Devices not connecting to closest eero
A quick background on my setup:
- I am running the latest version (1.4) of the iOS app
- I am running the latest firmware (2.1.0) on my three eeros.
- My first eero is connected as follows: modem -> eero --> switch
- My other two eeros are hardwired via ethernet back into the switch.
Upon updating the iOS app, I started checking to see which devices are connected to which eeros. I was surprised at what I found.
- Most of my devices are connected to the primary eero.
- An iPad in an upstairs bedroom is connected (with a weak signal) to the primary eero which is downstairs in my den even though there is an eero in the same bedroom as the iPad. (The iPad stays in that bedroom, it never wanders around the house).
- My Rachio sprinkler controller is also connected to the den eero even though there is an eero much closer to the garage.
These are not the results I expected. I thought I placed the eeros to give me strong coverage throughout the house but the devices don't seem to want to connect to the closest available eero. I also thought since I wired them via ethernet that this would give me the strongest possible mesh network possible.
Did I do something wrong in my setup? Any suggestions on how to correct this?
Thanks,
Mike
181 replies
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Hey Mike K —
Thanks for reaching out. It is awesome to hear that you are already testing out this new feature!
In most cases, your devices will choose the best eero to connect to but sometimes connected devices may stay connected to eeros further away. It really depends on how that specific device handles roaming and handoff. While we support 802.11r, we're still working on full support for 802.11r Fast Transition. The issue is this protocol can cause issues for older WiFi devices, so we are working carefully on implementation.
With stationary devices like your Rachio sprinkler system, if you happened to unplug or reboot an eero, there is also a chance it just stayed connected to another eero within range.
If you see that a device isn’t connected to the closest eero, don’t worry as it may still have an excellent connection. However, if you’re seeing weaker connections when there is a closer eero, you can toggle wifi off and back on for the device to connect to a closer eero. It should automatically connect to the best eero.
Again, at the end of the day, these decisions are ultimately made by the device. However, we are continuing to put in the work on our end to make sure eero can do whatever possible to make these experiences more seamless.
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I've noticed the same issue with the same devices, but Rachio switched to a closer eero unit after a few hours, and the other devices (phones, laptops, etc.) switched more rapidly. It appears that IoT devices (Rachio, Nest, Smartcams, etc.) accessing the internet less frequently are slower to change eero access.
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Thanks Jeff C.
Upon checking today, I see that the iPad now is connected to the eero in its room, without any change on my part. But the Rachio is still connected to the further (office) device. Maybe that will correct itself with time? I'll keep an eye on this to see if any patterns emerge. I would hope that my stationary IoT devices always are connected to the closest device to ensure a strong WiFi signal. With other mobile devices, where I'm moving around the house with them, I would assume that they bounce from one to the other depending on what is is range for where I am at any particular moment.
Maybe it's a bad assumption on my part to think that a device will connect to the strongest device in range and that instead it stays connected to whatever it first attached to until/unless that signal disappears or falls out of range?
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Thanks for following up Mike K and Mdavidm —
Again, while eero is designed to work in this way, the decision of which eero to connect to (and switch to) is ultimately up to the device. If an IoT device, like a stationary sprinkler system, is within range of two eeros, it may connect to one and not the other. You can try toggling the WiFi off and back on for these devices (if the device doesn't have such an option, you can power cycle it) to see if it connects to the correct eero.
We just recently began surfacing information on which eeros your devices are connected to in the app. If you have any feedback or suggestions on how to improve this feature based on your experience with it thus far, we're all ears!
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Jeff C.
Would it be possible to list all the devices connected to an eero from the device page itself? For example, if I am viewing the information page on my Hallway eero can you list all the devices connected to it here. Would help me determine if I am overloading a single device and how I might be able to spread the load.
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Thanks for joining the discussion, jalcala 😬
While that isn't currently a feature, that is great feedback! Happy to relay it to the team.
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My iphone7 picks the main router and uses he 2.4 ghz even though there is another router sitting right next to me.
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Just installed a new Gen2 Pro system today. I found that my iPhoneX kept connected to a remote Eero even when I am right next to the main/router Eero. I tried turning Wifi on/off a few times on the phone and even re-powered it, but it kept connecting to the remote one. I finally did a 'reset' on the remote Eero that it was connected to from the app and then it connected to the one nearby. But hoping the roaming will be a little more intelligent than that.
I'm thinking there should be an app button called 'Connect device to Best Eero' that would force it to reconnect?
Content aside
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