves at home.
In any case, I'm nobody to judge. I'm myself an Amazon associate. If you buy an eero over the links above, I might get a small commission. I'd hope so, anyway. We all have mouths to feed.
To be fair, there are good things about the eero Pro 6E. The cute, compact design, the integration of home automation wireless standards, and the general ease of use have their allure.
So, if you've been in the ecosystem and waiting for an upgrade, you understandably get excited. The new mesh router is far from completely useless.
But if you think the new eero Pro 6E is decidedly better than the previous Pro 6, you're fooling yourself, or you just (want to) believe in the marketing nonsense.
Wi-Fi is invisible. Vendors can easily sprinkle in nonsensical snazzy tech terms that are about as true as voodoo and magic. Real-world performance is always adversely different from things on paper and what you hear, even greatly so.
After thoroughly testing virtually all other Wi-Fi 6E broadcasters available on the US market to date, I can say the eero Pro 6E is no good, at least in terms of performance, just by looking at its hardware specs.
So let's check them out.
eero Pro 6E vs. eero Pro 6: Hardware specifications
eero didn't reveal the details of the eero Pro 6E's specs on its website.
But from what I could glean (and extrapolate from the information provided), it's clear that the Pro 6E is a "weaker" Wi-Fi machine than the previous model, which is already entry-level hardware. In fact, it's the lowest compared to all other Wi-Fi 6E hardware I've tested.
In any case, the eero Pro 6 and Pro 6E share almost identical designs.
| Full Name | eero Pro 6 Tri-band Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router | eero Pro 6E Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E Mesh Router |
| Model | eero Pro 6 | eero 6 Pro 6E |
| Wi-Fi Designation | Dual-band AX4200 | Tri-band AXE5400 (?) |
| Dimensions | 5.3 x 5.3 x 2.1 in (13.5 x 13.5 x 5.3 cm) | 5.5 x 5.5 x 2.2 in (13.9 x 13.9 x 5.5 cm) |
| Weight | 1.49 lbs (676 g) | 1.55 lbs (703 g) |
| 1st Band | 2.4GHz AX: Up to 600Mbps (20/40MHz) | 2.4GHz AX: Up to 600Mbps (20/40MHz) |
| 2st Band | 5GHz 4x4 AX: Up to 2400Mbps (20/40/80MHz) | 5GHz 2x2 AX: Up to 2400Mbps (20/40/80/160MHz) |
| 3rd Band | 5GHz 2x2 AX: Up to 1201 Mbps (20/40/80MHz) | 6GHz 2x2 AXE: Up to 2400Mbps (20/40/80/160MHz) |
| Wireless Backhaul | Dynamic | Dynamic |
| Possible Dedicated Backhaul Band | 5GHz | None |
| Wired Backhaul Support | Yes | Yes |
| Backward Compatibility | 802.11ac/n/g/a/b | 802.11ac/n/g/a/b |
| Wi-Fi Security | WPA2, WPA2/WPA3 | WPA2, WPA2/WPA3 |
| Mobile App | eero | eero |
| Web User Interface | None | None |
| AP (Bridge) Mode | Yes | Yes |
| USB Port | USB-C (power) | USB-C (power) |
| Gigabit Port | 2x Auto-Sensing (LAN/WAN) | 1x Auto-Sensing |
| Multi-Gig Port | None | 1x 2.5Gbps Auto-Sensing |
| Link Aggregation | No | No |
| Dual-WAN | No | No |
| Processing Power | 1.4 GHz quad-core CPU, 1GB RAM, 4GB flash | 1 GHz dual-core CPU, 1 GB RAM, 4 GB flash storage |
eero Pro 6E vs. eero Pro 6: Another misleading case of the old tri-band vs. new tri-band
The new eero Pro 6E has consistent mid-tier 2x2 Wi-Fi specs. Its ceiling Wi-Fi speed will likely cap at 1.2Gbps on the 5GHz band, making the real-world speed significantly below Gigabit.
While the router's 5GHz is supposedly capable of 2400Mbps, you can't expect it to use the 160MHz bandwidth at all times. And the vendor itself says that the router delivers up to 1.3Gbps of Wi-Fi bandwidth.
eero Pro 6E: (Maybe) better as a single router
So, the eero Pro 6E is only better than the eero Pro 6 when working as a single router, and in only one small area: its support for Wi-Fi 6E devices via the new 6GHz band—the Pro 6 doesn't have this band.
The Pro 6E does have a 2.5Gbps port, but in most, if not all, cases, that'd make no difference since there's no way for any device to connect at that speed on the front end—even when using the 6GHz band you'll only get Gig+ sustained speed at best.
What is Gig+
Gig+, or Gig Plus, conveys a speed grade faster than 1Gbps but slower than 2Gbps. So, it's 1.5Gbps, give or take, and it's not speedy enough to qualify as Multi-Gig Ethernet or multi-Gigabit. Intel coined the term to call its Wi-Fi 6E client chips—the AX210 and AX211—to describe their real-world speeds.
Gig+ generally applies to the sustained speeds of Wi-Fi 6 or 6E—via a 2x2 at 160MHz connection, which has the 2402Mbps theoretical ceiling speed—or Internet speed. It's generally not used to describe wired network connections.
The only time this port is meaningful is if you have 2.5Gbps Internet, but in that case, you shouldn't get this router or any entry-level hardware if you want to enjoy ultra-fast broadband.
Nonetheless, eero uses this port to prop up the Pro 6E with the "fastest eero to date" marketing nonsense. The 2.5Gpbs port is nothing new. There are dozens of Multi-Gig Wi-Fi 6/E home routers that have this port or faster, all with better specs than the eero Pro 6E. And I've thoroughly tested all of them.
In a mesh setup, things will get complicated.
Extra: The case of multiple Wi-Fi broadcasters
This portion of extra content is part of the explainer post on mesh systems.
Extra: Backhaul vs. fronthaul
When you use multiple Wi-Fi broadcasters—in a mesh network or a combo of a router and an extender—there are two types of connections: fronthaul and backhaul.
Fronthaul is the Wi-Fi signals broadcast outward for clients or the local area network (LAN) ports for wired devices. It's what we generally expect from a Wi-Fi broadcaster.
Backhaul (a.k.a backbone,) on the other hand, is the link between one satellite Wi-Fi broadcaster and another, which can be the network's primary router, a switch, or another satellite unit.
This link works behind the scenes to keep the hardware units together as a system. It also determines the ceiling bandwidth (and speed) of all devices connected to the particular broadcaster. It's the backbone of the system.
At the satellite/extender unit, the connection used for the backhaul—a Wi-Fi link or a network port—is often called the uplink. Generally, a Wi-Fi broadcaster might use one of its bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, or 6GHz) or a network port for the uplink.
When a Wi-Fi band handles backhaul and fronthaul simultaneously, only half its bandwidth is available to either end. From the perspective of a connected client, that phenomenon is called signal loss.
A Wi-Fi connection between two direct parties occurs in a single band, using one fixed channel, at any given time. This principle applies to all existing Wi-Fi standards, up to Wi-Fi 6E.
When a Wi-Fi band functions solely for backhauling, it's called the dedicated backhaul. Often, that means no other band will do this job, though that depends on the hardware.
In a mesh system, only traditional Tri-band hardware—those with an additional 5GHz band—can have a dedicated backhaul band without ostracizing clients of the same band.
Generally, it's best to use network cables for backhauling—wired backhauling, which is an advantage of mesh hardware with network ports. In this case, a satellite broadcaster can use its entire Wi-Fi bandwidth for front-hauling.
In networking, network cables are always much better than wireless in speed and reliability.
eero Pro 6E: Decidedly worse as a wireless mesh
The old eero Pro 6 is a traditional tri-band device—it can dedicate one of its two 5GHz bands as the backhaul in a fully wireless setup. Specifically, in most cases, it'll dynamically use one of its two 5GHz bands solely for the backhaul link and the other 5GHz for the fronthaul.
On the other hand, the eero Pro 6E is a new Tri-band router—it needs all three bands to serve clients.
(This is the case of all Wi-Fi 6E mesh systems by the way, except those of quad-band configuration, like the Orbi RBKE960.)
Now we have two scenarios: using the eero Pro 6E mesh in a place with mixed clients of all standards or in a place with only 5GHz (or 6GHz) clients.
eero Pro 6E mesh in a mixed environment (common)
In a mixed environment where you have clients of all three bands (6GHz, 5GHz, and 2.4GHz), whichever band the eero Pro 6E uses for backhauling will suffer signal loss.
This reduced backhaul speed will then be that of the entire mesh system—all devices connected to the satellite unit will share the backhaul's bandwidth.
eero Pro 6E mesh in a 5GHz-only or 6GHz-only environment (rare)
The second is where you have only 6GHz or 5GHz clients—the 2.4GHz is too slow to matter—and therefore, the system can use either the 5GHz or the 6GHz band solely as the backhaul, with the other functioning solely as the fronthaul.
In this case, the system's clients' speed will cap at that of the backhaul band or the fronthaul band, whichever is slower. Per the specs, that'd be 1.2Gbps of theoretical speeds (2x2 Wi-Fi 6 at 80MHz). Expect the real-world speed to be well below 1Gbps—you likely get 500Mbps at best on a good day.
It's important to note that the 6GHz band has a shorter range than the 5GHz (or the 2.4GHz). Consequently, we can't count on it to work as a reliable backhaul—that's consistently been the case in my experience. It's the nature of this band.
In reality, depending on the environment, the eero Pro 6E will automatically pick the band with the strongest signal as the backhaul in real-time—that's how dynamic backhaul works. And when it uses the 2.4GHz band for this job, the mesh will be super slow.
Again, keep in mind that a Wi-Fi connection between two direct devices takes place in a single band, using a fixed channel, at any given time. In other words, there's no way to combine two bands in a connection.
Wi-Fi 7 might make things different on this front, but that remains to be seen.
The use of empty buzzwords like "TrueMesh," "Dynamic," "parallel network," etc., doesn't change that fact. They are nonsensical terms cheaply propagated across social media to confuse or mislead impressionable users.
Wired backhaul is a must
In short, in a fully wireless setup, the eero Pro 6E will likely be slower than the eero Pro 6. And generally, there's no scenario where it will be fast compared to all other existing Wi-Fi 6E solutions, considering its hardware specs.
While both the Pro 6 and Pro 6E can work via a wired backhaul, the latter needs this type of backhaul to work well. That's the common case with any tri-band Wi-Fi 6E mesh systems, including the higher-end ZenWiFi ET8 or Linksys AXE8400.
By the way, since there's just one 2.5Gbps port per router, you can't have Multi-Gig wired backhaul out of the eero Pro 6E mesh, like the case of the ZenWiFi Pro ET12. But that's not a huge deal considering the router's expected slow Wi-Fi speeds.
In the best-case scenario, an eero Pro 6E mesh will cap at Gigabit, which is its wired backhaul speed. In reality, expect significantly lower real-world wireless rates, most of the time and in a large part of the mesh network.
The takeaway
Like the eero Pro 6, the new eero Pro 6E is not what it's cracked up to be by the vendor's exceedingly misleading marketing ploys. And to make matters worse, it's a Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E device that's generally not ideal for a wireless mesh setup.
To those who just opened that fancy box, I don't mean to rain on your parade. If you love the eero Pro 6E, go ahead and love it. I'm happy for you. And for a modest sub-Gigabit home network, chances are it'll work out.
However, if you expect me to agree with the superlatives you've been fed about it, that's a hard no. How a router works is physics, not hype or wishful thinking.
At the core, the new eero Pro 6E is a low-end, entry-level Wi-Fi 6E device. It will likely be the slowest among its peers in real-world usage. So it's outrageously over-priced, and the "Pro" notion is laughable.
The combo of insignificant hardware, misleading marketing, and the extreme level of privacy risks makes it apparent to me that the eero Pro 6E is not worth the time and effort I normally put into a review.
Like all eero variants, the Pro 6E is designed primarily to further enrich the vendor via data collection or subscription add-ons. As such, eero should give it to you for free. In any case, you don't own it—literally, you can't use it on your own.
The bottom line is I wouldn't bother with the eero Pro 6E even if you paid me to use it. And the growing number of better Wi-Fi 6E options makes that decision a no-brainer.
But if I had to choose between the eero Pro 6 and Pro 6E for a wireless home, I'd go with the former.
There's a way to use this eero Pro 6E, or any eero for that matter, without risking too much on the privacy front: use them in the AP (Bridge) mode, as I mentioned in this post on the eero 6 vs. eero Pro 6. Why you'd want to do that is another question entirely.
For more on how eero stacks up against other canned mesh systems, this post on popular mesh brands will give you an overview. In the meantime, check out the quick ratings below.
Amazon eero Ecosystem's Overall Rating
Pros
Easy to set up and use
Generally reliable with scalable Wi-Fi coverage
Eye-catching design
Cons
Lacking standard features and settings
No local management; vendor login account to work; heavy on user data collection; useful features require eero Plus subscription,
Often middling-specced and overpriced
Not sure which to pick between two other similar Wi-Fi solutions? Check them all out here!
Here’s a question. The new Ring Alarm Pro has an eero 6 built in. With the data privacy concerns what are your thoughts on using the build in eero ONLY for my Ring alarm and Ring camera devices and using an entirely separate router for all of my other devices?
The setup I’m thinking of is using a primary router attached to my modem and connecting the eero to the primary via LAN ports. In theory the eero in the Ring should only be able to get data on the Ring devices.
Buying a new home (2 story, 2600 Sq ft) and trying to see how to best setup my network. There will be a video doorbell and 4 exterior cameras so I’m trying to separate that traffic.
Those cameras bring privacy to the next level, Ken, eero or not. Imagine having your videos recorded and viewed by a third party.
Dong,
I have 2 Asus AXE-11000 connected through the 5ghz band (wireless mesh). I can’t run ethernet cables, unfortunately, and made the stubid decision to purchase these two units as soon as they came out thinking it would be a good idea (dumb). Amazon is selling 3 eero pro 6E for $300.00 after discounts. Will I get better speeds from replacing my current setup with the Eeros? I have 800mbps at home, with a potential max of 1.2gbps.
Thank you!
Nope, Ed. They will be *much* worse. Your case needs wiring — as you already know — to have the expected performance, or a tri-band Wi-Fi 6 system for the best possible wireless backhaul setup. I’d recommend wiring.
Hi, what mesh system would you think is best for a 3000 sqft home using only wifi and no hard lines. I have 1gig coming out of the modem. Currently have eero 6+, which cuts the wifi in half. Thanks
Anything is better than the eero, Allen. But generally you won’t be able to get gigabit unless you run network cables. For your case, I’d recommend a Deco.
Hi Dong,
This site was great for my knowledge. I currently have Eero system that worked “OK” for a while. I recently took on Starlink internet and am looking for something to compliment the speed. We have an old school house built in 1800’s, meaning thick brick walls etc. I read your review of the Orbi 960 Series Quad-Band WiFi 6E, I’m basically looking for something that the mesh system will work through various degrees of obstruction at high speeds. Cost not an issue, is another another option outside the Orbi 960 you can suggest? I know you had mixed feelings on it.
I’d recommend getting your home wired or use MoCA when that’s possible, Shawn. With that you’d have lots of options.
If wiring is not possible, the good news is anything is better than the eero. For the best performance, you can also try the ZenWifi Pro XT12.
Hey Doug, great post. I’m currently cursing the Eero hardware sold to me. So question – my house is 7500 sq/ft, two levels. I have Ethernet running to spots on both ends and one run in the middle. If budget isn’t a concern, what would you install to get wifi everywhere?
Check out this post, J.D. Also, the name is Dong.
I bought the pro 6 from Best Buy for $600. Two weeks later Amazon put the pro 6e on sale for $489. Sounds like I should just keep what I have.
Hey Dong,
Right now, Amazon has a really good deal on the Pro 6 and Pro 6E if you trade-in your existing system. I have an old Amplify HD that worked GREAT at my old house (1 story with basement – 3300sq ft), but is absolutely TERRIBLE at the new house (2 story, 3800 sq ft). I only pay for 150Mbps speed from the ISP (Gigabit is available, but it’s twice as expensive and only available through Cox, who suck) and my whole house is wired with Ethernet. I want to go with a new system that has wired backhaul and the Eero seems to fit that bill. I’m not super worried about privacy – we already have an Echo in almost every room, anyway. I was intending to get a TP-Link Deco X60 (preferably would like to spend <$200), since I put one in my parent's new house and it's been rock-solid for them… but the Eero is intriguing and costs less with my trade-in. If I intend to use wired backhaul on the nodes, would you still suggest the Pro 6 over the 6E?
Thanks!
Read the entire post, Derek. I spelled that out. But for your case, I’d go with the ZenWiFi XD4 or better yet the XD6. Don’t be cheap on your Wi-Fi, you know how much you rely on it. By the way, the Echo can only spy on what you say — it’s like a dentist — the eero will keep tabs on EVERYTHING you and your family do — it’s like a mother-in-law who moved in and would not leave. Privacy is a matter of degree. I’ve never suggested an eero to anyone and will never do. The really “good deal” you mentioned is only correct if you look at it from Amazon’s perspective. But it’s your call.
Jeez, that is scary! So who is the least intrusive on Privacy? Asus/Netgear/Alien… ???
All those you mentioned are much better. Asus gives you the option (default) to stay completely independent, Mike. I generally mention the privacy aspect in each router review.
I am fascinated by your articles even if my level of understanding is still growing. I wish you were my neighbor. 🙂 Thank you…
The Internet makes us all neighbors, Mike. And you’re welcome! 🙂
Hi Dong, I’ve been reading your site for around a year or so and really appreciate your efforts at reviewing products and spreading knowledge of wifi concepts more generally.
I agree with your privacy concerns, and plan on switching from the eero products now that I’ve since learned more about mesh routers in general. My understanding is the main risks are that eero has to “phone home” to even work, and has no independent admin console site accessible by the user. Do you have any recommendations on some sort of privacy watch web site that would maybe watches eero using some technical tools to see if they start to collect marginally more data? Just curious if you knew of such a site.
Also, I have 3 eero 6 routers. One thing I do like about the eero ecosystem is that all the eero devices (theoretically) can work together. I was wondering if you knew of another brand that offers this, where I could add on their Wifi 6e devices to their Wifi 6 product for extended coverage (even if it meant I couldn’t take full advantage of the higher performance cos my Internet is well below a gigabit).
Also, I’ve wired my mesh routers together on a given floor, but the upstairs eero isn’t wired. Do you think replacing the upstairs router node and the node the I presume relays with the upstairs with tri-band eero products (either eero 6 Pro or just the eero Pro) would improve reception upstairs (just based on your theoretical understanding, I understand real world usage will differ).
Lastly, do you have any suggestions on products that would help me improve Wifi reception in my basement (including other brands of mesh routers to look at in the future)? It’s spotty, and wouldn’t be convenient for me to run cable down there currently.
Thanks for all your efforts to educate. I appreciate it.
How tastes the Kool-Aid, Jerome? 🙂
Most other mesh systems’ hardware can work together, including those from Asus, TP-Link, Linksys, and more. Generally, though, for best performance, you do NOT want to mix Wi-Fi standards, especially when you don’t have wired backhaul.
You should wire the upstairs node or move to a full tri-band. However, as it is right now, it’ll work. It’s just a matter of degree.
Almost any other known mesh brand will be better than eero.
Hi Dong. I completely agree with your review. Trash products must be called out and shamed publicly. We also have to crush their fake marketing/PR as I can see few people making redundant points defending this product. We have to choose lesser of the 2 evils and hence I choose Asus because I trust Merlin and can even install his aftermarket firmware on my RT-AX88U
Thanks for the sentiment. I don’t want to shame anything but I do intend to keep this site nonsense-free.
Why is Eero more of a privacy or security issue than Asus? Asus has Trend Micro anti-malware software which may also be watching me just like eero could be doing. Amazon has more information about me, but will Trend Micro sell my data?
Eero has automatic firmware updates. Asus doesn’t. I’m much more comfortable with automatic updates as I don’t want to be continually having to check for new releases. Russia’s “Cyclops Blink” malware is currently taking over Asus routers with changes to flash memory. Factory reset does nothing. Russia in control of my router and compromising my devices because I didn’t update my router in time?
If you read this post and the review of Pro 6, you’ll learn more, Nikki. It’s a matter of degree.
1. Asus does have auto-update — you have to turn it on — as shown in a screenshot here. You can do that via the web UI or the Asus mobile app.
2. The feature that requires TrenMicro is turned off by default and you can use the router completely without it. You can’t use eero without first connecting the hardware to eero.
3. The malware has been there for years and the new variant affects only certain Wi-Fi 5 models running older firmware versions. But, yes, there’s a chance a remote part can partially control your device. On the other hand, eero *already* fully controls your router at *all* times.
I’m not saying which is better or worse, but Asus gives you more options, including the ability to use your router without it being controlled by a third party.
Thanks for the frank assessment, Dong — clearly eero didn’t pay you for this post! J/K.
We had the eero 6 before and it was indeed really slow.
One time we lost Wi-Fi and tried to troubleshoot it using the app, but the app needed the Internet to connect and we had no cell reception on the phone… What a horrible experience!
{…}
Thanks for sharing your experience, Erika.
BTw, I had to redact the last portion of your comment. Please respect the rules. 🙂
Got it! I just wanted to add that this one that you reviewed has worked better for us, and cheaper. Thanks again, for all that you do, Dong.
https://dongknows.com/asus-zenwifi-xd6-vs-xt8-review/
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The Eero 6E has 2.5Gbps ports. What if you’re connecting them as access points only to a 2.5Gbps unmanaged switch? I think the 2.5Gbps ports are VERY useful in this situation. Am I not wrong?
I have 2Gig Internet and my AT&T gateway has a 5Gig Ethernet port. If I connect the AT&T gateway to the 2.5Gbps switch, and then all the Eero’s to the 2.5Gbps switch, they would all operate at backhaul speed and take full advantage of that 2.5Gbps port.
That works, Richard.
Thank you. So, the 2.5Gbps ports aren’t completely useless. I wish they did have two 2.5Gbps ports, but in this situation, the 2.5Gbps will work just fine.
Nope, but as I mentioned in the post, there’s no way for you to see that speed on the front end or to know if that port is indeed 2.5Gbps, so to speak.
Hey Dong,
Are there any router companies that have a stricter privacy policy? Or at least one that’s acceptable that you are aware of?
Any chance the best 6E router is the one that also has the best policy? Or, which is the best one with the best privacy policy?
Anyone know if any articles that walk you through blocking the sending of data, but still keeping the data I want flowing?
It’s not the policies, it’s the way hardware is implemented. It’s generally case by case.
However, if you want privacy, avoid stuff from eero (Amazon) or Nest (that’s Google), Dan. TP-Link Deco is bad, too, though it’s a smaller company. Netgear Orbi and Ubiquiti (Alien) have a tier for users to use the hardware without connection to the vendor (with reduced functionalities.)
More in this post.
And no, you can’t really block anything if pinging home is part of the function of the firmware.
{…}
Keep it up! I enjoy your depth and down to earth analysis.
I had to redact the portions of your comment where you literally mentioned nonsensical stuff from eero, Mark. I have no comment on other parts.
Respect the comment rules, Mark.
“Yes, but how do you really feel?” J/K
I appreciate your honest (negative) impression of the Eero line.
Do you have a recommendation for which mesh-wifi system provides detailed monitoring of your upstream-Internet quality?
About a year ago I upgraded to the Eero 5 (since it supported wired-backhaul) but then I found that its upstream monitoring is limited to a manual ‘speed test’. Whereas, what I would really like is something with automatic notification, e.g. of dropped packets. Is there such a system?
I only have honest impressions/opinions, Tony. Never intend to be positive or negative on this front. To quote Homer Simpson, “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!” 🙂
Most home routers with a web user interface give you the system log, some also have a real-time traffic monitor. But I’m not aware of any that would give you detailed and trivial stuff like dropped packets. For that, you can do a manual ping test.
The eero developer that posts in the eero reddit subreddit has insisted from day 1 that the eero pro 6 has no dedicated backhaul band. Even though there’s enough radios that it could do that, they say that their “true mesh” doesn’t use that.
Wondering which one is correct, your spec, or all the postings of the eero developer in the eero subreddit and other articles that I’ve read? How did you conclude that there was a dedicated backhaul radio on the eero pro 6?
Makes me curious.
eero insists a lot of things. That’s the point. As for the backhaul, it’s the wording, the nuance, Roger. The point here is it “can”. All tri-band Wi-Fi 6 mesh systems can have a dedicated backhaul band by itself, circumstantially, or via user-accessible customization,except the Netgear Orbi, which is the only mesh that has a permanent dedicated backhaul band.
its crazy that the new eero pro 6e got weaker processor compare to the old one
why they didnt put minimum 2.0ghz quad core processor
I’ve noticed with all these new wifi 6e routers they get minimum 2.0ghz quad core processor
this looks very bard to offer an old hardware on new wifi 6e tech
where I live in australia they approved wifi 6e last week and for sure if i wanna upgrade to wifi 6e
I will buy the quad band router from asus the ax16000
You got it, Ahmad. But the hardware specs are actually the least I’m concerned about this one. 🙂
It has a slower CPU, because they also added an additional “massively parallel network offload engine (12-thread tile processor)” dedicated to networking, reducing the need for a beefy main CPU with software doing the routing. This info seems to be omitted from most reviews of this product. They should really advertise it more clearly…
Because that’s another load of bullshit eero has been spreading on social media. Clearly, you don’t know what it is, Chris. 🙂
I mean… It’s there? I’ll agree it’s vague, but it has been working great for me and at least should merit mentioning. {spam removed} I’m getting 947/947mbps over ethernet from 1gbps PPOE fiber and ~500mbps over 6ghz wifi, so I don’t think the processors are saturated.
Those numbers are normal, Chris. You basically get Gigabit — as I mentioned in the post. By the way, 500Mbps over Wi-Fi 6E is SLOW. It should saturate the Gigabit pipe. Also please respect the rules.
To add my experience into the mix, I get over 500Mbps on wifi-6 with my 500/500Mbps AT&T fiber internet…it’s provisioned at about 620/620Mbps.{spam removed}
Didn’t do as well as that at my place with the eero pro 6’s on gigabit internet. Note that the eero router and remote node were in the same locations as the ZenWiFi nodes are.
I will amend my previous statement by clarifying that I am getting ~500mbps from my 1gbps ISP via WIFI in normal usage, with other devices active on the network. If I actually check local network performance to a local 2.5gbe iperf3 server I get ~900 mbps over WiFi using a Pixel 6 Pro.
So basically the eero Pro 6E slows your Internet down by almost half via Wi-Fi. Thanks for sharing your experience, Chris. Like I said in the post, you basically got Gigabit at best out of this router, on a good day.
Jesus reading the privacy policy gave me serious fear. Had to stop reading it after like the first paragraph.
Simply unbelievable how ignorant one must be to be ok to be tracked with everything you do and get sold. Glad you value privacy and I simply would never want to plugin this garbage anywhere near me either.
Yeap. Most people don’t have time to read it though. And if you track what it sends home, it’s really scary. Privacy should be a matter of respect, and not about getting away with something, or having something to hide.