3

To current eero owners, how did you get here? What competing products did you test? Will you stay with eero?

Hey all,

Day 2 of being an eero owner, and unsure yet If it's for me. Really curious to hear from current owners.

I come from a relatively solid tech background, while not fluent in all things networking, I know more than enough to be dangerous. I live in a 2,500 sq ft home with a 1,300 something basement. I have ethernet run to almost every room in the house. I've had a couple different setups in my time that inevitably have caused me grief in one way or another.

As of yesterday, I was running a single Asus AC5300 router, which hit the whole house and partial outdoors, relatively well. 5ghz did not have much of a reach and at times the latency on my 2.4 was not ideal. More often than not, the network was solid, but random hiccups between streaming buffering, my wife's laptop dropping VPN, and other little misc. nuances just became annoying to the point that I wanted to try something new.

I realize I could/should probably stick with my current router and impliment some Unifi' AP's given that I have the ability to do so with having Cat5e run through the entire house. Still debating the option, but honestly ... it's more work and I'm feeling lazy these days.

So yesterday I went and brought a Netgear Orbi as all things considered, they seemed to the best of the new/cool kids club of home networking solutions. I ultimately only lasted on Orbi for about 5 hours due to a multitude of frustrations. Between the latest firmware breaking connectivity to the satellites, a very slow and painful interface, dropping network connection on mobile when switching satellites, poor choices being made on devices connecting to satellites, lack of ethernet backhaul with no timeline (lots of posts on their forums), and the physical appearance of the Orbi satellites ... all helped for me to give up on it.

I ran out to BestBuy last night and picked up the eero Pro three pack last night. Overall, was pretty pleased with how quick and easy it was to setup. Had several hiccups with devices not being detected which simply required some reboots, but all in all, very easy and painless. The system is up and working like a champ, but I have some issues/concerns as of now:

1) The hot temperatures of the devices themselves
2) eero+ costs $10 a month; whereas competitors offer this service for free
3) eero is a kickstarter born company, will they last?
4) Mobile only app
5) Limiting configuration options
6) Lack of utilization data
7) Lack of QoS
8) No logging/debug
9) Devices are making poor decisions on which node to connect to
10) No enhanced functionality like VPN, local/cloud storage accessibility, etc.
11) Range isn't as good as one would hope/expect

I mean in the end, I get it. eero is meant for today's typical, non tecchy family. Yet, it seems like so much more could be possible with this system but enabling some "advanced" features/functionality. I question if any of that will happen?

Anyway, this was definitely a long winded rant. Really just curious to hear from others. I realize I should probably just go buy a couple AP's and call it a day, but I like what eero is doing here. I want to say this is the right choice, but I really just wish there was more features and functionality. 

Thanks

60 replies

    • eero Community Manager
    • Jeff_C
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Official response
    • Reported - view

    Hi  adambean

    I realize you probably want to hear more from actual customers, so I'll keep my input here brief 🙂

    With regards to a few of the issues/concerns you have —

    eeros, like many other electronic devices, may feel warm-to-touch when running. We often compare it to a laptop. If you feel the eeros are warmer than they should be, give us a call. We'll be happy to take a look. With that said, the 2nd-generation eero actually has enhancements with regards to heat removal, and the new heat sink is what adds a lot of the weight to the new eero.

    eero Plus is completely optional. With that said, it is an enterprise-grade solution and we've partnered with an industry leader in Zscaler to ensure the security that eero Plus provides is capable of defending all your products against the latest threats. We also plan to continue to add to eero Plus in the future, and you can join at any time.

    Also, we actually weren't a Kickstarter company. While we took pre orders for our 1st-generation product, we are a funded company with $90 million in total funding

    As for some of the other issues you are experiencing, again, I'd recommend reaching out. Given your background, I'm sure you'll enjoy interacting with our support team as they are all techies and huge fans of networking.

    Feel free to give us a call at 1-877-659-2347 or email us at support@eero.com .

    Thanks again! I look forward to hearing what others have to share about their experiences.

    • cMoo92
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    In regards to point #9, it’s basically up to your client device to decide when to roam. Some devices are better/smarter at this than others. Disabling/renabling Wi-Fi on your device usually joins it to a closer node.

    • jt777
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Came from Orbi...that seemed to take a few years off my life.  I appreciate the simplicity and a working/fast connection.  Support has been impressive also. Looking forward to resolution on the hairpinning issue as I'd like to see my IP cameras without jury rigging things.

      • eero Community Manager
      • Jeff_C
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      jt777

      Hairpin NAT is now supported on eeroOS version 3.3. For more information:

      https://community.eero.com/r/y7fg8g

    • DSJ
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I wonder if I've just been lucky but my Orbi has been rock solid. It's just so ugly and bulky compared to the much more stylish Eero. 

    • Gravity Brings Me Down...
    • stevebaker
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Greetings! I came to eero from the Linksys Velop platform (decent hardware, terrible app) and love the system thus far (going on 48 hours, installed midday Saturday). I probably went a bit overboard (two ethernet-backhaul eeros and four beacons) as I really wanted a "set and forget" blanket of solid wifi throughout the house and into the yard a ways.

    The setup was easy, the firmware update went smoothly, and since I chose the same SSID as before, the gadgets and gizmos all connected fine (some needed a reboot of sorts to refresh their address, as the eero is using 192.168.7.x whereas Velop was on 192.168.1.x). The eeros do run a lot hotter than the Velop, but those are much bigger with venting.

    Device roaming seems to be pretty smooth, and I appreciate how the mobile app (I'm using iOS) tells me both how the gadget is connected but also near-real-time usage (download and upload rates). I'll probably stop staring at that stuff eventually; for the moment it's still shiny and new, and a lot of fun to see how the network is behaving throughout the day.

    While I don't have this need at the moment, I imagine that at some point I might want to reboot all of the nodes. Didn't see something immediately accessible in the app, and did seem some rudimentary help diagnostics in there. Just curious, is there a "reboot everything" type button someplace, perhaps with a helpful "are you sure?" type verification message?

    Anyway, thanks for listening and here's to eeros!

      • eero Community Manager
      • Jeff_C
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      stevebaker  Hey Steve —

      You may already be aware, but I wanted to share that we recently released support to reboot your eeros directly from the app. 

      Thanks again for sharing your interest in this feature, as well as your story on how you came to eero :)

    • Dklane012
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I came from Google Wifi and Velop.  

    No bridge mode for mesh with GWifi and Velop was terrible due to latency, streaming issues and Sonos issues.  Double NAT finally caused too many problems and GWifi had to go after 8 months.  I have a Cisco RV340 on the way to be the main router and the eeros are all in bridge mode on the 3 floors in my house.

    So far, so good, but only a day in.

    The first signs are good, though. Alarm.com , Ring, Sonos and Nest all connected and working. Android, Windows and iOS also connected and working.

    Also, fastest mobile speed test I've ever had at 325MBps on a Google Pixel XL.

    • ef6
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I came from Apple Airport Extreme plus Apple Airport Express in an adjacent cottage wired via Ethernet. I replaced these with three 2nd Gen Eero's and they are working really well. I used the existing ethernet to connect one of the Eero's in the cottage; it was up and running in a few minutes. I used the same SSID name and my connected Wifi devices (Nest etc) connected without any intervention.   

    I had an Apple TimeCapsule that I wasn't using, and the instructions in the support blog to use it in Bridge mode worked perfectly, including all the ethernet ports, the USB port to attach a Canon Pro 9000 color printer, and the internal 2TB disk.

    I was initially concerned about the heat, so I used an infrared thermometer to check the temperature: 120 degrees Fahrenheit on the top, but the wood surface they were sitting on was only 107 degrees (measured directly under the Eero), just warm to the touch and not hot at all. I don't think heat will be a problem. I had very high expectations based on the reviews and three days in,  every expectation has been met. I am planning to stay with Eero and am ordering 2 additional Beacon's to extend the range and improve the signal for Ring Cameras. 

    I haven't decided yet on Eero plus. Need to do more research to better understand exactly what threats it protects against.

    • Figg
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I got here because I was tired of my kids complaining about slow speeds as they were connected to the 5Ghz band on my gateway.  I now have 4 eero's, I wanted 3 but one got lost/stolen in the mail, then a month later it shows up on my doorstep.  I love my eeros.  Full bars on the 5ghz band everywhere in my house.  I have a 2600sq foot home single story, so it's a long home.  With eero's placed strategically, I have happy wifi devices.  My wifi garage door opener and sprinkler system were almost unusable with the regular gateway setup.  No issues now with an eero in the garage.  It is going to be interesting how the eero in the garage does, I live in Houston and it stays around 90-95 in the garage all summer long.  I wouldn't be surprised if it is the first to go being in that high heat/humid environment.  I just ordered a mount I found to do 2 on the wall.  I'm anxious to see how that effects their performance/signal range.  So far, I am a happy customer.  Love my eeros!  

    • Danabw
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Old thread, but as I've just migrated to Eero (at least for now) it was interesting to me and may be to other new Eero members. 

    I came from Orbi (and before that Netgear Nighthawk AC1900). Unfortunately, the Orbi is currently a  hot mess for many users, w/FW problems that make their routers drop connections and/or reboot frequently. Obviously not affecting every user, but common enough that their forums are littered w/threads complaining about connection drops and related issues. 

    I'm sure they will sort it out eventually, Netgear is not a bunch of dummies, but clearly things have been rushed and/or not tested sufficiently/properly. 

    When connected the Orbi setup (I had the RBK30 - RBR40 router and RBW30 satellite) was awesome - completely fast and buttery smooth, covered my 2,000 sqft ranch style house effortlessly w/just those two units. But the disconnects were just too frequent/too annoying.  

    So I took my Orbi back and picked up the highest rated mesh networking option on Amazon - which is Eeros (85% five star and 5% four star). About the best rating I've seen on any product, let alone a networking device with thousands of reviews, on Amazon. 

    Setup was easy except for a problem in the Eero app (which I shared w/support). On my phone (the ubiquitous Galaxy S7 Edge) in the beacon setup process has a at least one screen where the "Next" button is cut off/below the bottom of the screen, and there is no indication (scroll bar, etc.) that there is anything else to scroll down to. That left me stuck and I actually had to call support to get past that. Support said they'd forward the info on to the right people so that gets fixed. 

    After setup things have just worked, which is what you want/expect w/a router. Well done. I have had to reboot a couple devices so they could catch up w/the new network, but that's normal. 

    Speeds are as fast or faster than the Orbi (but i have the router and two beacons, so more hardware than I had with Orbi). I paid about $200 for the Orbi (router and one satellite) on sale. My Eero setup (router and two beacons) was $349 (reduced from $399 on Amazon). So a big price premium. 

    Support seems better on Eero...both here in the forum and on the phone. That's good.   

    Biggest Gaps:

    I REALLY REALLY miss/want a web browser interface to the Eero management pages...not being able to use my laptop or chromebook to access, review, and modify router settings is really annoying. I'm on my Chromebook or laptop frequently and just assumed that interface would be available on the Eero. I didn't confirm that "basic" capability in advance, so my bad, but its lack is a significant gap for me. Enough that if Orbi got their act together and fixed their connection reliability issues that could be a tipping point for me to return Eero and go back to Orbi.  

    Eero needs native VPN support...I have signed up for Eero plus, but the client-based VPN solution feels more like a stop-gap than an effective solution. VPN should be on the router so that any client connecting to it is protected w/out futzing/installing SW on the client. Also, Encrypt.me has no Chromebook support/option, so have a broken VPN solution at home where I use my Chromebook a lot. Orbi does provide support for VPN.

    Right now overall I'm very pleased w/Eero. Easy to setup and configure, appears stable and fast, and the units are less obtrusive than the Orbi HW (and I really like the LED light on the beacons). But I'm not 100% committed either, and will be checking back on how Netgear deals w/the Orbi reliability issues and make a decision by mid-Jan when my Eero return window closes.  

      • cMoo92
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Danabw I’m curious as to why being connected to a VPN at home a big deal to you. You can trust your home network to be secure (at least if you have an eero network). It’s when you’re away from home on networks that you don’t control that you need to be careful. Encrypt.me is perfect for that. Plus a VPN connection is never going to be as fast because you’re routing all your traffic through another server, so if you’re always connected to a VPN at home you’ll be introducing a bottleneck.

      • Danabw
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      cMoo92 Main reason is I don't like my ISP spying on me, selling that info to others. I do not think they should have the right to do that unless I specifically allow it. It should not be required. If I buy a car from Ford they can't require me to tell them everywhere I drive, and then use/sell that information. 

    • txgunlover
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I came from Orbi, RBR50 with two RBS50 sats.  Worked great from March until June, then they lost control of the firmware and it became completely unusable (router would crash multiple times an hour, Super high CPU usage, constant device disconnects).

     

    Sold it last week, and moved to Eero pro.

      • southflguy
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      txgunlover I just did the exact same thing.  The forced firmware updates were severely broken which caused major instability in my network.  I've been using Eero for several weeks now.  Totally awesome. 

    • Danabw
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    txgunlover - I think I remember you from the Orbi forums, welcome aboard. :)  Interested in how you find the Eero Pro compares to RBR50/RBS50 combo. 

    • txgunlover
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    To be honest, the speed is not measurably different.  Using my fingbox as the test node, sitting in my great room, the speed difference on my S8+ is roughly the same as the Orbi.  What IS different is the lack of disconnects on the Eero.   I'm using 3 pro's and 1 beacon versus my Orbi's 2 sats and 1 router.

    • turnem05
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Like others posting recently, I've come to Eero from Orbi.  In fact I left Eero to go to Orbi, had a wonderful experience for many months and then recent firmware updates completely ruined the experience for me so I'm now happily BACK to Eero.  I think the Gen 2 product is better for my scenario than Gen 1.  I have the Eero Pro package plus two beacons.  With Orbi I had the router and two satellites.  

     

    I have found that my Orbi was a little faster and had further reach than my Eero setup but it's not a huge difference.  Furthermore my testing methods probably aren't bullet proof.  Eero is plenty fast enough for any reasonable home use as I'm easily getting 150+ speeds throughout 95% of my property (5,500 square foot house and into my back yard) with weaker spots still being in the 70-80 range.  Said differently, without constantly obsessing over measuring network speeds, I'm certain that I'm getting good enough speed to do everything I want to do wherever I want to do it.  I sometimes think we all (me included) spend FAR too much time testing speeds without any real world expectation of what speeds we actually need to do the things we want to do.

     

    Anyway... the stability of Eero is where it's at.  It's a set and forget experience which is exactly as it should be.  And my family is happy to have consistent WiFi again.  I highly doubt that I'll be going back to Orbi again.

    • nnyan
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I tried a bunch of the mesh systems and a large number of the standard wifi units (all of the top of the line top rated ones).  I really liked the feature set of the Orbi and at first I thought that I would avoid some of the issues others were reporting, and I did for awhile then I ran into a number of issues the peskiest being the disconnects.

    Google WiFi I didn't have very high expectations but it was actually MUCH better then I expected.  For the price, it was really hard to walk away from it and I may still go back to it.  There were some disconnects but the updates that Google pushes out are a bit inconsistent.

    The biggest surprise was the Plume pods.  They were not the fastest by far but they were the most consistent.  No matter where I went I got the 40-50Mbps.  Their mesh mojo is if not the best then at the top.  The latency was insanely low and most of my testing the network did not behave or feel (to the users) like a 40-50Mbps network.  It was just rock solid connections and it can handle an amazing number of clients.  The App while minimal had a great layout and tons of useful info.  Unfortunately for me, my house had some inconvenient power outlet placement and (b/c of the building materials in one inner wall a wifi black hole) that made it a difficult place for any units that were direct plugs.  And yes in the locations that I had outlets the wife factor made extension cords a no-no. I also run all my devices on at least quality surge protection and most with UPS, pods had issues when not directly connected.

    Eero is the one that I really liked from the get-go (based on online research).  It has, for the most part, lived up to the hype.  I did run into a problem just after my units upgraded to .38 which would not let is use certain subnets.  The replacement units don't experience this issue but I'm a bit concerned if a firmware upgrade can cause issues.  The lack of Router features is the biggest ding for the Eero (boy they make me miss the Orbi's features).  If you have a complicated network (check) or want to use the Eero as your gateway router with other network devices then it's not going to work out.

    Eero will not route between subnets.  So you're stuck with a /24 (+1  Eero gateway device can be on a different subnet than the DHCP pool and it will connect to that IP but ONLY that IP on the subnet).  That right there is a potential deal killer.  Eero also leaves too many ports in stealth mode instead of reporting as not available.

    So after spending almost a week working with Eero support the only way that I can get Eero to "work" the way I need it to is to connect my firewall after the Eero gateway (which leaves wireless clients without the 2nd layer of protection) or to bridge it to my firewall (where I get the firewall protection).  but then I lose most of the extra features (ex: Family Profiles).  So now I need another app/device for parental controls.  At this point I do LOVE the eero but I'm not sure the cost of the Pro kits are worth it to run then in bridge mode.

    • sucanushie
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I had the Google wifi and took them back because I couldn't configure advanced features like dual SSID or even turning off the 2.4 radio. So I was excited to try Orbi, due to advanced feature options, but it looks like the new firmware is a hot mess. I was then excited to give the eero a try... until I got to the form and do some digging. I guess the search for a full home wifi continues. I might just bite the bullet and go with Meraki. 

      • txgunlover
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      sucanushie 

      If you have structured wiring available, no WIFI system will be pure old AP's connected via an Ethernet backbone.

      • turnem05
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      sucanushie The Meraki setup looks great but it's hardly practical for home wifi unless you just really don't mind spending the money.

       

      I do agree though with your point.  I also wish that we could have access to the more advanced features of the Eero (security logs, VPN hosting, etc) but I think their basic idea is "set and forget" wireless... which may not pander to those that like to tinker with their networks constantly.  Priority A for me is stable and fast wifi.  Eero delivers there.  Priority B would be all the advanced features and unfortunately I haven't found a solution that excels at both of those.

      • nnyan
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      turnem05 You can get UAP-AC-Lites for $85 a pop.  With the new Wireless Uplink feature, you don't have to run wires for every AP as they can connect to an AP that is wired (yes connection speeds will go down).  This feature has really thrown a wrench in my calculus.  I can get 2 AC Lites, 1 pro and a USG router for less than my Eero Pro.  IF I was able to use the Eero with all it's features (on my network the only way it works for me is in bridged mode) I would keep the Eero but now I'm seriously considering the Meraki.  

    • turnem05
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Nnyan Thanks for that info.  Was not aware of those options.  While I'm sticking with Eero I'd be pretty interested to see what sort of speeds someone can get in a wireless uplink environment.  In my house, I've run ethernet cabling from my bonus room (where the AT&T fiber modem/router is as well as my gateway Eero) to my master bedroom (which sits in a better location to mesh with other wireless clients) in order to get a better setup.  When I was trying to run everything wirelessly I was having serious difficulty getting good wireless signal routed out of my bonus room due to my house configuration (lots of brick to go through).

     

    I'm guessing the Meraki would work pretty well.  BUT... I'm sticking with Eero.  It works flawlessly for me at this point and I'm tired to sinking dollars into my never ending search for the right solution!  LOL!  But if you get the Meraki I'd be very curious how it works for you.

      • nnyan
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      turnem05 

      Don't get me wrong I really want to stay with Eero.  And I think for most people it's a really great solution.  I would have no issues recommending them.  But with my vlans, various network appliances, etc... I want some thing that will allow me simplify things.  I also don't like all the ports Eero doesn't completely close off.  Anyway I have a few weeks to make up my mind so I think I'll get the meraki order in try it out and then send back whichever isn't picked.

Content aside

  • 3 Likes
  • 4 yrs agoLast active
  • 60Replies
  • 7896Views
  • 29 Following