lee_adama 

Incidentally, my solution is to buy a $21.00 junk range extender from TP-L*** because it allows me to have different SSID's for 5ghz and 2.4ghz.

That's right.... A $21 piece of junk offers me the feature I need that my $400 EERO Mesh Network DOES NOT.

(I am aware that the range extender will cut my 5ghz bandwith in half, but half of something is still more than all of nothing which is what you offered me.)

Bigwreck1975 I think it is more than just the devices being cheap. From what I understand, 2.4ghz has better range but is slower. That is probably just fine (if not better) if you are talking about a smart plug out in your garage that doesn’t ever move.

I too have been banging my head against the wall trying to get various smart devices connected to my Eero and it is driving me insane. By some miracle my Wyze cams all of a sudden connected and stayed connected (I have no idea why, I didn’t change anything) but I haven’t been able to get any of my smart plugs (Wemo and Kasa) to work. I am getting ready to purchase a new wireless security system for my home, but thinking about trying to get it set up with the Eero is keeping me up at night. I was hoping that the Eero would be easy and simple to set up and use but it is proving to be a major headache.

Bigwreck1975 This is super helpful—and I'm considering doing the same thing with my Time Capsule.

Question: so ALL of your connected devices now run off a totally separate 2.4 Ghz SSID from the TC? And the TC is in bridge mode? And then your computer, phones, etc. are all on the mesh SSID so they can use the 5 Ghz speeds? I guess I'm confused by how a phone that's on the mesh SSID would be able to communicate with devices on the TC SSID—i.e. how would a phone communicate with an Amazon Echo or Hue lights on a different SSID?

I'm also wondering if inverting the setup would work: i.e., having the TC as the "main" router, with the mesh as the bridge. This is because it seems like the issue with the 2.4 Ghz devices is more in setting them up—they ultimately work fine but it's impossible to configure them. That way I could restrict the TC to 2.4 Ghz temporarily, and simply unplug the mesh when setting up the device. Do you think that's practical?

Sorry to ask all this—I'm really a novice at networking, and appreciate any thoughts you have!

 willstew11 , let's take a few steps back first.
Your "wireless router" - or what is commonly called "router" - has four distinct functions:
1. Act as the Gateway into - and out from - your network
2. Firewall (blocking unwanted traffic)
3. Routing of IP packets to the correct device (assisted by its DHCP server, etc) and compiling them when sending them out onto the internet
4. Physical access via Ethernet cabling or RF (in the latter case, acting as WiFi Access Point, AP), or both

You can have any "wireless router" as your main "gateway". You can buy a router that has zero wireless capabilities, and connect another "wireless router" to it, and use that one  - or several - acting as "Access points" by simply turning turning off the firewall and DHCP server functions (this is how my network is built up: a wired router in the basement, and a number of Ethernet connected Access Points spread throughout the house. My cost for this was essentially zero (people dump routers left and right these days as they think they don't work - when all is they experience is interference from neighboring access points - the radio spectrum might be free, but it is not unlimited - yet normally not an issue in residential houses, only in apartment/condo building).

But, you CAN use your TimeMachine as your gateway, and then use the eeros as wireless access points, by turning off the firewall and DHCP functions in them. You will still have a mesh network - assisted by whatever wireless network you want your TimeMachine to create (2.4 GHz and/or 5 GHz) in addition. By doing that, you might have some interference with the eeero network. Unlikely but possible. Assuming you have a very high-speed connection from your ISP, the throttling point would be in your TimeMachine.

So you can say a wireless network at home consists of two "boxes": the router, and the access point (the "radio").

I would however not suggest you use your TimeMachine as your router due to the fact it is a product that is EOL (end-of-life), and does no longer receive any updates. After all, you want your main gateway, the "gatekeeper" of traffic into your network, to be as smart, as intelligent and as up to date as possible.

Now a bit about the set-up of devices only supporting 2.4 GHz (and there are many).
When you set up a device that only supports 2.4 GHz, and needs a phone/table to be connected to a 2.4 GHz network for the setup process, in most cases it is easy to pick the correct network and proceeed with the setup, not having a worry in the world about the 5 GHz network.
But in cases - like here with eero where they are adamant to keep same SSID for both 2.4 and 5 GHZ networks, you have zero idea to what network you are connected to. As eero will not allow a shut-off of the 5 GHZ radios, best is to go far away from an access point (outside a wall) where you might in effect only see the 2.4 GHZ network, and setup the device there. Once up and running, you can relocate it to anywhere you have ubiquitous WiFi coverage.

I find amazing (no, flabbergasting) that eero cannot provide a simple SW fix that would allow a user (owner/administrator) to log on to the admin interface and temporarily disable the 5 GHz radios/network. It can clearly be done - as when calling into eero, they can do it remotely, so I very much doubt there is a hardware limitation. It is just a poor business decision from eero's side not to allow it. Sad, as otherwise they have good networking products, good radios that provide a mesh network with reliably high throughput and coverage with very little fuzz once set up. But as a wireless network, by definition, is not static but there to support "mobile" objects entering and leaving the network, better management capabilities of the network are badly needed.

wadamanian I am stunned that I can’t switch frequencies to control some things that only work on 2.4. My Wemo outlets are almost useless right now. The only way I can reprogram them is to get far away from my Eero?!  Totally insane!  Thank you for reminding me why I didn’t totally ditch my old Airport.  Calling tech support or adding my dying Airport to the network, are stupid workarounds.  I can’t believe this product is supported by Apple on their website for this main reason. I love the app but that’s about all I love!

Tigzola Blame the manufacturers who designed their software to join networks poorly, not eero which is following Wifi standards.

txgunlover just like a good product design anticipates user error, Eero should have anticipated that not all manufacturers will follow these standards. I currently use 2 routers: my apple airport for 2.4 GHz stuff and everything else for Eero. There's currently 5 devices in my home that will only work reliably (or at all) with my old Apple router. The good thing is I plugged my airport into the Eero and Eero recognizes the devices that use my Airport in its app as wired connections.

txgunlover I would love to blame the software but I am hard pressed to find any HomeKit plug that operates off of 5.  Even the Apple website has 2.4 Wemo plugs for sale, not 5.  The only point I am trying to point out, is that there are is a HUGE need for the having total access for devices that we currently own.  I not only have smart items in my house for convenience, but also for efficiency.  I had my Airport for years before it started dying.  I never thought that a replacement router would be so limiting to what it can do.  

Spike yeah I opened a ticket with Eero about this months ago. They essentially said that it was fundamental to the way their mesh technology works so to allow separate SSIDs would require redesigning their entire network stack. 

wadamanian may be they should have thought it over. I am going to buy a separate router

Mick68 Single SSID is the way Wifi is supposed to work.  Separating the band exists to allow poorly designed clients to work.  Address your issue with your client device manufacturer.  Dual band single SSID works.  I have over 130 devices in my home.  No issues.

txgunlover Thanks for your reply, unfortunately, your opinion is not going to fix the issue.