Feature Request: Add support for PPPoE

PPFS I think it's very easy for reviewers to miss unless they happen to be on a provider that requires PPPoE — you kind of take it for granted otherwise, since it's really weird for a router not to support PPPoE.

In fact, when I first ordered my Eero system, I simply assumed that PPPoE support would be included. I noticed a review on Amazon while I was waiting for it to arrive that revealed the lack of PPPoE support, which I actually found shocking. I decided to proceed anyway, as I have enough networking expertise to deal with it, and I have, as noted above (and frankly even "double NAT" isn't the frightening thing that it once was for the vast majority of users — but that's no excuse at all for a lack of PPPoE support).

I actually am a technical writer for a major site, however, so after discovering this I actually went through and updated all of my articles in which I mention the Eero to specifically call it out for its lack of PPPoE support, since buyers really do need to be aware of this. 

jhollington Thanks for updating your posts! Not everyone can afford paying for an additional router after buying a system like this, and same as you I assumed it supported PPPoE, I hope we get an answer one day from Eero.

PPFS 

After having a bit of a google, I think they're not going to do it after ignoring requests for 4 years.

https://community.eero.com/t/m2mjka/feature-request-add-support-for-pppoe

https://talk.macpowerusers.com/t/eero-pro-disappointment-in-the-uk/14826

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/RDENPM283SY5H
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R2GL9VJYDXESYV
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R2N4OFOMS4DS4V
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R3IGGI80B02ONA
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R333J3L8AUKMTG
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R2H5JJN3ML7V20
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R2EK09UZY9BPW5

https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/ejkiog/connecting_eero_to_pppoe_connection/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/blmrqg/pppoe_setup_for_fiber_connection/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/87u61m/still_no_pppoe_support/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/a6796j/pppoe/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/gxj5ub/pppoe_and_vlan_id_please/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/6i4so2/pppoe_in_eeroos_v3/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/92sse6/pppoe_update/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/5dr5b0/if_i_need_pppoe_support_is_it_worth_going_with_an/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/ghj2zu/eero_and_pppoe/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/ccgjrs/pppoe/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/b87sm6/how_on_earth_is_there_still_no_pppoe_support_yet/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/4l3opp/status_of_pppoe/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/hu1ir7/why_no_pppoe_support/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/cvqd11/i_know_the_devs_are_sick_of_hearing_this_but_i/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/6vm7yi/centurylink_fiber_eero/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/j1mjk4/pppoe_question/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/iz5km4/eero_6_pppoe/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/hnzam6/potential_eero_issues_when_using_a_bt_homehub_in/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/g3gk6e/can_any_experienced_eero_users_help/
https://www.reddit.com/r/GoogleWiFi/comments/5hh9f2/why_did_you_choose_google_wifi_over_eero/
https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/9zk6b8/help_for_a_noob_on_setting_up_eero_with_gigabit/

jschussler correct and I doubt they will add PPPOE since it’s now been literal years. I had bought the newest eero pro WiFi 6 but due to CL fiber I need PPPOE and VLAN tagging. So, that was that. Wasn’t going to pay for a modem from CL and also adding one more device to run through. I returned and upgraded my existing linksys velop system to the ax2400(?) WiFi 6 mesh system and it has been good. Easy PPPOE and VLAN tagging (assuming you have your creds/info). 

MrDoppler Don't hold your breath.  Just so you know, very few networks require PPPoE.

txgunlover Speaking from outside a U.S.-centric bubble, that is very much not true.

txgunlover Only major ones like CenturyLink!

txgunlover Virtually all of the providers in the UK require PPPoE.  In many areas there is no alternative. 

danstratton Comcast, Spectrum, AT&T, Verizon and those that make up the "majority" do not require it.  Regardless, it's not coming.

txgunlover , danstratton , jaffa ,

In my opinion, hearsay isn't a particularly effective way to advance the conversation, and is to subject to biases. If you (or anyone else) wants to influence Amazon's decision on not providing PPPoE support, the two primary methods are:

1/ Demonstrate the customer experience is unacceptable.  Already, I've illustrated (earlier in this thread) that eero's own security products (e.g., adult filtering) are not reliable when you attempt to work around their lack of PPPoE.  It seems there is no CX that is bad enough, if adult content on a kids device with filtering enabled, is acceptable. 

2/ Raw data illustrating market segment size & opportunity that PPPoE affords. Understanding the set & size of ISPs that use PPPoE, by geography, would go a long way.  Being able to say, XX % of US customers, YY % EU customers and ZZ % of rest of world customers rely on PPPoE will help facilitate internal prioritization on this. I anticipate there is a research paper out there somewhere with this data.  At a minimum, maybe someone is passionate enough to start a focused thread documenting all known PPPoE reliant ISPs, that may help advance the cause. For instance, CenturyLink in the USA uses PPPoE... 

FWIW, I'm as frustrated as everyone else on this thread. 

txgunlover You're thinking too narrow. You know there's more to the world than just the USA, right? Here in the UK, the majority of networks require PPPoE similar to many other countries where eero is available. Them not having a feature cheap routers have is beyond stupid. They have now released a paid subscription service whist, still, not listening to their users. They also refuse to comment on the development of new features.

Baldcoder, you're 100% right, that there are "a few things that won't work in this configuration". Depending on your setup (specifically related to DNS management), what features do, or do not work may actually be non-deterministic.  If you are relying on eero for it's paid security features, you may be in for a big surprise when (for example) a parental owned device has adult content filtered, but child owned devices do not. 

I went into some detail on what how I added a middle device, AND a middle eero, to ensure there was deterministic behavior in https://community.eero.com/t/m2mjka?r=x2hzl4l . If I were to do it all over, I probably would have avoided eeros due to the lack of this feature. And while eero's support (and warranty) has been pretty amazing in regards to every other inquiry I've had, including a request to re-enable replies to this thread after it was locked (the thread was so old it was caught up in an internal tool and closed), eero's no-comment response on this thread is very disappointing.

kevindurdle Their refusal to comment on PPPoE is very concerning. It makes me wonder if they do actually listen to their community of users or are only implementing features they want. This request has been open 4 years with other 250 responses and not a single bit of information from the eero team.

MrDoppler It's not coming anytime soon.  They've tried, it kills performance.

txgunlover Nonsense. Every other major competitor manages to support PPPoE fine — Google, both in the form of the Google Wi-Fi or newer Nest Wi-Fi variant, Linksys' Velop, and the Netgear Orbi. Indeed, I have used routers a decade and a half ago that supported it out of the box.

This isn't exactly a fringe request, and it would be nice for Eero to acknowledge if this is even on the agenda, *four years* after this feature was originally requested. Perhaps it was a niche demand prior to wider international availability, but the Amazon UK product listing, as well as a few random Reddit posts show concrete examples of people purchasing, then returning the hardware once they discover this limitation. However, I've just found this, which gives me some hope!…

https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/mcktil/pppoe_support_in_2021/

jaffa jaffa Pay attention to this one, she's the lead dev:

6roybatty6

Developer eero Mesh/OS18 days ago

Egress vlan tagging is much easier to implement and get good performance on than PPPoE, though. (We'd just program the ethernet switch that's inside every eero to do it. Doing PPPoE is much more complicated.)

danstratton Something else is wrong with your configuration... distances between eero's cables, etc... I regularly get 650+ wireless and 950 down wired.

txgunlover Spent plenty of time on this with eero, very disappointed with the service and routers. Spent a ton of money to upgrade and suspect it’s the needed double NAT, since they don’t offer PPPoE. I’ll never recommend this product to anyone. Expensive Cr*p.

Hi there, danstratton . I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing slow speeds on your network. I was able to locate your tickets with us and it looks like your speeds had improved for a period of time. Have your speeds degraded again? If so, we'd certainly like to be able to dig into this some more for you. We definitely want to be sure that your network is running to the best of its ability. You're always welcome to give us a call or send over an email to support@eero.com with the subject "Community Followup."

Kora | eero Community Team

danstratton I had a similar problem. Wired gigabit throughout house, yet eero wireless network was ~100Mbps. Then I realized my gateway eero was next to my toaster. Moved my toaster over a bit more to the side and problem solved. Still a pain in the butt to have my eeros in bridge mode, but at least my speeds are on point.

I've a similar problem. Wireless devices get ~350mb/s, wired devices into my PPPoE router get 980mb/s, wired devices into the eero (with a dumb switch in the middle) are limited to 180mb/s. I'm assuming it's the double NAT killing things, somehow. I might bounce something onto support too. 

danstratton I agree.  I currently have an intermediate router connected via PPPoE and my speeds are exactly (if not a little better) than what I'm paying for from ISP.  So I don't see how adding PPPoE to Eero devices would kill speeds, unless they implemented it incorrectly.

Kora (eero Support) I don't know where you got the idea my speed had improved over time, they have not! Speeds on the eero network have never achieved near what I would expect - wireless runs around 90 Mbps (5 Ghz), the any faster speed I've observed is my desktop that is wired directly into CenturyLink's modem and it runs 900 - 940  Mbps consistently. eero is the bottle neck. Of course eero gives the false impression (within the app) that my speeds are 940 Mpbs, they are not! I've spent HOURS with your support people to no avail. I can only believe it is a double NAT problem and the only solution is a network that supports PPPoE. I feel I have thrown away $500 on this system!

PPFS Yes, but VLAN not supported on original  eero!  The thin edge of the wedge - how long before the original eero is sidelined and no longer supported?

RadBenC Plume's SuperPod with WiFi 6 supports PPPoE.  They aren't cheap, but at least they support it.  I'm thinking of switching.

Baldcoder Why would I buy a wifi router that requires an annual subscription?

RadBenC I was just passing along the information.  It's no different than purchasing eero secure for the additional features.

Baldcoder Thanks for the suggestion. When I go to Plume's site I am required to choose at least one year of contract for $99. Maybe I missed something.

RadBenC It looks like you don't have a choice at the initial purchase, but you can choose to not renew it.  https://support.plume.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005858693-Will-my-pods-still-work-if-I-don-t-renew-my-membership-

KevW7 Yep, you should return it.  Also search for a new provider, any ISP using PPPoE was obsolete 10 years ago.

KevW7 Did you also order during Prime Day when they were on sale? This thread is going to be getting a lot of views and Amazon is going to be getting a lot of returns. Maybe they'll finally add support for a protocol that every other router seems to support and is required by some of the largest fiber ISPs in the country.

txgunlover Heh, I don't think that's entirely a fair statement. Perhaps in the U.S., where PPPoE seems to be so rare that most reviewers don't even realize that Eero lacks it, but Canada's largest telco and one of its largest ISPs is still firmly entrenched in PPPoE for all of its DSL and fibre services.

Sure, the technology is somewhat archaic by today's standards, but big corporate ISPs move slowly, and just because they're still using older technologies in some places doesn't mean the providers are "obsolete," and the technology still works well enough with everything except for Eero. 

In fact, the only ISPs that don't rely on PPPoE here are the cable providers, and that's because DOCSIS was a completely different animal from the ground up.

That said, as I've mentioned elsewhere in this thread, I've been happily using an Eero Pro system with my PPPoE fibre provider (Bell Canada) for almost a year now with absolutely no issues. I have to leave the Bell Home Hub 3000 in place to handle the PPPoE connection, and I'm technically using "double NAT" but that's really not the same kind of problem it used to be, since almost all the technologies that broke due to multiple layers of NAT truly are obsolete now.

Companies have had to adapt over the past decade to the fact that most people are not tech-savvy enough to deal with configuring their routers to deal with gaming, voice, and video protocols, so they've found ways to make them work that no longer rely on caring about your internal IP address. UPnP was originally the solution to that, but it quickly became a gift to malware developers, making it a huge security risk. Hence, it's also going the way of the dinosaur. These days, it's much easier for services to run through cloud-based servers where the client initiates the outbound connection than to make apps on your home network open holes in your firewall. 

jhollington You are replying to someone who chose the username Texas Gun Lover.  The two things they thought people on this forum should know about them is that they are from Texas and they love guns. I don't think their reply was intended to be helpful. Might as well have chosen the username "Cliche".

KevW7 I have fiber to home as well. I don't think there's a way you can make that work without at least 3 devices if you're using Eero. The fiber connection goes into the gateway at the house, which spits out an ethernet connection, which goes to a router to handle the VLAN tagging (another common thing Eero lacks) and PPoE, and then finally the Eero. In my case, it goes gateway--router--switch--eero in bridge mode. Super frustrating, and I don't expect Eero to change after all this time. I've just learned to accept it. It works fine. But next time I'm upgrading my system it won't be an Eero. I'll just put in an access point or two.