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Eero Plus vs. Luma Parental Controls

I'm curious about Eero+ because a number of competitors offer parental controls baked into the app/hardware. Can you explain to me, Jeff C. how I can justify $100/yr for something that Luma has for free? I know all about the VIP support, et al, but apples to apples here. I already paid $400 for the routers... another $100 hurts.

Also, I backed the Fingbox for $50 a number of months ago which appears to be similar to Circle and others. I loathe subscription models so I likely won't get Eero+ regardless, but I am curious how they play off each others' strengths. I read the blog posts, marketing materials, and techblogs for info... but I'm still left wanting more info.

9 replies

    • DMcWetty
    • 7 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Can I get some kind of response?

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

      DMcWetty -

      Sorry you didn't get a response here. For some reason this post went under the radar.

      With eero Plus, we are providing an enterprise-level security solution to all eero networks. While the tools are designed in-house, our entire security suite runs through Zscaler, who provides network security solutions to many Fortune 500 companies. This level of level of on-demand security with cloud-based updates is something that is typically only available to corporations at a very high cost - with eero Plus, we are making it possible for all homes to have this level of security available to them.

      eero Plus is completely optional. If someone wants that extra level of security at the router level, we wanted to provide a solution that was easy to add and provided peace of mind for your devices and those on your network. With that said, we will continue to provide security updates so your eero network is always up to date.

      I hope this helps!

    • DMcWetty
    • 7 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Thanks. It does help from a marketing perspective, but I want to know how it's different. It's nice that this is "enterprise grade" but these are consumer devices. In what ways is this more effective than Luma, circle, fingbox and other consumer grade options? 

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

      DMcWetty —

      We don't make any claims about competitive products. However, we are happy to share more on how eero Plus is different.

      In regards to enterprise-level security, while yes these are consumer products being supported, what we actually mean is that this is the type of security that some of the biggest companies use to keep their infrastructure's safe. We believe everyone deserves this level of security and keeping malware and any other types of attacks from entering their system should be just as important as keeping them off your network.

      In order to keep the devices on your network safe from ongoing threats, we've partnered with Zscaler versus building the database of threats and content filters in-house. Zscaler are experts in this space, and their role in this partnership is ensuring eero networks are receiving the highest-level of protection from ongoing threats as well as from unsuitable content. As previously mentioned, all network threats and content filters are updated via the cloud, so there isn't a requirement for updating any software or your network to ensure these updates are passed on to you through eero Plus.

      I'm not familiar with Fingbox, but eero Plus does differ in two areas with regards to Luma and Circle.

      For one, we don't expose the web pages that users see. Sharing these pages would mean storing that data, which we don't do nor do we plan to do. Privacy is something very important to us, and the gathering and displaying of such information isn't something we're interested in doing. While eero Plus has content filtering, that is purely based on DNS requests and those requests are never tied to any personal information or stored on our servers.

      Also, eero Plus doesn't provide any sort of management of apps installed devices. For example, eero Plus can't block someone from accessing an app like Facebook. This again draws into the privacy discussion.

      It should also be mentioned that eero Plus is something we plan to build upon. More features will be coming in the future, and a lot of that will be based on the feedback we hear from customers. 

      I hope this helps.

    • DMcWetty
    • 7 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Thanks for the reply. Wife's birthday this weekend so I didn't get to respond until now.

    I am a bit disappointed that there aren't basic protections built in. I don't feel I need this offering. It may be for some people, but not me. Se la vie. I do find Eero starting to lack in features, but that's a whole 'nother thread of discussion. Thanks again for the dialogue.

    • Peli
    • 7 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I understand the eero plus security option, which by itself might be something well worth paying for. That said, why are parental controls tied to eero plus and not built into the devises and software without a subscription. This is now one of the only routers on the market that doesn’t include that option for free. I am thinking of switching routers just because of the lack of this feature. I have kids and would definitely like to have this feature offered for free. 

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

      Hi Peli —

      Thanks for reaching out and welcome to the eero community! 

      eero plus provides access to advanced network security tools and content filters, as well as other perks like Ad Block and VIP customer support. Without eero plus, eero customers still have access to our Family Profiles feature, which allows you to group devices by profile and set schedules to pause internet access.

      You may also find some of our other built-in features helpful for managing your account, including monitoring which devices are currently on the network, as well as how much data they are actively using.

      The value in eero plus compared to other services that may be offered for free is that we run our network security and content filtering through our partnership with Zscaler—a leader in their respective field. This means you get the same level of network protection and confidence in our service that many Fortune 500 companies have. 

      I hope this helps! Please let us know if there is anything else you'd be interested in seeing from our eero plus service. 

    • nnyan
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Here are some of the things I liked about Fingbox.

    1.  real-time alerts when devices join/leave your network.  For example, you can setup users (my kids) and it alerts me when they enter the network (they don't have to join). 

    2.  You will get alerts when devices are down (drats have to reboot Roku b4 the complaining starts).

    3. Nice view of which channels/connection strength of each device.

    4.  User-based parental controls

    5.  Bandwidth Analysis:  Good way to find bandwidth hogs

    6.  Wifi Analysis.  Test connection/speeds from your device to the AP.

    What didn't work very well (at the time):

    Threats and alerts.  Wasn't picking up all threats, not very detailed and alerting was spotty.

    Neutral:  Fingbot is NOT a router or firewall.  this can be good or bad depending on your needs.

    • notatechie
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    OK, I bought a 3 eero system for 499 plus the extra $$ for eero plus.  I am extremely disappointed with the parental controls.  I can't believe that in all the time since these posts Eero has not added ability to whitelist/blacklist individual websites either en mass or per device.  Putting a family filter to shield porn and violence and malware is one aspect.  But allowing the kids to use the internet for homework and other productive tasks while blocking youtube/gaming sites and other individual websites is a crucial necessity that i can not do without.  I may be returning this.  Can I run OpenDNS on the Eero?

Content aside

  • 6 yrs agoLast active
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