437

Assign a device to a specific eero

I was recently going through my connected device list and noticed I have some of my devices connected to an eero which isn't the closest one to it.  Wouldn't it make more sense to bind a device to a specific eero?  For example, my Ring doorbell is maybe 10 - 15 feet from the closest eero but it is connected to one upstairs and further away.  Not sure if that would cause a QoS kind of issue but for stationary devices I don't see them moving from one eero to another (Nest products, Amazon Echo, Ring doorbell, etc.)

391 replies

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    • tfederov
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Obligatory bump.  I'd love to get the mothership's thoughts on this because I have no idea why some static (non-moving) devices would connect to the eero all the way on the other side of the house instead of the one closest to it.

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

    Whoa, I'm sorry tfederov ! I'm not sure how this request got past me.

    I definitely understand the interest/need in such a feature, and I'll be more than happy to share this with our team.

    With regards to what is happening, there is a chance that the static devices are connecting to the further eero after the system reboots. If those devices are within range of another eero, since they don't roam, they likely are latching to that eero as it may come online before the closer one. Since they are connected and won't be moving, they won't be looking to change.

    One way to get around this is to reboot the client device. After coming back online, it should connect to the closer eero. I hope this helps!

      • SusanZ
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Jeff C. 

      • SusanZ
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Jeff C. this didn't work for me.  I've tried restarting client devices and even tried blocking and then unblocking the client devices to try to get them to choose the closest in range eero pro upon being allowed back onto the network. All four cameras on my boat dock are still trying to access my basement eero pro (where my NVR is plugged in) instead of my 4th eero pro pod purchased to place on the boat dock in waterproof housing .  My iPhone sees the new eero just fine and hops from eero to eero based on where I go. I'm going to try wiping out the whole NVR and wireless camera setup and starting from new since the new eero isn't seeming to be noticed.  It seems that the previous settings from the basement prior to adding the 4th pod appear to be static for the zmodo camera setup.  

      • Imatjen
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Jeff C. is there a 3 year update?

      • td76
      • 8 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Jeff C. the problem is, during a reboot, such static devices will latch onto the first available device regardless of it's signal quality. eero knows what devices are static vs roaming. During a reboot, the system should pause reconnect attempts for all static wifi devices until all nodes are back up and\or reconnect based on connection\signal strength. 

      • Alonzo_Thomas
      • 7 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Thankyou but that doesn’t seem to force it to connect to the closer eero device :(  . This has been a customer request for so many years as I’ve asked the same question and been having the same issue back in 2019 and the answer I’ve got was the same, like we understand your concern and will bring it to the attention of the team but nothing happens. Hopefully they get an engineer who can allow this capability to be assigned before another company gives this option and takes away business from them 

      • BigPond
      • 6 days ago
      • Reported - view

        I have a streaming media device (a “smart” TV that is as dumb as a box of rocks) that randomly loses its 2.4 GHz connection to the eero hub that is physically closer and then connects on 5 GHz to the physically distant hub. When that happens, streaming is constantly pausing, essentially becoming unusable. 

      Don’t tell me to reboot the TV, or temporarily turn off the 5 GHz. That “solution” only works temporarily. YOU need to give the eero users the ability to statically assign devices to specified eero hubs on specified spectrum bands. People have been asking for this feature for SIX YEARS!

    • tfederov
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Jeff C.

    Yep, I figured that's how they connect so far away.  For what it's worth though if you've ever had the "pleasure" to have to reset a Nest Protect (I need an 8' ladder to reboot one of them, for example) or a Ring doorbell it's easier to kill their power at the breaker than to do it from the device which unless you know what you're doing it might not happen (I'm thinking my parents. :-) )  Appreciate the reply back!

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

    Yep, totally! That's good experience feedback that I'll be happy to share 😉

    • rwross
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    FWIW...completely agree with this feature request.  I have a number of non-roaming devices that connect to a sub-optimal eero.  While the network boot issue may be one reason, it is not the only reason.  For example, an Echo DoT occasionally switches Eero for no reason.  I notice this because when I see the device in the app it jumps out as having only one bar connectivity.  I look at it and see it's connecting to my basement eero rather than the 2nd floor Eero that is 20 feet away on the same floor.

    I would Definitely like to be be able to bind non-roaming devices to a given Eero!!

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

    Thanks for chiming in  rwross 😬  

    That's great feedback! However, that is odd with it connecting to the less optimal eero after it has already connected to the 2nd floor one.

    Is the Echo Dot directly above it? How is the connection strength of the 2nd floor eero to your network? Is there any chance it is dropping off from your network occasionally?

    If you'd like, feel free to give us a call at 1-877-659-2347 or email us at support@eero.com . We're more than happy to take a look.

    • rwross
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Jeff C. Thanks for the response.

     

    It's actually behavior I've noticed from time to time on other devices as well, but didn't want to muddy the waters with too many disparate examples.

    I imagine you guys have some complex algorithms that are trying to optimize which Eero to connect to and whether to do so at 5Ghz or 2.4.  To further complicate things, it probably considers how much bandwidth is going through a given Eero and whether it's better to switch to a distant one at 2.4 with 5 bars or stay with a closer one at 5Ghz with 3 bars...I've seen all that kind of switching behavior.

    To your specific question, yes, the Dot is directly above the basement Eero.  I'll try to sketch the topology of the 3 Eeros below:

    If looking at the house from above:

               BEDROOM

    OFFICE                               BASEMENT

     

    If looking at house from side:

                       BEDROOM

        OFFICE

                                             BASEMENT

     

    Office and Basement Eero are hard wired back to the gateway.  The bedroom Eero is completely wireless but has 5 bars back to the primary Eero.

     

    Hope this helps...

    • tfederov
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Just checking in.  I've added quite a few more devices with more on the way (at 70+ now) and would like to try binding to specific devices rather than overloading one or two eeros.  Maybe it's not an issue, not sure.

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

      tfederov  —

      Each eero can have up to 128 devices connected to it at any given time. So it shouldn't be an issue 😀

      We don't have any updates to share at this time, but please feel free to give us a call at 1-877-659-2347 or email us at support@eero.com should you experience any issues so we can take a look.

    • adamhamel
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I am having the same issue. I have a long narrow house and my apple tv is at one end and my gateway eero is near the other end of the house with a beacon in between. I was expecting the beacon to pick up the connection. Instead the gateway is picking up the connection, but with only 3 bars signal strength. It would be nice if i could allow just the beacon to connect to the AppleTV.

      • bdplatt
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      adamhamel every Roku in my house is ignoring the Eero 3-5 feet away and connecting to the gateway Eero on the other end of the house. Don’t think it was always that way, but it is consistent now. 

    • tfederov
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I added a beacon near my front door hoping it would pick up my Ring doorbell but it too is still connected to the furthest eero upstairs.

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

      tfederov  —

      Thanks for checking in! Since Ring doorbells don't roam, they won't try and switch eeros once they come online. If you are able to power cycle your doorbell, it should connect to the closest eero once it comes back online. If you are unable to do so, you can power cycle the eero that it has connected to. Please note that if this is your gateway (the eero connected to your modem), the Ring doorbell may connect to that one again since it appears to be in range.

    • rwross
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

     I think there may be some gap between what the engineers think should happen with non-roaming devices and what users are actually experiencing. 

     

     For example, I have a Sony TV that, depending on what other demands there there are on my network, will shift its connection from one eero to another.

     

     The Sony software does not appear to enjoy that experience and routinely will drop its connection completely when that occurs. 

     

     For example, I could be streaming a movie on Netflix or my kids could be watching a video on YouTube, and the Sony television will simply report an error in the middle of the video indicating it lost its Internet connection. 

     

     To remedy the situation, I had to get a specific eero and place it next to the television with the television hard wired directly into that eero.

     

     This is suboptimal for several reasons not the least of which it is not my first choice of a location for that eero and the televisions ethernet connection is not as fast as it's wireless connection. 

     

     In case you were wondering, I do have the IP address reserved and I have the TV set up with a static IP that matches that reservation.

     

     Is there some fundamental reason why this feature would be difficult to implement? 

     

    Much thanks in advance! All the team members at eero have been delightful to work with. I just hope this is a feature that could be added in the near future.

    • rhalibur
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I have the same issue with my media room and home automation equipment.  Could you modify the connected devices screen to make the connected eero selectable or add a check box to lock to eero when it is on the correct one?  Just a thought for implementation.

    • mikeallen152
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I am encountering the same issue with a Ring doorbell.  Weak signal strength, and being assigned to further away/main eero.  There is a beacon less than 10' away.  It had connected to the beacon for roughly a week on one occasion, but has since re-connected to the further away eero with a weak signal and lower res video capture.  Assigning a device to its closest eero would be a welcome feature.  

    • Todd
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Absolutely want this feature.  For static equipment, rebooting and hoping it connects to the right Eero doesn't make much sense.  My upstairs Nest Protect (Smoke Detector) is currently connected to my Basement Eero, through 2 separate floors when there is literally a beacon 5 feet below it in the wall plug beneath it.  This could be a potential safety issue if it doesn't get the notification due to distance/impediments.

    • killercams
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Looks like I was right. This would apply here as well then. Connections to the ideal eero are not possible with this hardware. Eero is a great product and mesh is an ideal concept when the proper configuration is feasible. Either separate the frequencies or update the software to configure devices to utilize fastest speed as opposed to best signal (QoS) 

    Just installed eero and if I can't separate the Frequencies, I'll likely bring it back. My issue is undoubtedly an eero issue. I don't think I'm roaming at all. I have two eeros wired (2nd floor south room/2nd floor North room) (2700sq ft home/square shaped) and one connected via wireless (1st floor center of home with open floor plan) and I'm constantly connected to the 2.4. This is an ideal placement configuration as I have no ceiling in my living room and it's mounted high up on the wall so it's basically in the center of two wired eeros (main router and 1 wired eero connected via cat6, about a 50ft homerun tested with a fluke networks nettool series II). I can only connect to the 5 if I'm standing right next to either of the two wired routers and it would require that I disconnect and reconnect to the corresponding network. The eero connected via wireless is giving me worse signal than my old tplink range extender which would cut my speed in half on the 5 and still give me 180-190 down. When connected to either wired eero's on the 5 I get 300 down.  

     

    If it kept me on the "fastest" network instead of the "best signal"; it would be an excellent product, but without proper roaming capabilities, this option is simply for those consumers that don't know or care what speed they're connected at as long as it works. Since I pay for 300D/30U, certain devices only utilizing 60D/30U is unacceptable.  

     

    If you feel I may have purchased a faulty product or if this behavior is not normal then please reply with a solution. I'm well within the grace period to exchange/return the product.

    • philworthy
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    +1 This feature would be amazing !!

    Eero team: can can anyone comment if it's on the roadmap?

    I'm having lots of trouble getting Sonos and Eero to work together. Sonos speakers will after time connect themselves to the wrong Eero (one that's far away) and this results in audio drops. After much back & forth with Sonos, their best advice is to use Sonos' own mesh network instead of Eero's (SonosNet) but to get this working properly they recommend plugging Sonos as far upstream as possible (as I have a few hard wired devices this means plugging into a router upstream of the gateway Eero, and putting Eero into Bridge mode, which disables a few features). I'd much rather use Eero's mesh (disable SonosNet) but lock specific speakers to a specific Eero that I know is nearby. I'm sure this is a common problem for devices around the home that don't move a lot, so the feature would be great. Fingers crossed.

Content aside

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