Hardware Review Eero 2nd Generation Review: Now Twice As Powerful! On Top Of The Connectivity Revolution (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

Was the initial comparison Orbi (wired backhaul) vs Eero (WiFi backhaul)?

yes. With the way Eero runs now tho the orbis are routed through the eero.

was router-switch-Orbi and router -eero
Now router-eero-switch-orbi

might be easier if I drew it out but I think you get the idea

 

[DaveF]

Why have a router before the Eero, vs use Eero (or Orbi) as router?

 

[Clinton McClure]

Why have a router before the Eero, vs use Eero (or Orbi) as router?

If it’s like my network, my ISP requires me to use their gateway modem which includes a full router with WiFi. They are pretty strict about it and will not let me put the modem in bridged mode, but I was able to turn off WiFi and connected my gateway Eero to the modem with CAT5e cable. The modem defaults to a 192.168.81.xxx IP scheme so I double NAT’d my gateway Eero and set up its IP scheme as 10.10.10.xxx. All of my WiFi devices connect to the Eero mesh (either upstairs or downstairs). The gateway Eero is all that connects to the modem which is internet-facing and I never have issues.

 

[DaveF]

AFAIK the major ISPs don’t care. Verizon FIOS will help you do it.

 

[Sam Posten]

Why have a router before the Eero, vs use Eero (or Orbi) as router?

/s router for modem. Modem -> Eero -> Switch -> Orbi is required because Eero's shitty design says that is how it has to be. I would much prefer to go Modem -> Switch to Orbi and Eero but that's not allowed.

I have like 5 Gig E switches in the house. The basement one connects all the others through cables run to each bedroom, living room, media room and family room. So modem - eero - switch -> 5 other switches and devices hanging off those.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Sam,

First, congrats on your new mesh unit.

I am still working with Eero in fixing my disconnect issues but they discovered (as they can see your settings from their end) that my mesh setup was in "bridge" mode rather than "automatic" so we are waiting to see if the change fixes the problem.

But on to you...

I have been loosely following your setup so please excuse me if I missed something...

How on earth are you mixing and matching different mesh units? You mention using Eero and Orbi? How is that possible?

Or, are you just comparing your older (Orbi) units?

I do know you need a router connected to the initial Eero. I had hoped the Eero would act as the router with the incoming ethernet, but apparently that is not the case.

 

[DaveF]

@Sam Posten gotcha. I use WiFi base station as house router, with switches subsequent.

If Eero requires that, I think it would fit my approach.

 

[Clinton McClure]

AFAIK the major ISPs don’t care. Verizon FIOS will help you do it.

My ISP (Conway Corp) is local to the city and makes their own rules. The service is excellent so I don’t have any complaints.

 

[Todd Erwin]

I would much prefer to go Modem -> Switch to Orbi and Eero but that's not allowed.

If the modem does not have a router built-in, then you can't go Modem -> Switch because the modem usually needs the router to assign IP address, and most switches are "dumb," meaning they can't do DHCP either.

 

[Sam Posten]

If the modem does not have a router built-in, then you can't go Modem -> Switch because the modem usually needs the router to assign IP address, and most switches are "dumb," meaning they can't do DHCP either.

you misunderstand. I do have the actiontec FIOS modem/router combo. I am using the term modem here to alleviate kvetching about me using the term router instead of modem earlier in the thread. I can’t win.

The actiontec assigns the IPs and devices NAT through the chains of switches through to that. But the Eero demands to hang directly off the actiontec without going through a switch first, something the Orbis have no problem doing.

 

[DaveF]

you misunderstand. I do have the actiontec FIOS modem/router combo. I am using the term modem here to alleviate kvetching about me using the term router instead of modem earlier in the thread. I can’t win.

The actiontec assigns the IPs and devices NAT through the chains of switches through to that. But the Eero demands to hang directly off the actiontec without going through a switch first, something the Orbis have no problem doing.

FYI, on the off chance you didn't know and do care: You can get FIOS brought in direct off of ethernet, ditch their modem/router, and use whatever router you want for the house.

I did this two years ago. My Apple base station is my router. No FIOS actiontec junk in in the chain. And FIOS tech support was, for me, super helpful with me on doing this and being patient on the phone and checking everything would work and then did work.

 

[Sam Posten]

FYI, on the off chance you didn't know and do care: You can get FIOS brought in direct off of ethernet, ditch their modem/router, and use whatever router you want for the house.

Yeah I did know this but the last time I researched it it wasn't really any compelling reason to do so. I should probably look into that. They arent charging me a rental fee for it and buying a Linksys or whatever multiport router is gonna be like $200 so it seemed best to just add a separate mesh and let it continue to broadcast the actiontec network nobody has a password for and nobody uses.

 

[DaveF]

Yeah I did know this but the last time I researched it it wasn't really any compelling reason to do so. I should probably look into that. They arent charging me a rental fee for it and buying a Linksys or whatever multiport router is gonna be like $200 so it seemed best to just add a separate mesh and let it continue to broadcast the actiontec network nobody has a password for and nobody uses.

Why would you need a new router? You have an Eero. Connect your switch to that, just like you’ve connected it to your current router. Done.

It may not be worth the effort to you. I did it to (1) have control over my network and (2) use the router and management software of my choice (Apple’s software to manage my AEBS rather than the janky actiontec web interface).

 

[DaveF]

I think you know all this, and maybe you just hate the Eero as a router per se for some unknown reason. But if not, I do exactly this: FIOS Ethernet->My router->my switch->my home network

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/threads/mesh-hub-and-spoke-wifi-router-general-thread.354920/page-3#post-4856892

 

[Sam Posten]

Why would you need a new router? You have an Eero. Connect your switch to that, just like you’ve connected it to your current router. Done.

It may not be worth the effort to you. I did it to (1) have control over my network and (2) use the router and management software of my choice (Apple’s software to manage my AEBS rather than the janky actiontec web interface).

Because until now the mesh data points were not collocated with the actiontec. They were hung off a switch and centrally located within the area of the basement that had direct line of sight to all seats in my theater. Now with the Eero I HAVE to have it near the Actiontec, which is underneath stairs and in an unfinished room that no devices will actually be near on a regular basis. So I needed to have a router anyway so it made sense to keep the Verizon one since it was free and not causing any harm to my overall GigE topology or high speed mesh. Now your suggestion makes more sense, and if I was being charged for it I might take the Actiontec out of the loop, but since it's not hurting anything (other than just annoying me with its requirements) I don't know if I'll change anything up.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

PLEASE READ

I felt I needed to come back to this thread and update all of you on a situation I was having with my Eero mesh system.

Over the past few months I have been negatively aggressive in my comments against my mesh system and Eero in general.

I was experiencing a multitude of disconnects nearly every single day. I was able to reference similar complaints on other Internet forums. As a result, I warned many of you not to consider purchasing this product.

All the while, Eero support has been pretty phenomenal. They have been quick to respond, extremely patient with my concerns and have been following up in email replies.

This past week Eero discovered something odd in my software settings. Apparently I had the units in "bridge" mode rather than "automatic." I am not sure how this setting was turned on, but since Eero can monitor your settings from their side, they were able to discover it.

Since changing from "bridge" to "automatic" my disconnects are gone. The system is working smoothly.

Eero didn't ask me to come back and update my thoughts. I only felt it fair not to mislead anyone with my negative experience that was actually the fault of a software setting.

I'm back in the Eero camp and am actually leaning towards purchasing their hardware above other brands I had considered once they release a WiFi 6E compatible system.

 

[Clinton McClure]

That’s great to hear, Ron! I’m really glad you were able to resolve the issue.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

That’s great to hear, Ron! I’m really glad you were able to resolve the issue.

I kept thinking about Sam Posten as I had warned him about possible issues with the router he was about to buy.

So, hopefully, this should ease his mind a bit. Seems like the issues I had with m Eero mesh is resolved and Sam should be smooth-sailing with his.

 

[DaveF]

More on WiFi 6E and why maybe we still don’t care

Wi-Fi 6E routers are here, and we're not ready for them - CNET

Wi-Fi 6E routers are here, and we're not ready for them

Commentary: A new generation of routers boasts access to the ultrawide 6GHz band -- but right now, that band means very little for the average home network.

www.cnet.com

The takeaway here is that it's still very early for Wi-Fi 6E -- and too early for almost anyone to feel any sort of pressing need to upgrade to a 6E router just yet. I'll know more once I'm able to test more 6E routers (and once I'm able to finish testing these two, including top speed tests at our lab), but I have a hard time imagining the 6GHz band acting as a game-changer for anyone's home network anytime soon. And remember, the absolute fastest home internet connection you could hope to have right now tops out at 2 gigs -- less than half of what routers like these say the 6GHz band is capable of.

 

[DaveF]

@Ronald Epstein
I think you'll find Ars' latest mesh review informative. It basically makes the case that it's still too early to upgrade to WiFi 6 systems.

Hands-on: We hammered Plume’s newest Superpod design with all-new Wi-Fi testing

If you can stomach a subscription, Plume’s Superpods offer unmatched performance.

arstechnica.com