Eero 6 Plus Evaluate: Now That is Extra Like It

8.3

Eero 6 Plus mesh router

You are receiving value alerts for Eero 6 Plus mesh router

Like

• 
  Easy setup and management through Eero app
• 
  Constant speeds and sufficient oomph for gigabit networks
• 
  160MHz channel assist has a optimistic impact on efficiency
• 
  Matter assist and built-in Zigbee hub are nice for sensible properties

Do not like

• 
  Routing to the improper extender may cause slight slowdowns
• 
  No choice to restrict Eero’s information assortment

Product particulars

• Wi-Fi Commonplace

  Wi-Fi 6

• Pace Ranking

  AX3000

• Vary

  As much as 1,500 sq. ft.

• Wi-fi Networking Safety

  WPA2, WPA3

• Bands

  Twin-Band (2.4 and 5GHz)

Amazon’s Eero 6 had the correct elements again in 2020, as mesh routers had been beginning to surge in reputation. The design was easy and inoffensive, the app was disarmingly simple to make use of, it provided full assist for Wi-Fi 6 and, at $279 for a three-pack, it wasn’t terribly costly. The one drawback I had with it was that it made an everyday behavior of routing my connection via the improper extender on the improper time throughout my battery of efficiency checks, which prompted its common speeds to deflate like a defeated soufflé.

Now, Amazon is again, and it appears to have crushed the eggs a bit higher than earlier than. The brand new Eero 6 Plus system nonetheless is not excellent at steering connections via the very best extender for the job, however few mesh routers are (notably dual-band techniques just like the 6 Plus), and this time, the difficulty is way much less extreme. Total, it is a lot improved and far simpler for me to advocate, particularly at its present value of $255.

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A part of that’s just because it did not occur fairly so typically, however you may also thank the brand new assist for 160MHz channel width, up from 80MHz final time round. That is the important thing a part of the Plus pitch, and it implies that the system can now transfer information twice as effectively to 160MHz-compatible gadgets, of which there are lots of. Even with out gadgets like that in your community, you will nonetheless profit from the quicker connection between the Eero gadgets themselves. That, mixed with a faster-than-before AX3000 construct, implies that your speeds will not drop as a lot if the Eero 6 Plus routes your connection via an extender that is three rooms away as a substitute of 1 that is one room away.

That was my expertise at dwelling, the place I put the Eero 6 Plus via the identical spate of checks that the Eero 6 went via two years in the past. Final time round, an enormous disparity in efficiency between the checks the place I linked near the router versus these the place I linked removed from it prompted the system to return obtain speeds all through my home that averaged simply 196 megabits per second, which is not nice for a 300Mbps fiber community, the place the quickest gadgets I take a look at are inclined to max out at about 375Mbps at shut vary. The Eero 6 Plus cranked that whole-home common all the best way as much as 304Mbps. That is high 10 among the many 30 or so mesh routers that I’ve examined at dwelling over the previous few years — and not one of the techniques that beat its speeds can beat its worth.

All of that makes the Eero 6 Plus a wonderful selection for anybody trying to improve to Wi-Fi 6 or to a mesh community. That is very true in the event you stay in a multistory dwelling, the place that third system would show notably helpful (the opposite noteworthy Wi-Fi 6 system I like to recommend on this $200-$300 value vary, the TP-Hyperlink Deco W7200, solely nets you two gadgets as a substitute of three). A robust sensible dwelling acumen through Amazon’s “frustration-free” setup, assist for the upcoming Matter protocol and the built-in Zigbee radio for pairing issues like lights and locks together with your community are simply the icing on the cake (or the sauce on the soufflé, if you’ll). Backside line: The Eero 6 Plus retains all the things that the Eero 6 acquired proper, and it executes on the promise of robust, constant speeds significantly better than earlier than.

Design, specs and app controls

Obtainable now at $255 for a three-pack, $204 for a two-pack or $119 for a single system, every Eero 6 Plus unit is similar, so you need to use any of them as both an extender or the primary router of the system. They’re 99% similar to the Eero 6 gadgets that got here earlier than them, too — the identical shiny white plastic, the identical curved design, the identical solo indicator mild (white means all proper, blue means pairing mode and pink means “uh oh”). I would not fault anybody for calling the issues uninspired, however they are not ugly or cumbersome or cheap-looking, and so they should not have a lot bother mixing in with most dwelling decor.

As for the {hardware} inside, the Eero 6 Plus boasts an AX3000 construct, which is up from AX1800 with the first-gen Eero 6. The AX half tells you that the router helps 802.11ax, or Wi-Fi 6; the quantity after it tells you the mixed high speeds of every of the bands (2.4GHz and 5GHz). Although I have not had the possibility to try it out on a gigabit community but, an AX3000 velocity score is greater than sufficient to high out a connection like that. In the meantime, the system powers these radios with a 1GHz dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. As for vary, Amazon says {that a} three-piece setup must be sufficient to cowl as much as 4,500 sq. toes.

You will discover your ports within the again — particularly, the USB-C energy jack and two gigabit Ethernet ports on every system. These Ethernet ports set a velocity restrict for the incoming connection, so in the event you’re enthusiastic about upgrading to a multigig web plan someday quickly, then you definitely’ll need to skip the 6 Plus and think about spending extra to get the Eero Professional 6E, or one other router with a multigig Ethernet jack able to dealing with speeds like these (the Asus ZenWiFi XT8, the TP-Hyperlink Deco X90 and the Netgear Orbi AX6000 are all well-reviewed fashions that match the invoice).

This brings us to Eero’s app, which you will use to set the system up, monitor its efficiency and regulate its settings. With a nice-looking design and intuitive entry to controls and settings, it is one of many higher app choices within the router class, and it makes fast work of the setup course of. Simply faucet your method via the directions, plug issues in when instructed to, select a community title and password and replace to the newest firmware construct, and your community will up and working in a matter of minutes.

From there, you’ll use the app to see which gadgets are linked to your community, or group them into particular profiles for functions like advert blocking and parental controls. The app additionally makes it simple to trace your speeds and your information utilization, which is especially useful in case your web plan comes with an information cap. You’ll be able to activate WPA3 encryption within the Eero Labs part of the app for the newest in community safety and, in the event you like, you possibly can subscribe to Eero Safe Plus for superior choices for advert blocking and risk detection, plus entry to further providers like 1Password and the Encrypt.me VPN.

As for privateness, Eero’s assist web page explains that it would not observe the web sites you go to or the contents of your community visitors, although the corporate does gather community information to assist preserve and enhance system efficiency. A few of that information contains private information from the app, like your e mail and system IP addresses, however the firm attracts some traces with how that data will get used.

“We do not promote our buyer information, and we do not promote adverts primarily based on this information,” the assist web page reads. “We gather information about your Eero community to assist us optimize your Wi-Fi efficiency.”

Different producers provide an choice to restrict information assortment or decide out of it altogether, however there is not any such choice with Eero. Moreover, per the corporate’s privateness coverage, you possibly can e mail to request deletion of your private information, however doing so means you will not be capable to use your Eero gadgets anymore. None of that may cease me from utilizing the system in my dwelling, however in the event you’re particularly privacy-conscious and attempting to restrict information assortment amongst your gadgets as a lot as you possibly can, Eero in all probability is not the very best match.

Efficiency and velocity

To get a way of simply how a lot “Plus” we’re speaking about right here, I examined the Eero 6 Plus at my dwelling in Louisville, Kentucky, the identical place the place I examined the Eero 6 system two years in the past. It is a 1,300-square-foot dwelling, and I examined it on the identical 300Mbps fiber web plan, although the true velocity restrict appears to be extra like 375Mbps. As soon as I’ve had an opportunity to check the system out within the a lot bigger CNET Good Residence, I am going to replace this part with some further information.

With the router arrange in my front-of-house lounge and a single extender attached within the back-of-the-house bed room, I spent a number of days working velocity checks throughout 5 rooms, following the identical process for testing routers that I at all times use. One key level of my methodology: I run a number of rounds of checks throughout a number of days of testing, and I cut up these rounds into two teams — ones the place I begin with a contemporary connection in the lounge, close to the router, and ones the place I begin my connection behind the home close to the extender. Doing so offers me a very good take a look at how the system adjusts my connection as I transfer from room to room.

Once I examined the Eero 6, these two units of checks produced massively totally different outcomes. My speeds had been advantageous after I began my connection in the lounge and labored again, but when I began behind the home and labored my technique to the entrance, it will route my connection via the extender even after I might returned to the lounge, with the router just some toes away. I noticed a few of that very same challenge with the Eero 6 Plus, however the ensuing slowdowns had been a lot much less drastic, and, usually, by the point I reached the lounge in these back-to-front checks, the system would understand it and start routing my connection straight to the close by router.

Consequently, the Eero 6 Plus completed with a lot stronger common speeds than the Eero 6 did. Total, its common obtain velocity to my Wi-Fi 6 take a look at laptop computer was 304Mbps, the place it was solely 196Mbps with the Eero 6. The system’s common add velocity was barely much less spectacular at 253Mbps, however that is nonetheless a advantageous consequence — higher than the 204Mbps I noticed from the Eero 6, and higher than well-reviewed techniques just like the TP-Hyperlink Deco W7200 (248Mbps), Nest Wifi (230Mbps) and Asus ZenWiFi XD6 (224Mbps). Speeds had been predictably a bit slower however nonetheless respectable after I ran my checks to a Wi-Fi 5 shopper system, too — common downloads of 288Mbps and common uploads of 208Mbps. Solely 5 techniques did higher than that in my at-home checks, and all of them are costlier tri-band techniques.

What about gigabit speeds?

I not too long ago upgraded my dwelling’s fiber community from that 300Mbps connection to a gigabit connection, with max obtain speeds of 940Mbps and max add speeds of 880Mbps. These are the speeds that I will be utilizing for my router checks transferring ahead, so I made certain to retest the Eero 6 Plus.

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Testing throughout the identical 5 spots in my dwelling, the system completed with common obtain speeds of 427Mbps and common add speeds of 380Mbps. That is barely higher than the TP-Hyperlink Deco W7200, certainly one of my high total mesh router suggestions, however slower than fancier techniques that value extra, together with the Eero Professional 6E, the Netgear Orbi AX6000 and the TP-Hyperlink Deco XE75. All three of these had been in a position to push my common downloads effectively above 500Mbps.

Nonetheless, even when it is not as able to profiting from a gigabit connection as some techniques are, the Eero 6 Plus nets you nice efficiency for the worth — and I used to be happy that, as soon as once more, the band-steering points had been fairly restricted. It is a greater choose for, say, a 500Mbps community, however even with a gigabit connection, your property’s Wi-Fi will really feel loads quick with the Eero 6 Plus.

Now we’re cooking

I’ve tasted the Eero 6 Plus soufflé — it is fluffy and satisfying.

Overcooked metaphors apart, this is a wonderful mesh system for the cash, and a powerful step up from what the Eero 6 initially needed to provide. Setup is a cinch due to the Eero app, and efficiency held tall throughout a number of days of checks. Good dwelling customers ought to recognize the built-in Zigbee radio, and customers of every kind will profit from the system’s potential to maneuver extra information directly than earlier than.

At $255 for a three-pack, there’s loads of worth right here, notably on condition that plenty of different top-performing techniques value extra for a two-pack. For the reason that system is backward-compatible with earlier generations, I additionally like the concept individuals who already personal an Eero system can choose up a 6 Plus system at any time when these go on sale and swap it into their setup. Both method, the Eero 6 Plus is effectively value contemplating, and an amazing choice for anybody searching for a quicker connection at dwelling.